The terms “class” and “social stratum” have many different meanings, deriving from their background in the history of ideas and their specialized sociological use.

Two definitions may be distinguished. In the European tradition a class is a group of individuals who, at a given point of time in history, are in a similar economic or political position or who discharge similar functions in society. Classes are social organisms that in certain circumstances can act as units. The boundaries between them are fixed because of differences in power, prestige, and position in the prevailin…