Positional Structures and the Social Differentiation of Lifestyle

• In Event: 118 - Section on Economic Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 04. Consumption Theory

Abstract

This paper argues that modern theories of social structure have converged towards a positional model of structure: that individual's location in social space is determined by the complex interaction of multiple structural factors. Methods of structural inquiry and modes of empirical descriptions have yet to catch up, remaining overly reductionist and generating theoretical inconsistencies. Building from the theoretical insights of Weber and Bourdieu, this paper uses the case of lifestyle to support these claims and advance a new methodological approach to modeling positional structures. A nonparametric regression technique is used to evaluate existing descriptions of the lifestyle organization and possible improvements. Results indicate that a model based on income, education, age, and household size is significantly better than models used in existing theories. I show how individual outcomes are based on the combinations of factors contributing to social position, rather than the sum of separate effects.

Author

• Michael Schultz, Northwestern University