Explain Weber’s concept of class, status, and party.

(a) Class : (i) Karl Marx defined class in terms of ownership of the means of production. Max Weber defined a class as a category of individuals who “have in common a specific component of their life chances”, (ii) economic interests in represented exclusively by economic interests is the possession of goods and opportunities for income and it is represented under the conditions of the commodity and labour market classes acan never be communities.

(b) Status-groups : (i) According to Max Weber, status-groups are communuties. Status situation is determined by a specific-positive or negative - social honour. It is not essentially determined by class situation.

(ii) Members of status-groups are held together by notions of proper life-styles or consumption patterns and social esteem or honour-accorded to them by others.

(iii) Status differences are associated with expectations of restrictions of social intercourse with those not belonging to the particular status groups and with assumed social distance between it and the inferiors.

(c) Parties : (i) According to Max Weber power (or authority) is another scare resource. Power is the change of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in communal action, even against the resistance of others.

(ii) Many are cocerned with getting as much of it as possible for themselves. In fact, all people desire to avoid subjection to the authority of others, struggle for power, therefore, characteristics all societies.

(iii) The struggle is carried on by political interest groups including parties of modern societies.

(iv) Parties are the groupings in the arena of power. Their action is oriented towards the acquisition of social power. In this way, inequality on the basis of power emerges in society.