Topic
Upper class
About: Upper class is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 774 publications have been published within this topic receiving 17363 citations.
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Papers
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01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: In this article, the authors find that the rise and persistence of democracy cannot be explained either by an overall structural correspondence between capitalism and democracy or by the role of the bourgeoisie as the agent of democratic reform.
Abstract: It is a commonplace claim of Western political discourse that capitalist development and democracy go hand in hand. Crossnational statistical research on political democracy supports this claim. By contrast, comparative historical studies carried out within a political economy approach argue that economic development was and is compatible with multiple political forms. The authors offer a fresh and persuasive resolution to the controversy arising out of these contrasting traditions. Focusing on advanced industrial countries, Latin America, and the Caribbean, they find that the rise and persistence of democracy cannot be explained either by an overall structural correspondence between capitalism and democracy or by the role of the bourgeoisie as the agent of democratic reform. Rather, capitalist development is associated with democracy because it transforms the class structure, enlarging the working and middle classes, facilitating their self-organization, and thus making it more difficult for elites to exclude them. Simultaneously, development weakens the landed upper class, democracy's most consistent opponent. The relationship of capitalist development to democracy, however, is not mechanical. As the authors show, it depends on a complex interplay of three clusters of power: the balance of power among social classes, power relations between the state and society, and transnational structures of economic and political power. Looking to the future, the book concludes with some reflections on current prospects for the development of stable democracy in Latin America and Eastern Europe.
1,995 citations
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TL;DR: Mediator and moderator data showed that lower class individuals acted in a more prosocial fashion because of a greater commitment to egalitarian values and feelings of compassion, and implications for social class, prosocial behavior, and economic inequality are discussed.
Abstract: Lower social class (or socioeconomic status) is associated with fewer resources, greater exposure to threat, and a reduced sense of personal control. Given these life circumstances, one might expect lower class individuals to engage in less prosocial behavior, prioritizing self-interest over the welfare of others. The authors hypothesized, by contrast, that lower class individuals orient to the welfare of others as a means to adapt to their more hostile environments and that this orientation gives rise to greater prosocial behavior. Across 4 studies, lower class individuals proved to be more generous (Study 1), charitable (Study 2), trusting (Study 3), and helpful (Study 4) compared with their upper class counterparts. Mediator and moderator data showed that lower class individuals acted in a more prosocial fashion because of a greater commitment to egalitarian values and feelings of compassion. Implications for social class, prosocial behavior, and economic inequality are discussed.
1,122 citations
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01 Jan 1967
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of public opinion in the power elite's domination of government and its role in the corporate community and the upper class in the United States.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Class and Power in America 2. The Corporate Community 3. The Corporate Community and the Upper Class 4. The Policy-Planning Network 5. The Role of Public Opinion 6. Parties and Elections 7. How the Power Elite Dominates Government 8. The Big Picture Appendix A: How To Do Research on Power Appendix B: Indicators of Upper-Class Standing
837 citations
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03 May 2000
TL;DR: The Rise of the Educated Class as discussed by the authors is a seminal work in the history of education and the development of the modern world, which is also referred to as "the rise of the educated class".
Abstract: Contents Introduction 1 * The Rise of the Educated Class 2 * Consumption 3 * Business Life 4 * Intellectual Life 5 * Pleasure 6 * Spiritual Life 7 * Politics and Beyond Acknowledgments Index
499 citations