thumb|right|250px|[[Karl Marx|Marxistická kritika třídního systému: spodní patra pyramidy moci nesou na svých zádech privilegované třídy]]
'''Sociální třída''' je kategorie lidí, kteří mají stejné třídní postavení, většinou chápané jako stejný způsob obživy nebo bohatství. Dělení na třídy se používá v hierarchickém smyslu, třídy tedy jsou obvykle uspořádány od nejvyšší, elitní třídy, která zahrnuje nejmocnější a nejbohatší členy společnosti, až po spodní třídu, která shrnuje osoby s nejnižší prestiží.

Třída je jedním z ústředních pojmů teorií vrstev s nerovnými životními možnostmi a podmínkami. 
O třídách mluvíme především tehdy, je-li toto rozvrstvení založeno na ekonomických faktorech - rozdílech v příjmu, výrobním postavení či vlastnictví výrobních prostředků. 

Třídní stratifikační model převládá až v moderních společnostech, mezi starší stratifikační modely patří např. kastovní. Termín „třída“ se v tomto významu vynořil v žurnalistice 19. století a jako první teoretik se jej ujal Karl Marx. Vědci i politici od té doby vytvořili nejrůznější definice tříd. Různé definice také odpovídají tomu, že společnosti jsou na různých stupních ekonomického a politického vývoje a náleží k různým kulturám.

== Příklad moderní třídní klasifikace ==
Byla vytvořena celá řada definic a charakteristik tříd, přišemž navrhovaná schémata sahají od hrubého členění na dvě či tři třídy až po jemné klasifikace s mnoha různými sociálními skupinami. 
Jako příklad může sloužit členění podle britského National Readership Survey (NRS), která se často používá v marketingu:

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 90%;"
! scope="col" | Označení
! scope="col" | Třída
! scope="col" | Typické povolání
|-
! scope="row" | A
| vyšší střední třída || lékař, účetní, ředitel 
|-
! scope="row" | B
| střední třída || učitel, zdravotní sestra, policista, vedoucí
|-
! scope="row" | C1 
| nižší střední třída || mistr, student, úředník
|-
! scope="row" | C2
| vyškolená dělnická třída ||  předák směny, instalatér, zedník
|-
! scope="row" | D
| dělnická třída ||  prodavač, rybář, nekvalifikovaný dělník
|-
! scope="row" | E
| spodní třída ||  nádeník, penzista odkázaný na státní důchod
|}

== Sociologické teorie tříd ==

Různí sociologové chápou a definují třídu různými způsoby. Není-li však uvedeno jinak, bývá třída chápána ve významu marxistickém. 

=== Marxovo pojetí tříd ===

Ač je společenská třída ústředím pojmem Marxova díla, nikde jej systematicky nevysvětluje a nedefinuje. Jeho teorii tříd však můžeme najít např. v Manifestu komunistické strany.

Marxova teorie je založena na dvoutřídním stratifikačním modelu. V každé společnosti proti sobě stojí utlačovatel a utlačovaný. V moderní buržoazní společnosti je tento rozpor založen na vlastnictví výrobních prostředků, společnost lze tedy dělit na ty, kteří je vlastní (pracovní sílu (proletariát).
Zájmy tříd jsou v protikladu a nutností je diktatury proletariátu povede k zavedení beztřídní společnosti.

==== Třída o sobě a třída pro sebe ====

Marx chápe třídy jako sociální síly, které mají své třídním uvědoměním a jsou si tedy vědomi svých společných třídních zájmů.

=== Weberovo pojetí tříd ===

Weber definuje třídu jako souhrn osob, které mají stejný způsob obživy.
Rozlišuje třídní kritérium vlastnické a výdělečné, v jejichž rámci existují vždy třídy pozitivně privilegované, negativně privilegované a mezilehlé.

