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A social class is a group of people that have similar social and economic status.

At various times division of society into classes had various level of support from law. On one opposite of this were old Indian classes - castes, which one could neither enter after birth, nor leave. (Though this is the case only in relatively recent history.) On the other are classes in modern Western societies, which are very fluid and have little support from law. When sociologists speak of class they usually mean economically based classes in modern or near pre-modern society.

Marxists explain history in terms of a war of classes between a rich, privileged class which possessed the Means of production (bourgeoisie), and a poor, unprivileged class (proletariat), which actually produced, while the fruits of the work were being mostly taken by members of the privileged class.

The sociologist Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, with class, status and party (or politics) as conceptually distinct elements. Class is based on relationship to the market (owner, rentier, employee etc.). Status has to do with honour and prestige, while party refers to factors having to do with affiliations in the political domain. All three dimensions have consequences for what Weber called "life chances".

See also:

• proletariat, bourgeoisie
• politics, sociology
• Class warfare

The concept of caste is distinct from class, and refers to rigid status groupings, the membership of which is usually inherited. Particular caste groups:

• the Burakumin of Japan
• the untouchables of India

For other meaning of word class, see Class.

Further Reading

• Consumer's Republic, Lizabeth Cohen, Knopf, 2003, hardcover, 576 pages, ISBN 0375407502 (An analysis of the working out of class in the United States)