Social Division - Softcover

Carling, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0860915069 ISBN 13: 9780860915065

Publisher: Verso Books, 1992

Synopsis

Social divisions are systematic social inequalities which are frequently regarded as unjust, and are fateful in the lives of individuals. In this path-breaking work, Alan Carling develops a general theory of social division centring on the three core areas of social class, gender and ethnicity. The inspiration for Carling's approach is the Analytical Marxist treatment of class division and class struggle. Carling synthesises the rational-choice theory of capitalist transition with G.A. Cohen's functional version of the Marxist theory of history and, in an analysis which spans the work of Roemer and Elster, provides an accessible treatment of Analytical Marxism across the range of its major concerns. He then applies rational-choice theory to the domestic sphere and to processes of assimilation and discrimination in relation to ethnic groups. The book concludes that rational-choice is necessary to, but insufficient for, an adequate general theory of social division. Carling's topic and his method are at the forefront of current concerns in sociology, economics and political philosophy. This book will set the tone for social theory in the 1990s.

About this title

About the Author:

Alan Carling teaches in the Department of Interdisciplinary Human Studies at the University of Bradford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Verso Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0860915069
• ISBN 13: 9780860915065
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 454