ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the theoretical differences between class and group in an effort to show their strengths and weaknesses. It begins with the theoretical underpinnings in the thought of Karl Marx and Max Weber and their early contributions to class and group theory. The chapter identifies major issues in group and class theory. Class theory has been elaborated and employed in progressive circles in political science and economics, and it is now rather commonplace in the overlapping disciplines of political anthropology, political economy, and political sociology. Historically classes have evolved through transformations in society. Instrumentalism is evident where the capitalist ruling class wields economic power and uses the state as its instrument of domination over society. In emphasizing this circulation of ruling classes, Gaetano Mosca gave importance to the rise of new interests, a position closer to Weber than to Marx. An understanding of the historical usage of class in social science necessitates also looking at Max Weber.
