ABSTRACT
Concepts of class are central to Marxist theory and hence to Marxist analyses of concrete social situations. Within the Marxist tradition there have been quite different readings of Marx’s own notions of class as well as different interpretations and elaborations of these notions. While one general orientation has prevailed in that tradition, recently some influential formulations have advanced a basic criticism of it as well as of Marx’s own notions of class. They also offer alternatives. We sympathize with the view that traditional Marxist notions of class are generally vague and inadequate. As for Marx’s own work, however, it does develop a complex, carefully specified concept of classes. Marx’s conceptualization stands, we believe, as a critique both of the traditional Marxist theory of class and of the recent efforts to remedy its vagueness and inadequacies.
