“Class” in the Writings of Wallerstein and Thompson: Toward a Class Struggle Analysis

This article attempts to make three contributions. First contrary to the literature's critique of Wallerstein's world-system perspective, this article points out that Wallerstein has formulated a sophisticated class analysis. Second, this article argues that Wallerstein's class analysis is actually similar to Thompson's writings on class. Third, after pointing out the problems of the historical approach to class, this article utilizes the insights of Wallerstein and Thompson to develop a new class struggle analysis.