000			02344cam a2200205 4500500
005			20250112062424.0
041			_afre
042			_adc
100	1	0	_aTillmann, Robin _eauthor
245	0	0	_aA Middle Class Society? The Case of Contemporary Swiss Society
260			_c2010.
500			_a15
520			_aSince the eighties, sociology has experienced a resurgence of theories of the decline of social class that has caused major debates. Regarding the development of the class structure in particular, the debate focuses on the so-called theses of a « middle-class » society and an « up-grading » society. In this framework, (postindustrial) society is supposed to be constituted by a large middle class that tends to provoke a general dissolution of class boundaries. This paper is an empirical contribution to this debate and is specifically concerned with recent developments within the Swiss society. A priori, the Swiss case appears to be suited for the thesis of the decline of social class. Indeed, compared with other European societies, Switzerland is characterized by a service sector higher than the average, unemployment below the latter, and a pay level higher than the mean; all phenomena often advanced to explain the asserted decline of social class. In order to evaluate the theses under consideration, hypotheses were formulated concerning the evolution of the division of labor (measured by the international standard classification of occupations), the development of the class structure (measured by Swiss socio-professional categories). The study is based on secondary data analysis, which implies a dependence towards the « producing » institutions. Despite these methodological limitations, analysis shows that – at least taken as a whole – the theories of the decline of social class are refuted in the case, even though favorable in principle, of the contemporary Swiss society. Thus, among others, the latter is not more of a middle class than a working class society, making it similar to many European societies.
690			_asocial inequalities
690			_aSwitzerland
690			_aSocial class
690			_aclass structure
786	0		_nSociologie | 1 | 2 | 2010-09-07 | p. 253-271 | 2108-8845
856	4	1	_uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-sociologie-2010-2-page-253?lang=en
999			_c230810 _d230810