Foundations+of+a+neo-Durkheimian+Class+Analysis

** By David Grusky in collaboration with Gabriela Galescu ** What: Postmodernists have (rightly) critiqued class analysis because scholars who write about class tend to focus only on the macro level, assigning arcane or “scholarly” categories to classes that have no practical value in the real world. Grusky proposes instead to dust off Durkheim’s micro-level of class understanding based on occupation (technical division of labor) as a more viable and ultimately realistic means of categorizing classes. Durkheim and the Class Structure · Durkheim contributed to class analysis on two fronts: o He provided a negative macro-level story about social forces that made large classes untenable in the long run o He provided a positive micro-level story about the “small classes” (//gemeinschaftlich// occupations) that will undoubtedly emerge at the site of production and shape individual values and lifestyles · Dukheim says three forms of micro-level organization will emerge: o Occupational Associations § These would be the main form of organization between the state and the individual and would establish occupational ethics, conflict resolution practices, and representation in politics § Their main function is to basically justify inequality by convincing workers “to regard occupational differences in remuneration … as appropriate and acceptable” (5) o Localization of the Collective Conscience § Occupations become the center from which distinctive attitudes and styles of life are now determined (as opposed to big classes) o Occupations and Organic Solidarity § As work becomes more repetitive, Durkheim believes that workers will overcome feelings of monotony and purposelessness by forging connections with fellow workers with different job functions § Seeing how each function contributes to the larger purpose (ie, interdependence) will thus give higher meaning to workers and prevent they type of alienation Marx talks of – regulation will happen spontaneously Was Durkheim Right? · Yes: industrial conflict on macro-level has come to be regulated and occupational groups have emerged as the building-blocks of current labor markets · However, Durkheim overstated the power of these forces on 3 counts: o Durkheim thought that occupation associations would divide the work force into mutually exclusive groups and be the sole intermediary between the individual and the state – when in fact, occupations are typically consigned to lobbying the state for highly specialized benefits o Occupational organizations have failed to form in some sectors (ie, manual labor) o There is lots of difference across states in the extent to which the labor market has become occupationalized Contemporary Class Analysis · Grusky suggests two changes to the current approach: o The search for big classes should no longer be treated as the //sine qua non// of class analysis o The focus of class analysis might be more usefully shifted to the local level · “unit occupation” = a grouping of technically similar jobs institutionalized in the labor market through associations or unions, licensing or certificate requirements, and certain preferred ways of organizing production and dividing labor · Occupations are more useful as identity markers than big classes · Social closure might be thought of on the local level as professional associations or unions that require certain skills (and licensing) to be in them · Three types of collective action on the local level: o Restricting access to occupational positions (downwardly directed social closure) o Competition between other occupational associations over niches in the division of labor o Securing occupation-specific benefits from the state and employers Is There a Durkheimian Model of Exploitation and Rent? · Durkheim was against norms or laws that put restrictions on occupations (ie caste sys) as well as economic barriers to upward mobility · According to Grusky, the local “occupational structure should be regarded … as a double-edged sword that works simultaneously to create closure and extract rent … and to legitimate that rent and convince us that it is appropriate and unproblematic” (18) · The result is that inter-occupational wage differences are considered acceptable whereas intra-occupational wage differences are not Is More Disaggregation Always Better? · No – if we disaggregate further to look at individual jobs as the unit of analysis, we would miss the occupational culture that Durkheim says is so influential
 * Chapter 3: Foundations of a Neo-Durkheimian Class Analysis**