Distinction occupies a special place in Bourdieu’s oeuvre, as it is only in this study that Bourdieu extends his analytical scope to the entire society to provide a theory on its social structure (Bourdieu, 1984 ; its central parts fi rst published in Bourdieu and Saint Martin, 1976). 1 The concept through which society is apprehended by Bourdieu, with its unequal distribution of scarce goods and the multitude of potential positions individuals can occupy in it, is the notion of a social space. This concept is the key topic of this chapter.