ABSTRACT
The earliest conceptions of class structure derive from political economy in its classical form in the eighteenth century. It is not merely an historical interest which recommends these concerns as an appropriate point of introduction. On the contrary, classical political economy’s concern with the influence of social classes on the macro-economic performance of nations, we argue, should be an integral component in contemporary class analysis. Unfortunately, much analysis has moved away from a concern with the economic underpinning of the participation of different categories of collective actors in advanced capitalism. Consequently, structures of domination, premised on macro-economic patterns of activity, remain somewhat under-theorized in their effect on individual, collective and institutional action.
