Organizations, Resources, and Class Analysis: The Distributional Model and the US Class Structure

Abstract

This article presents selected features of a theoretical schema we term the distributional model of class analysis which views large organizations, organizationally-based resources, and distributional processes as central to the US class structure. We first review what we term production models of class analysis and illustrate how some features of these models may be linked to insights from studies of class involving large organizations and distributional processes. Building on this foundation, we introduce the main ideas of our model and focus on two central features: generative capital and the distributive order . We identify four forms of generative capital as the basis of class membership: consumption, investment, credentialed skill, and social. Classes are viewed as consisting of individuals and families who possess, over time, similar levels of these resources. The class structure is illustrated with a figure divided into the privileged (top 20 percent) and new working classes (bottom 80 percent) which are posited as having oppositional class interests. We then identify four elements of the distributive order and discuss how each influences the distribution of generative capital forms to individuals and families. We conclude with a discussion of the merits of our model and with illustrations of new lines of inquiry in class analysis the model could stimulate.