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Putting B ourdieu to work for class analysis: reflections on some recent contributions
Author(s) -
Flemmen Magne
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the british journal of sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.826
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1468-4446
pISSN - 0007-1315
DOI - 10.1111/1468-4446.12020
Subject(s) - class analysis , capitalism , habitus , class (philosophy) , sociology , cultural capital , power (physics) , epistemology , capital (architecture) , centrality , neoclassical economics , positive economics , social science , political science , economics , law , philosophy , mathematics , politics , history , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , combinatorics
Recent developments in class analysis, particularly associated with so‐called ‘cultural class analysis’; have seen the works of P ierre B ourdieu take centre stage. Apart from the general influence of ‘habitus’ and ‘cultural capital’, some scholars have tried to reconstruct class analysis with concepts drawn from B ourdieu. This involves a theoretical reorientation, away from the conventional concerns of class analysis with property and market relations, towards an emphasis on the multiple forms of capital. Despite the significant potential of these developments, such a reorientation dismisses or neglects the relations of power and domination founded in the economic institutions of capitalism as a crucial element of what class is. Through a critique of some recent attempts by B ritish authors to develop a ‘ B ourdieusian’ class theory, the paper reasserts the centrality of the relations of power and domination that used to be the domain of class analysis. The paper suggests some elements central to a reworked class analysis that benefits from the power of B ourdieu's ideas while retaining a perspective on the fundamentals of class relations in capitalism.