Readings in the Swedish Class Structure is a collection of papers that covers the Swedish class structure. The book is comprised of 10 chapters that are organized into three parts; each part presents articles that tackle a concern in the Swedish class system. The text first covers the distribution of economic rewards, which includes ownership and influence in the economy; determination of wage structures in manufacturing industry; and a Marxist analysis of the Swedish class structure. The next part deals with the distribution of opportunities; this part examines the patterns of social mobility and educational reforms and equality. The last part tackles inequality and political processes. The book will be of great use to sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians.

First published in 1977. This book considers the nature of industrial society, contemporary capitalism and the impact of political ideas on social structure. These ideas are discussed by reference to the impact of social democracy on the structure of capitalist society in a comparative analysis of Britain and Sweden — including an interview survey of industrial workers socio-political attitudes. The study is concluded by a general discussion of the role of social democracy in capitalist society. It is argued that the development of social democracy generates ‘strains’ which, in the long term, question the legitimacy of capitalism among industrial manual workers.

The Social Structure of Modern Britain, Third Edition is a comprehensive account of the social structure of modern Britain. Aspects of social structure are examined from a historical and comparative perspective. The book includes statistical information, not only on the more obvious areas like births, deaths, and immigration, but also on such lesser known (but no less important) topics as leisure behavior, income and wealth, and trends in criminal and other deviant activities. Comprised of six chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the demographic features of British society, including population trends in the twentieth century, socio-economic aspects of population, and fertility and mortality trends, along with the effects of immigration on demography. Subsequent chapters focus on the family, social class, and education as well as leisure and pleasure. The final chapter is devoted to three major mechanisms of social control in British society: religion, political institutions, and law enforcement. In particular, it assesses the extent to which religious beliefs and political attitudes exert control over people's thoughts and behavior, together with the definition of crime, the causes of criminal behavior, and the aims of a penal system. This monograph will be a useful resource for sociologists and social scientists.

In this thought-provoking new book, Anthony Smith analyses key debates between historians and social scientists on the role of nations and nationalism in history. In a wide-ranging analysis of the work of historians, sociologists, political scientists and others, he argues that there are three key issues which have shaped debates in this field: first, the nature and origin of nations and nationalism; second, the antiquity or modernity of nations and nationalism; and third, the role of nations and nationalism in historical, and especially recent, social change. Anthony Smith provides an incisive critique of the debate between modernists, perennialists and primordialists over the origins, development and contemporary significance of nations and nationalism. Drawing on a wide range of examples from antiquity and the medieval epoch, as well as the modern world, he develops a distinctive ethnosymbolic account of nations and nationalism. This important book by one of the world’s leading authorities on nationalism and ethnicity will be of particular interest to students and scholars in history, sociology and politics.

The ideas of economic democracy and financial participation are not new. The International Congress on profit-sharing first met in Paris in 1889. However since then, the numerous schemes have met with mixed reactions and various levels of success. In Economic Democracy and Financial Participation, Daryl D'Art has two objectives. Firstly, to examine if, and under what conditions, profit-sharing schemes and employee shareholding can motivate workers and generate cooperative striving. Secondly he identifies the schemes of financial participation which have the potential to realise economic democracy within the individual firm and wider society.