On the economic identification of social classes / Guglielmo Carchedi.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 214 - 219) and index.

1. On the economic identification of the new middle class -- 2. The economic identification of the state employees -- 3. On dialectical determination: An operational definition -- 4. Reproduction of social classes at the level of production relations.

The work of Guglielmo Carchedi, a Marxist economist, is enjoying a growing reputation with the recent publication of his articles in Economy and Society and other journals. This collection brings his scattered writings together for the first time in one volume. The articles center around the economic identification -- the definition in terms of production relations - of social classes, focusing on the developed capitalist countries. The basic stages of capitalist development are considered, with special emphasis on monopoly capitalism. Among the original contributions are a detailed analysis of the functional element of the capitalist production relations; the identification, in terms of production and distribution relations, of the new middle class under monopoly capitalism; and the analysis of the process of the proletarization of this class. New theoretical concepts - of position, devaluation of labour power through de-qualification of positions, and of capitalist and non-capitalist state activities - are developed to further the discussion, which although fresh in approach, are immersed in the complex texture of Marxist thought." -- back cover.