Power and Privilege: A Theory of Social Stratification

By Gerhard E. Lenski

Book Overview

Power and Privilege seeks to answer the central question of the field of social stratification: Who gets what and why? Using a dialectical view of the development of thought in the discipline, Gerhard Lenski describes the outlines of an emerging synthesis of theories. He shows that perspectives as diverse and contradictory as those of Marx, Spencer, Sumner, Veblen, Mosca, Pareto, Sorokin, Parsons, and Dahrendorf are parts of an evolving and systematic body of theory.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807841196
• ISBN13: 9780807841198
• Release Date: April 1984
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 525 Pages
• Weight: 1.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

A classic

Very well written and researched. This book offers a great look at the manner in which stratification develops in societies, and not just in capitalist societies. Lenski starts with the hunter-gatherer societies and builds up to the complex structures that we have today. Necessary reading for anyone who wants to be informed on the subject.