The connections between the polarization of living conditions, social conflicts concerning the distribution of resources and the perception of social inequality in Germany will be picked out as a central theme. By means of empirical findings it becomes clear that the degree of inequality and...

Das Diskussionspapier thematisiert die objektive und subjektive Lebenslage von Arbeitslosen in Deutschland im Vergleich zur Gesamtbevölkerung. Die Ergebnisse indizieren eine deutlich schlechtere materielle, d. h. objektive Lebenslage der Arbeitslosen. Dies reflektiert sich in den auf...

How can we engage in a market relationship when the quality of the goods we want to acquire is unknown, invisible, or uncertain? For market exchange to be possible, purchasers and suppliers of goods must be able to assess the quality of a product in relation to other products. Only by...

Political economy and economic sociology have developed in relative isolation from each other. While political economy focuses largely on macrophenomena, economic sociology focuses on the level of social interaction in the economy. The paper argues that economic sociology can provide a...

Understanding the valuation of goods in markets has become one of the key topics in economic sociology in recent years. Especially in markets for goods that are valued for their aesthetic qualities, the ascription of value appears to be a complex social process because product quality is highly...

How do judgment devices influence price formation? We investigate this question through a study of the German wine market. The German wine market is characterized by the simultaneous existence of two classification systems: the official classification system referring to the quality in the...

Capitalism is an economic and social order oriented toward the future. In this paper, I describe the unfolding of the temporal order of capitalism and relate it to the restless dynamism of capitalism we have observed since the Industrial Revolution. Since the future is open, actors are...

Die Entwicklung moderner Gesellschaften wird durch die Dynamik des Zusammenwirkens von Märkten und marktkorrigierenden Institutionen, von Wirtschaft und Politik bestimmt. Wirtschaftlicher Erfolg, soziale Ordnung, politische Stabilität hängen wesentlich von ihrem Zusammenspiel ab. Die...

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The economy and economics are important fields in Talcott Parsons's work. Parsons's contributions on this subject were, however, mostly critically received in the new economic sociology. In this article, main points of criticism of Parsons's economic sociology will be discussed and the question...