*Vlastnické (statků) 
**pozitivně privilegované (vlastníci)
**mezilehlé (příjmy z podnikání nebo vzdělání)
**negativně privilegované (dlužníci, chudí)

*Výdělečné (tvoří podstanou část mezilehlých vlastnických tříd a jsou definovány schopností uspět na trhu se statky a službami)
*pozitivně privilegované (obchodníci, bankéři, odborníci)
*mezilehlé (zemědělci, řemeslníci, úředníci)
*negativně privilegované (dělníci)

'''Social class''' refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in societies or cultures.  Usually individuals are grouped into classes based on their economic positions and similar political and economic interests within the stratification system.

Most societies, especially nation states, seem to have some notion of social class <ref>Habermas, J. (2006). "the European Nation State - Its Achievments and Its Limits. On the Past and Future Sovereignty and Citizenship", in G. Balakrishan (ed.) ''Mapping the Nation''. London: Vernon. 281 - 294</ref>. However, class is not a universal phenomenon. Many Richard B. Lee and Richard H. Daly (eds.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers, pp.391-394. New York: Cambridge University Press</ref>

The factors that determine class vary widely from one society to another.  Even within a society, different people or groups may have very different ideas about what makes one "higher" or "lower" in the social hierarchy.<!-- When writing about income, please specify the type (e.g. household, personal, etc...). Please do not confuse personal with household income. Thank you. --> Some questions frequently asked when trying to define class include 1) the most important criteria in distinguishing classes, 2) the number of class divisions that exist, 3) the extent to which individuals recognize these divisions if they are to be meaningful, and 4) whether or not class divisions even exist in the US and other industrial societies. <ref></ref>.

The theoretical debate over the definition of class remains an important one today.  Sociologist Dennis Wrong defines class in two ways - realist and nominalist.  The realist definition relies on clear class boundaries to which people adhere in order to create social groupings.  They identify themselves with a particular class and interact mainly with people in this class.  The nominalist definition of class focuses on the characteristics that people share in a given class - education, occupation, etc.  Class is therefore determined not by the group in which you place yourself or the people you interact with, but rather by these common characteristics. <ref> </ref>.

The most basic class distinction between the two groups is between the powerful and the powerless <ref>Roberts, R. (1975)"Class Structure", ''The Classic Slum'', London: Penguin. 13 - 31</ref> <ref>Turner, G. (1990). "Ethnographies, Histories and Sociologies". ''British Cultural Studies: An Introduction''. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. 169 - 196</ref>. People in social classes with greater power attempt to cement their own positions in society and maintain their ranking above the lower social classes in the social hierarchy.  Social classes with a great deal of power are usually viewed as elites, at least within their own societies. In the less complex societies, power/class hierarchies may or may not exist. 

==Determinants of class==
In so-called non-stratified societies or acephalous societies, there is no concept of social class, power, or hierarchy beyond temporary or limited social statuses.  In such societies, every individual has a roughly equal social standing in most situations.

In societies where classes exist, one's class is determined largely by:

* personal or household per capita income or wealth / net worth, including the ownership of land, property, means of production,  etc.
* occupation
* qualifications
* family background

Those who can attain a position of power in a society will often adopt distinctive lifestyles to emphasize their prestige and to further rank themselves within the powerful class.  Often the adoption of these stylistic traits (which are often referred to as cultural capital) is as important as one's wealth in determining class status, at least at the higher levels:
* costume and grooming
* Bourdieu suggests a notion of high and low classes with a distinction between bourgeois tastes and sensitivities and the working class tastes and sensitivities.
* political standing vis-à-vis the church, government, and/or social clubs, as well as the use of honorary titles
* reputation of honor or disgrace
* language, the distinction between elaborate code, which is seen as a criterion for "upper-class", and the restricted code, which is associated with "lower classes"
Finally, fluid notions such as race can have widely varying degrees of influence on class standing.  Having characteristics of a particular ethnic group may improve one's class status in many societies.  However, what is considered "racially superior" in one society can often be exactly the opposite in another.  In situations where such factors are an issue, a minority ethnicity has often been hidden, or discreetly ignored if the person in question has otherwise attained the requirements to be of a higher class.  Ethnicity is still often the single most overarching issue of class status in some societies (see the articles on causation and correlation when it comes to race and class.  Some societies have a high correlation between particular classes and race, but this is not necessarily an indication that race is a factor in the determination of class.

