Mapping Out Strata: Criteria for Selecting a Classification

Abstract

The article discusses conceptual and methodological criteria applicable to the selection of social stratum classifications. With this in mind and based on the work of Erik Olin Wright and John Goldthorpe, the text presents the debate between neomarxists and neoweberians which has influenced studies of class and stratification. Defining a classification entails delimiting the theoretical-conceptual context adopted in research and a suitable methodological treatment in order to determine, based on occupations, a social strata scheme which will allow us to study the structure of class positions. The theoretical approach adopted here lies within the class-structural framework of social mobility analyses, while the chosen methodology involves application of conglomerate analyses and log-linear models.