Anthony Giddens as adversary of class analysis

The special issue of Sociology on 'Class, Culture and identity' illustrated how often Anthony Giddens is cited as an antagonist of class theory. It comes as some surprise, then to find that his exact view on the demise of class has, to date, received remarkably little in the way of substanial exposition and critique. This article seeks to fill this void by outlining Giddens' theory of the reflexive project of the self in late modernity and its precise consequences for the concept of class, moving on from that to distinguish it from the kindred ideas of Beck and to suggest some of its key failings. Finally, I suggest the ways these problems can be overcome - and class salvaged in the process - by turning to Bourdieu.