Like Marx, Weber was also interested in how societies were stratified along class lines. However, unlike Marx, Weber suggests that class and status are distinct from one another. Whereas class can be identified objectively, status is something that is more socially determined. Read the excerpt carefully and then ponder the following questions.
1. Why does Weber think that people sharing the same class situation cannot qualify as a group capable of a class action?
2. In your own words, describe how status is different from class and why people sharing the same status can act as a group.
3. Compare and contrast Marx and Weber’s definitions of class. Which theorist do you think best captures how class and power operate in the today’s world?
