The field of social class is a rich and contested area that has evolved considerably since Karl Marx (1818–1883) published Capital in 1867. Marx was the father of modern social class theory, and his theoretical framework was very much the product of a specific time and place, namely, European class society under conditions of industrial capitalism in the 19th century. Marx as well as Max Weber (1864–1920) are still influences on social class theory but have lost the dominance they held in the first half of the 20th century. Even in contemporary class theories, such as those of Pierre Bourdieu, there are important traces, although largely unacknowledged, of Marxist and Weberian class thinking. After the radical class theory of Marx lost favor from the 1960s ...