In this model (based on Erik Olin Wright) ownership of the means of production is the main
determinant of relationships between social classes and stratification arrangements.
The Capitalist class consists of the owners. In Marx’s day that would have mainly been the
owners of factories, mines, railroads, etc. Today, the owners of the means of production may control
more than just factories- they may own large multinational corporations and companies.
In a postindustrial economy, they may own the means to produce and distribute information
(such as entertainment and media) not just factories.
The Managerial class works for the owners of corporations. They are upper level executives,
senior vice presidents, CEOs, etc. They identify with the owners and may often own a piece of
the corporation themselves as part of their compensation. Example- Michael Eisner is the CEO of
Disney Corporation. Steve Ballmer is the CEO of Microsoft.
The Small Business class consists of people who own their own relatively small business
(which may be incorporated.) Examples might be a locally owned restaurant, a family farm, a
doctor or lawyer or dentist with his/her own practice. Their economic interests may lie upward
with the capitalist class or downward with the working class depending upon the circumstances.
But they are likely to be conservative and believe that the system as it is is best for their
interests.
The working class own nothing except their labor (which in Marx’s view was appropriated by
the capitalist class to secure profit for its members.) Even if they own a home, car, boat,
etc. often the bank (owned by the capitalist class) actually owns these. Blue collar workers
are the traditional factory, construction, truck drivers, etc. White collar workers are
professionals such as office workers, nurses, teachers who have more education but do not own
their own businesses. Women in these jobs are referred to as pink collar workers. Note that a
doctor or lawyer, while relatively well paid, could be working class in that he/she works in
a large law corporation or a Health Maintenance Organization which is owned by someone else.
The issue is the degree of control that such workers have over their lives- the working class
has little control over the circumstances of their work and hence are more subject to alienation
and exploitation by the managerial and capitalist classes. They own little except their own
labor. Since they are not slaves in the usual sense, they free to change their occupational
status, but this change is more likely to be horizontal rather than vertical upward.
Workers whose lives are very controlled by their workplace or working conditions, whose work
is de-valued, and who are treated as though they were the property of the bosses, are sometimes
referred to as "wage slaves."
