Between Marx and Bourdieu

Differentiation and Inequality in Georg Simmel’s Sociology

Abstract

After thoroughly reviewing Georg Simmel’s work, we aim to take part in a discussion that aroused within German sociology about the alleged dis- agreement between two research lines: the differentiation theory and the one on inequality. Through the examination of two forms of differentia- tion 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 strati'cation in a cultural key can be found in Simmel. In this sense, we try to address some possible af'nities of the perspective of the sociolo- gist from Berlin with the strati'cation theories of Karl Marx and Pierre Bourdieu. Then we will try to consider how the concept of social class, converted by Marx into an inescapable tool of sociological analysis, has followed its trajectory in the strati'cation approach that can be recon- structed from Simmel's work.