Wright Capitalist Class Structure Theory Research

As one of the representatives of the Analytical Marxism, Eric Olin Wright has been committed to the study of Marxist Class Theory. Wright argued that Marx’s class analysis method is still the most basic method when we analyze the social realities problems. But he thinks that Marx’s class theory is too abstract to explain the new social realities problems. Hence, Wright tried to amend Marxist Class Theory, and create the fine microscopic basis for it, to adapt the practical needs of today’s world. Wright used logical analysis, mathematical models, game theory and other analytical tools to clarify and re-explain the core concepts of the Marxist theory of class, by absorbing and using other contemporary ideologists. Therefore, Wright proposed his creative theory, combined with the reality of contemporary capitalist society.Wright constructed his theory of the class structure of contemporary capitalist society through four aspects. First of all, Wright constraint conceptually ’class’, use the new concepts to analyze the "middle class" in the contemporary capitalist society, and proposed the theory of ’contradictory locations within class relations’. Secondly, Wright modified John Roemer’s general theory of exploitation and class, and established four kinds of exploitation:the exploitation based on the ownership of labor, the exploitation based on capitalist means of production, the exploitation based on the control over organization assets, and the exploitation based on the ownership of monopolistic skills, and proposed the theory of a general framework for class analysis. Thirdly, Wright did not meet the theoretical creation, so he did experience arguments about his theory by a large number of empirical survey of contemporary capitalist society, to prove the reality and rationality of his theory. Finally, Wright presented his vision of the future society, the "positive class compromise" theory, and demonstrated the possibility of class compromise from three areas of political, exchange and production.In a word, Wright’s theory has important significance, whether it is in Western or China. It expanded the ideas and provided a new method to the study of Marxism, and it is much worthy of absorbing and using in our society stratification research and solving contemporary social problems. Of course, this is not to say that Wright’s theory is perfect, his theory also has many limitations, such as his empirical research also has certain one-sidedness in data.