ABSTRACT
The precise number of levels or classes varies between societies, as do the principles for assigning individuals to specific classes and the social consequences of class differences. Class was one of the first areas of concentration in the social sciences. Karl Marx, for instance, made class the center of his analysis of the past, present, and future of society. Durkheim conceived of class as being more complex, and more positive, than Marx did, but it was Max Weber who elaborated most effectively on the class concept. Some of the technical measures of economic standing within and between countries include gross national product, the quintile division, and the Gini index or coefficient. The Gini index is a single coefficient that represents income inequality: the Gini index number ranges from zero to one, with zero meaning perfect income equality and one meaning perfect inequality.
