Class, Income, and Wealth

This chapter analyzes economic inequality as a fundamental form of social inequality. Economic inequality was defined as including social-class, income, and wealth differences in the United States. The meaning of class for the public is rooted in their everyday experiences and relationships. Mirroring popular disagreements are debates among scholars about the nature of the class structure in the United States. In contrast to the continuum approach, Marxist sociologists generally object to the mixing of economic, status, and other socioeconomic variables because they believe it dilutes what Karl Marx considered to be the core economic meaning of social class. Technological developments have sped the integration of national economies into a global network. Income inequality also existed in the Colonies, but it was less pronounced than it was in England and in other northwestern European countries at the time. Income data from 1980 to 2017 reveal high and increasing inequality.