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Review
. 2025 Jun;76(3):674-683.
doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.13195. Epub 2025 Mar 6.

Niklas Luhmann's Unknown Class Theory and Its Explanatory Potential for the Clustering of Inequalities

Michael Grothe-Hammer  1 , Svenja Hammer  2
Affiliations
Review

Niklas Luhmann's Unknown Class Theory and Its Explanatory Potential for the Clustering of Inequalities

Michael Grothe-Hammer et al. Br J Sociol. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Niklas Luhmann; elite; functional differentiation; organization; social class; social inequality.

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References

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