ABSTRACT
An analysis of social class 'structure' has been represented by sociologists and development theorists in four different ways. One is in terms of dominant social relations of production, which defines two basic classes: bourgeoisie, or the owners of means of production; and working class. A second way of understanding the social structure of Latin American societies is in terms of the division of labor formed through the capitalist development process. A third way of viewing social structure is in terms not of an individual's relation to production, but his or her relation to consumption, or the market – what Max Weber conceived of as an individual's life's chances. Third way of class analysis is associated with many economists in the mainstream of development. In this approach, which is based on class defined by share of national income, classes are statistical constructs rather than social groups defined by their location in social structure and corresponding identity or class consciousness.
