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Ideal types, stereotypes and classes.
1Cardiff University School of Social Sciences.
The British Journal of Sociology
|January 31, 2003
Summary
This study critiques class analysis, arguing that ideal types oversimplify social stratification. An alternative research program focusing on inequality structures is proposed for better empirical grounding.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Social Stratification Research
Background:
- Recent validation attempts of the Goldthorpe class schema highlight the interplay between analytical methods and sociological theory.
- Latent class analysis, a favored technique, aligns class analysis with the older tradition of ideal-type analysis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between analytical techniques and theory in social class conceptualization.
- To critique the use of ideal types in class analysis as an oversimplification that can shield theory from empirical testing.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of class analysis methodologies, particularly latent class analysis and ideal-type analysis.
- Presentation of an alternative research program focused on stratification arrangements.
Main Results:
- Latent class analysis, while seemingly advanced, mirrors the simplifying nature of ideal-type analysis.
- Ideal types, like popular stereotypes of 'class', oversimplify complex social characteristics, potentially hindering empirical refutation of theories.
Conclusions:
- The reliance on ideal types in class analysis poses a risk of theoretical concepts becoming detached from empirical reality.
- An alternative research program, focusing on the structural reproduction of inequalities, offers a more empirically grounded approach to studying stratification.