Defining Ascribed status versus Achieved status deals with the actual individual person's role in class identification, and on whether or not one's social standing is determined at birth or earned over a lifetime. 

People who are born into families with wealth, for example, are considered to have a socially ascribed status from birth. In the U.S. specifically, race/ethnic differences and gender can create basis for ascribed statuses. 

Achieved statuses are acquired based on merit, skills, abilities, and actions. Examples of achieved status include being a doctor or even being a criminal—the status then determines a set of behaviors and expectations for the individual.

==The middle class==

In about the 1770s, when the term "social class" first entered the English lexicon, the concept of a "middle class" within that structure was also becoming important.  The Industrial Revolution was allowing a much greater portion of the population to have time for the kind of education and cultural pursuits once restricted to the European feudal division of aristocracy, bourgeoisie, and peasantry which in that period would have included what later became the industrial proletarians of the towns and cities.

Today, concepts of social class assume three general categories: an upper class of proprietors and senior managers, a middle class of people who may not exert power over others, but may earn  a significant proportrion of their income through commerce, land ownership, or professional employment and a class of people who rely on lower wages for their livelihood.  

In the United States, the term "middle class" is applied very broadly and includes people who would elsewhere be considered social strata, other theories maintain that professionals and managers who have a college degree make up most of the middle class.<ref name="The Inner Life of the Middle Class">{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink =  | coauthors =  | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class
 | publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331}}</ref>  In 2005 roughly 35% of Americans worked in the professional/professional support or managerial field and 27% had a college degree.<ref name="US Census Bureau report on educational attainment in the United States, 2003"></ref> Sociologists such as upper middle class consists of white collar professionals with advanced educations and constitutes roughly 15% of the population. In 2005 the top 15% of income earners (age 25+) had incomes exceeding $62,500.<ref name="US Census Bureau, distribution of personal income, 2006"></ref> The lower middle class (or middle-middle class for those who divide the middle class into three segments) consists of other mostly white collar employees with less autonomy in their work, lower educational attainment, lower personal income and less prestige than those of the upper middle class. Sociologists such as Gilbert, Hickey, James Henslin, and William Thompson have brought forth class models in which the middle class is divided into two sections which combine to represent 47% to 49% of the population.<ref name="Society in Focus"></ref><ref name="American Class Structure in an Age of Growing Inequality"></ref><ref name="Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships"></ref> Economist Michael Zweig defines class as power relationships among the members of a society, rather than as a lifestyle or by income.<ref name="The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret"></ref> Zweig says that the middle class is only about 34% of the U.S. population, typically employed as managers, supervisors, small business owners and other professional people.

==Class structure in various societies==
Although class can be discerned in any society, some cultures have published specific guidelines to rank.  In some cases, the ideologies presented in these rankings may not concur with the mainstream power dialectic of social class as it is understood in modern English use.

===Aztec===
Aztec society traditionally was divided into classes. The highest class were the ''pīpiltin'' or nobility.<ref>singular form ''pilli''</ref> Originally this status was not hereditary, although the sons of ''pillis'' had access to better resources and education, so it was easier for them to become ''pillis''. Later the class system took on hereditary aspects.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-460561/pilli pilli (Aztec social class)]</ref> 

The second class were the ''mācehualtin'' (people), originally peasants.  Eduardo Noguera<ref name="Noguera">''Annals of Anthropology'', UNAM, Vol. xi, 1974, p. 56</ref>
estimates that in later stages only 20% of the population was dedicated to agriculture and food production. The other 80% of society were warriors, artisans and traders.<ref name="Sanders>Sanders, William T., ''Settlement Patterns in Central Mexico. Handbook of Middle American Indians'', 1971, vol. 3, p. 3-44.</ref>

Slaves or ''tlacotin'' also constituted an important class. Aztecs could become slaves because of debts, as a criminal punishment or as war captives. A slave could have possessions and even own other slaves.

