7.2.2: Max Weber: Property, Power, and Prestige

 7.2.2: Max Weber: Property, Power, and Prestige Max Weber (1864–1920) was an outspoken critic of Marx. Weber argued that property is only part of the picture. 

Social class, he said, has three components: property, power, and prestige (Gerth and Mills 1958; Weber 1922/1978). 

Some call these the three P’s of social class. (Although Weber used the terms class, power, and status, some sociologists find property, power, and prestige to be clearer terms. 

To make them even clearer, you can substitute wealth for property.)

 Property (or wealth), said Weber, is certainly significant in determining a person’s standing in society. 

On this point he agreed with Marx. But, added Weber, ownership is not the only significant aspect of property. 

For example, some powerful people, such as managers of corporations, control the means of production even though they do not own them.

 If managers can control property for their own benefit—awarding themselves huge bonuses and magnificent perks—it makes no practical difference that they do not own the property that they use so generously for their own benefit. 

Power, the second element of social class, is the ability to control others, even over their objections. Weber agreed with Marx that property is a major source of power, but he added that it is not the only source.

 For example, prestige can be turned into power. 

Two well-known examples are actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, who became governor of California, and Ronald Reagan, who was elected governor of California and president of the United States.

 Figure 7.3 shows how property, power, and prestige are interrelated.

 Figure 7.3 Weber’s Three Components of Social Class

Prestige, the third element in Weber’s analysis, is often derived from property and power because people tend to admire the wealthy and powerful. Prestige, however, can be based on other factors. Olympic gold medalists, for example, might not own property or be powerful, yet they have high prestige. Some are even able to exchange their prestige for property—such as those who are paid a small fortune for endorsing a certain brand of sportswear or for claiming that they start their day with “the breakfast of champions.” In other words, property and prestige are not one-way streets: Although property can bring prestige, prestige can also bring property.

As the winner of 23 gold medals, Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian ever. From this photo, you can see Phelps converting prestige into property.

In Sum For Marx, the only distinction that counted was property, more specifically people’s relationship to the means of production. People are either owners or workers, which sets them on contrasting paths in life. Their path determines their lifestyle and shapes their orientations to life. Weber, in contrast, argued that social class has three components—a combination of property, power, and prestige.