John Scott

First published in 1985, Corporations, Classes and Capitalism raises some crucial questions – how important are large multinational companies? Who really controls the economy? Is government policy able to influence business activities? John Scott examines the transformation of industrial property over the last hundred years and, through the use of extensive empirical data, relates this transformation to the actual structure of control over business decision-making. The book considers the rival theories of industrial society and capitalist society and argues that neither provides a satisfactory account of the development of industrial capitalism. Building on these theories, and the critical debates they have generated, John Scott develops an alternative model of corporate control – control through a constellation of interests. He argues that this new form of impersonal possession has emerged in Britian, America, Australia and Canada but is not so strongly developed in other economies. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, political science, and economics.

This book develops a theoretical approach to social stratification and applies it to the development of the official system of state honours in Britain. It examines both class and status, and sets out an innovative framework for understanding social status – an important but often ignored and misunderstood dimension of social stratification. It is shown that a system of peerages, knighthoods, and other state-based royal honours emerged from feudal patterns of political rule and became an unplanned framework of social integration in the UK that has, since the nineteenth century, decayed and been challenged by alternative criteria of status. The book explores the class basis of the rise and decay of royal honours and includes a review of contemporary attempts to reconstruct and renew a system of social honour that reflects contemporary relations of power and class in Britain. It will be of interest to scholars and students of class, social inequality and British social structure.

Ten percent of the world’s population lives on islands, but until now the place and space characteristics of islands in criminological theory have not been deeply considered. This book moves beyond the question of whether islands have more, or less, crime than other places, and instead addresses issues of how, and by whom, crime is defined in island settings, which crimes are policed and visible, and who is subject to regulation. These questions are informed by ‘the politics of place and belonging’ and the distinctive social networks and normative structures of island communities.

This book introduces the non-specialist reader to the principal ideas, nature and purpose of social network analysis. Social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals achieve their goals. Social network theory maps these relationships between individual actors and has become hugely influential across the social sciences. Assuming no prior knowledge of quantitative sociology, and avoiding technicalities, this book presents the key ideas in context through examples and illustrations. Using a structured approach to understanding work in this area, John Scott signposts further reading and online sources so that readers can develop their knowledge and skills to become practitioners of this research method. A series of Frequently Asked Questions takes the reader through the main objections raised against social network analysis. The new edition updates the overview of the discipline with more recent work and current research in sociology.

This book introduces the non-specialist reader to the principal ideas, nature and purpose of social network analysis. Social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals achieve their goals. Social network theory maps these relationships between individual actors and has become hugely influential across the social sciences. Assuming no prior knowledge of quantitative sociology, and avoiding technicalities, this book presents the key ideas in context through examples and illustrations. Using a structured approach to understanding work in this area, John Scott signposts further reading and online sources so that readers can develop their knowledge and skills to become practitioners of this research method. A series of Frequently Asked Questions takes the reader through the main objections raised against social network analysis. The new edition updates the overview of the discipline with more recent work and current research in sociology.

This book develops a theoretical approach to social stratification and applies it to the development of the official system of state honours in Britain. It examines both class and status, and sets out an innovative framework for understanding social status – an important but often ignored and misunderstood dimension of social stratification. It is shown that a system of peerages, knighthoods, and other state-based royal honours emerged from feudal patterns of political rule and became an unplanned framework of social integration in the UK that has, since the nineteenth century, decayed and been challenged by alternative criteria of status. The book explores the class basis of the rise and decay of royal honours and includes a review of contemporary attempts to reconstruct and renew a system of social honour that reflects contemporary relations of power and class in Britain. It will be of interest to scholars and students of class, social inequality and British social structure.

First published in 1985, Corporations, Classes and Capitalism raises some crucial questions – how important are large multinational companies? Who really controls the economy? Is government policy able to influence business activities? John Scott examines the transformation of industrial property over the last hundred years and, through the use of extensive empirical data, relates this transformation to the actual structure of control over business decision-making. The book considers the rival theories of industrial society and capitalist society and argues that neither provides a satisfactory account of the development of industrial capitalism. Building on these theories, and the critical debates they have generated, John Scott develops an alternative model of corporate control – control through a constellation of interests. He argues that this new form of impersonal possession has emerged in Britian, America, Australia and Canada but is not so strongly developed in other economies. This book will be of interest to students of sociology, political science, and economics.