Logics of Class Analysis: Erik Wright - L&C Ch. 11

In Logics of Class Analysis, Erik Wright says that there are three types of mechanisms: individual attributes and life conditions, opportunity hoarding, and domination and exploitation. These three mechanisms shape inequality. They are interconnected by some sense in order to explain why there is inequality in society. They help society understand the context of economic advancement and opportunity as well as the social relations that exist.

Individual attributes and life conditions shape the characteristics of individuals. It is lived experiences and resources or capacities of various sorts (Pg. 337). For example, it is the insecurities of getting a job, or the pressure within work from your boss. It is about how people acquire status and jobs that shape unequal economic gains. It is the various social background conditions in an individual’s life that shape the class relevant attributes of the individual which in turn tells the level of the individual’s economic well being (Pg. 338). This is only one of the ways in which inequality can be studied.

The opportunity hoarding mechanism is more complex and offers a more interesting approach, in my opinion. Wright argues that opportunity hoarding can explain inequality by determining which factors are kept away from individuals in order to keep them from gaining power. Thus, as an example we have higher education, it is a barrier for people to get into college because of tuition increases and admission policies. This is an opportunity hoarding example because those who do not attain a higher education will never attain a high-paying job and will remain in poverty. “The inequality is crucially shaped by the effectiveness of the exclusionary mechanism” (Pg. 340). Social networks and cultural capital are social closures because only the rich have access to them.

Domination and exploitation are the last mechanism that Wright explains. This is seen as the Marxist approach to explaining inequality. This mechanism takes advantage of people by exerting control over them with policies and laws. It requires the cooperation between the exploiters and the exploited because if the exploited do not let themselves be exploited then the exploiters will not have a choice but to cede. The power to enforce becomes the main factor in this mechanism.

Thus, the three mechanisms that Wright explains are helpful in telling us how inequality is rooted in society. These mechanisms are interconnected. Thus, the only way to fight inequality is to challenge the idea of privilege and power. It is by challenging the people at the top that inequality is going to change. Power relations are the most important factor in determining who makes it and who doesn’t. The people who make cultural capital and social networks important in society are the ones who need to be challenged. These concepts are a social construct that can be changed, altered, or wiped away from society.