Abstract

LEWKOW, Lionel Eduardo. Differentiation and inequality: the problem of social stratification in Georg Simmel’s work. Estud. sociol [online]. 2018, vol.36, n.107, pp.257-282. ISSN 2448-6442.  https://doi.org/10.24201/es.2018v36n107.1583.

After thoroughly reviewing Georg Simmel’s work, we aim to take part in a discussion that aroused within German sociology about the alleged disagreement between two research lines: the differentiation theory and the one on inequality. Through the examination of two forms of differentiation that are present in Simmel’s texts -that is, the role differentiation and the autonomization of monetary economy- we will show in which points the poles differentiation-inequality are connected and where are separated. The hypothesis that will guide us is that an interpretation of social stratification in a cultural key can be found in Simmel. In these coordinates, we will display the similarity between the perspective of the sociologist from Berlin and the theories from Karl Marx and Pierre Bourdieu.

Keywords : classical sociology; Georg Simmel; differentiation; inequality; social stratification.