"New Class"? Weber Redux! (was Re: whatever [something about objectivity])

[Chris Kromm]

How come no one references Erik O. Wright (whom some stupidly dismiss as
insufficiently radical because he hews to the notion of "revolutionary
reforms" -- but I digress) in these discussions on class? His books make the
most convincing argument I've seen: that people have contradictory class
locations based on three axes: their control over WHAT things are produced,
HOW things are produced, and legal ownership. Thus people like managers and
supervisors; small employers; and semi-autonomous wage earners (many
professionals) all have contradictory positions which need to be taken into
account.

Call this development beyond simplistic "labor vs. capital" a tool of
bourgeois ideology if you like -- but I haven't seen any good response
proving that it ain't true.

See:
E.O. Wright, Classes (Verso, 1998)
E.O. Wright, Class, Crisis and the State (Verso, 1979)
"Classes" is more developed and thoughtful in its approach

----- Original Message -----
From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2000 1:31 PM
Subject: Re: "New Class"? Weber Redux! (was Re: whatever [something about
objectivity])


> Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
>
> >The concept of the 'New Class' is obscurantist; it has more to do with
> >Weber than Marx, and it helps to perpetuate the empiricist denial of the
> >primary contradiction of capitalism: capital versus labor.  Most people
> >whom social scientists classify as 'New Class' are simply white-collar
> >workers.  Many empirical and subjective divisions & hierarchical
relations
> >exist within the working class, but they have to be analyzed as
> >contradictions _within_ the working class.
>
> But these "new class" people give orders to others on the job
> (meaning workers perceive them as bosses, even if they're only
> glorified forepersons), and don't at all feel working class (quite
> the contrary, they run screaming from the identification). I know
> perception and feeling don't matter much to you, but they really do
> matter for politics. So while these NC people may "objectively" be
> part of the working class, it's a bit more complicated than you're
> making it out to be.
>
> Doug
>