Traveling merchants called ''pochtecah'' were a small, but important class as they not only facilitated commerce, but also communicated vital information across the empire and beyond its borders. They were often employed as spies.

===British===

The Queen maintains her status at the top of the social class structure, with the House of Commons technically representing everyone else.  Because of the electoral rules, however, the House of Commons historically (until the late 19th, early 20th centuries) represented the Landed classes. In the upper class manner, marriages arranged to achieve titles, and the purchase of grand country houses built to emulate the old aristocracy's feudal castles.  It was the Victorian middle class who tried to distance themselves from the lower class with terms such as "working class", which seemed to imply that their new white collar positions couldn't really be considered "work" since they were so clean, modern, and safe.

It was also in 19th century Britain that the term Fourth Estate was used to describe the press.  Thomas Carlyle equated the Queen to France's First Estate of clergy, the House of Lords to France's Second Estate of hereditary aristocracy, and the House of Commons to France's Third Estate of rich bourgeoisie.  But he then pointed out that the editors of newspapers in Britain's booming Industrial Revolution (similar to the pamphleteers before and during the French Revolution) held powerful sway over public opinion, making them equally important players in the political arena.  The political role of the media has become ever more important as technology has blossomed in the 20th and 21st centuries, but few academic models today set aside the media as a specific class.

It remains important in any analysis of social class in the UK to allow for regional variations. What may be true of England may be untrue or at least less true of Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales. Attempts to assume a 'British' class system rarely produce useful or reliable results. Scotland's population's inter-class relations are (from an English point of view) confused by the vestiges of the clan system. Wales had most of its nobility killed off in a series of conflicts between different families and different centres of power, and of course with England. The upshot of this, according to historian Gwyn Alf Williams in his book ''When Was Wales,'' has been a country which thinks of itself as being of a single class, like Czechoslovakia.
<br/>
From a sociological point of view the class system in Britain, especially in the north of England was greatly altered during the 'Thatcher Era'.
With the removal of the majority of traditional working class industrial jobs from the market, a new 'underclass', below working class emerged. The 'underclass', defined as, unemployed relying on state benefits, is the new bottom of the British class system.

Due to the integrated nature of modern British society, in which high earning jobs and positions can be attained by people traditionally considered of lower social standing, an individual's social class is now largely governed by mannerisms, education and the status of one's parents. People are often perceived as being upper class if they were educated by a public school, use Received Pronunciation and own a large number of inherited items such as antique furniture, even if they hold a job that has a lower rate of pay or is regarded as socially inferior. Similarly, many high earners can be perceived as belonging to a lower class by dint of having attended state schools or having jobs that society deems lower class, even though they pay relatively well.

If viewed as a hierarchy from the ground up a current model would be as such (below is only a basic model, other factors such as home, attitude, clothing, speech, mannerisms, and family ties etc also affect social standing, although the main factors are wealth and perceived wealth.)

*Upper class: Generally those in positions of political influence, holders of titles of nobility, and those with very high levels of income or inherited wealth.
*Upper middle class: Generally professionals with advanced university degrees such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, and pharmacists.
*Middle class: Generally professionals with a university degree, such as teachers, managers, ministers of religion.
*Lower middle class: Generally does not hold a university degree and works in a white collar job such as a clerical worker.
*Upper working class: Generally does not hold a university degree and works in role such as supervisor, foreman, steward, or skilled trade such as plumber.
*Working class: Generally has low educational attainment and works in a blue collar profession, in fields such as industrial or construction.
*Lower working class: Generally works in low/minimum wage occupations, such as cleaner, shop assistant, bar worker
*Underclass: Reliant on state benefits for income, described by Marx as the lumpenproletariat; sometimes colloquially referred to as 'chav class'.

===Chinese===

In pre-Confucian China, the feudal system divided the population into 6 classes. 4 noble classes with the king (王) at the top, followed by the dukes (諸侯), then the great men (大夫) and finally the scholars (士). Below the noble classes were commoners (庶民) and slaves (奴隸). Confucian doctrine later minimized the importance of the nobles (except the emperor), abolished great men and scholars as noble classes, and further divided commoner workers based on the perceived usefulness of their work. Scholars (now not exclusively nobles) ranked the highest because the opportunity to conceive clear ideas in a state of leisure would lead them to wise laws (an idea that has much in common with Plato's ideal of a philosopher king). Under them were the farmers, who produced necessary food, and the artisans who produced useful objects.  Merchants ranked at the bottom because they did not actually produce anything, while soldiers were sometimes ranked even lower because of the destruction they caused. The Confucian model is notably different from the modern European view of social class, since merchants could attain great wealth without reaching the social status accorded to a poor farmer. In practice, a rich merchant might purchase land to reach farmer status, or even buy a good education for his heirs in the hopes that they would attain scholar status and go into the imperial civil service. The Chinese model was widely disseminated throughout east Asia. [http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so191/Projects2003/LauraB/part_2.html/]

===French===
France was an king at the pinnacle of the class structure.  However, the French States-General, established in 1302, provided a sort of legislative assembly with its members ranked according to hereditary class.  The First Estate consisted of the highborn sons of great families who had devoted themselves to religion (compare to the Indian Brahmins, Confucian scholars, and Qajar theology students).  The Second Estate consisted of all other members of the nobility, who constituted approximately two percent of the total population.  The Third Estate consisted, technically, of everyone else, but was represented only by the richest members of the bourgeoisie.  In truth, the peasantry had no voice at all in the system, as contrasted with the ideologically high status of farmers in Confucian China.  The rigidity of the French hereditary system has been suggested as a major cause of the French Revolution.

===Inca===

===Indian===
Traditionally, the Varna to move upward or downwards depending on their qualification. It divided society based on skill and qualifications.  Briefly, the ceremonies, while the British occupation in 1947, the affirmative action plans to abolish the caste system with limited success.

===Iranian===
Under the Qajar dynasty of Iran, the class structure was set up as follows:
* the permanent hereditary class of Qajar princes
* an upper class of "nobles and notables"
* religious leaders and students of theology
* merchants (note the difference from east Asian models)
* agricultural landowners
* master artisans and shopkeepers
As in many official class structures, the laborers who made up the majority of the population but owned no land and relied on wages were not even considered part of the structure at all. [http://www.iranian.com/Dec96/Iranica/Qajar/Qajar.html/]

===Japanese===
The Japanese class structure, while influenced by the Chinese, was based on a much more Emperor, as a deity, was unquestionably at the pinnacle of the Japanese class structure (and still is, although no longer considered a god).  However, for much of Japanese history the emperor was not allowed outside the palace grounds and his will was "interpreted" by a shogun, or military dictator.  Beneath the shogun, daimyos or regional lords, administered the provinces through their samurai lieutenants.  Perhaps through Chinese influence, and perhaps springing from a lack of arable land, the Japanese class structure also ranked farmers above merchants and other bourgeois.

===Latin American===

In race. Accordingly, Peninsulars (Spaniards born in Spain and Portuguese born in Portugal) held the top ranks- including titles such as Viceroy, Captain General, etc. They were followed by Criollos (Those directly descended from Spaniards but born in America), who held considerable power and class but were barred from the highest decision-making posts. After these there was a system of castes, listed in order of rank, there were around a hundred castes, one of these were: 

* Mestizo (Mixed Amerindian and Spaniard);
* Mulatto (Mixed Spaniard and African)
* Amerindian
* Zambo (Mixed Amerindian and African)
* Negro

It is to be noted that even today there is a strong correlation between class and ethnicity.

===United States===
thumb|350px|Class in the US, featuring occupational descriptions by Thompson & Hickey as well as US Census Bureau data pertaining to [[Personal income in the United States|personal income and educational attainment for those age 25 or older.<ref name="Society in Focus">{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = William | authorlink = | coauthors = Joseph Hickey | year = 2005 | title = Society in Focus
| publisher = Pearson | location = Boston, MA | id = 0-205-41365-X}}</ref><ref name="US Census Bureau, personal income distribution, age 25+, 2006"></ref><ref name="US Census Bureau report on educational attainment in the United States, 2003"></ref>]]

The social structure of the United States is a vaguely defined concept which includes several commonly used terms that use educational attainment, income and occupational prestige as the main determinants of class. While it is possible to create dozens of social classes within the confines of American society, most Americans employ a six or five class system. The most commonly applied class concepts used in regards to contemporary American society are:<ref name="Society in Focus"></ref>
*Upper class; Those with great influence, wealth and prestige. Members of this group tend to act as the grand-conceptualizers and have tremendous influence of the nation's institutions.  This class makes up about 1% of the population and owns about a third of private wealth. 
*Upper middle class; The upper middle class consists of white collar professionals with advanced post-secondary educational degrees and comfortable personal incomes. Upper middle class professionals have large amounts of autonomy in the workplace and therefore enjoy high job satisfaction. In terms of income and considering the 15% figure used by Thompson, Hickey and Gilber, upper middle class professionals earn roughly $62,500 (€41,000 or £31,500) or more and tend to reside in households with six figure incomes.<ref name="The Inner Life of the Middle Class">{{cite book | last = Ehrenreich | first = Barbara | authorlink =  | coauthors =  | year = 1989 | title = Fear of Falling, The Inner Life of the Middle Class
 | publisher = Harper Collins | location = New York, NY | id = 0-06-0973331}}</ref><ref name="Society in Focus"></ref><ref name="Occupation and Class Consciousness in America"></ref>
*(Lower) middle class; Semi-professionals, non-retail salespeople and craftsmen who have some college education. Out-sourcing tends to be a prominent problem among those in this class who often suffer from a lack of job security.<ref name="Society in Focus"></ref><ref name="Middle income can't buy Middle class lifestyle"></ref> Households in this class may need two income earners to make ends meet and therefore may have household incomes rivaling the personal incomes of upper middle class professionals such as attorneys.<ref name="Middle income can't buy Middle class lifestyle"></ref>
*Working class; According to some experts such as Michael Zweig, this class may constitute the majority of Americans and include those otherwise referred to as lower middle.<ref name="The American Perception of Class">{{cite book | last = Vanneman | first = Reeve | authorlink =  | coauthors = Lynn Weber Cannon | year = 1988 | title = The American Perception of Class
| publisher = Temple University Press | location = New York, NY | id = 0877225931 }}</ref> It includes blue as well as white collar workers who have relatively low personal incomes and lack college degrees with many being among the 45% of Americans who have never attended college.<ref name="Society in Focus"></ref>
*Lower class; This class includes the poor, alienated and marginalized members of society. While most individuals in this class work, it is common for them to drift in and out of poverty.<ref name="Society in Focus"></ref>

==Theoretical models==
===Marxist===

thumb|right|250px|An ''[[Industrial Worker'' capitalist class critique]]
It was in Victorian Britain that consumption of luxury. The majority capitalist upper class could also be removed and everyone could work as they were able, and receive as they needed.

Karl Marx defined class in terms of the extent to which an control over the Marxists explain the history of "civilized" societies in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods or services in society. In the Marxist view of wage-workers (the proletariat). For Marxists, class antagonism is rooted in the situation that control over social production necessarily entails control over the class which produces goods -- in capitalism this is the exploitation of workers by the bourgeoisie. 

Marx himself argued that it was the goal of the proletariat itself to displace the capitalist system with socialism, changing the social relationships underpinning the class system and then developing into a future communist society in which: "..the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all." (Communist Manifesto).