Niklas Luhmann's Unknown Class Theory and Its Explanatory Potential for the Clustering of Inequalities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5609937 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Grothe‐hammer (0000-0002-8163-6291, Department of Sociology and Political Science Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim Norway), Svenja Hammer (0000-0002-4335-3178, Department of Social Work Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Trondheim Norway) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 674-683 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1468-4446.13195 |
| PMID | 40050241 |
| OpenAlex | W4408245037 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 25 |
Niklas Luhmann's theory of social classes, which was just recently made available in English, may surprise many, as Luhmann is not typically associated with social class theory. Instead, his work is renowned for emphasizing functional differentiation over stratification. Luhmann in fact asserted that society exhibits both, but argued that social classes can only be adequately grasped through the lens of functional differentiation. This review essay provides an introduction to Luhmann's concept of social class for readers unfamiliar with his oeuvre. Luhmann offers a radically different understanding of class, capable of explaining phenomena like a disproportionately influential elite and the crucial role of organizations. The essay also discusses the role of important inequalities such as gender, ethnicity, age, and dis-/ability and how these can be meaningfully integrated into Luhmann's theory of social class
Class (philosophy · Differentiation · Elite · Epistemology · Political science · Social class · Social science · Social stratification · Social system · Social theory · Sociology · Surprise · Systems theory · Computer Science · Management and Organizational Studies · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Power and Status Dynamics · Artificial Intelligence · Law · Philosophy
Organization and Decision
Science as a Vocation
The Organizational Reproduction of Inequality
Character and Social Structure
Centre-periphery conflicts and alienation in a resource-based economy
The Making of Meaning
Organizations as the building blocks of social inequalities
East of nature. Accounting for the environments of social sciences
From Nonprofit Diversity to Organizational Multifunctionality
The Luhmannian approach to exclusion/inclusion and its relevance to Social Work
Niklas Luhmann. Education as a social system
Class
Organizations and Economic Inequality
Unpacking cosmopolitanism for the social sciences
The economics of ethnic marriages
How did the Feudal Economy Work? the Economic Logic of Medieval Societies
Differentiation of Society
The Old Institutionalism Meets the New Institutionalism
Inequality Regimes
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 4 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |