Distinctionat the Class-Fraction Level? A Re-Examination of Bourdieu’s Dataset

Abstract

This study examines the consistency of Pierre Bourdieu’s homology thesis by assessing, at a class-fraction level, the statistical significance of the differences in taste and lifestyle reported in Distinction. According to Bourdieu, taste and lifestyle vary not only from one social class to another, but also within social classes themselves, depending on the type of capital (notably, cultural or economic) that prevails among class fractions. In this article, we estimate the cultural distance separating eight fractions of the middle and upper classes by performing bilateral between-proportion comparison tests. Two levels of analysis are considered: the intra-class and the inter-class fraction levels. The first level only involves within-class comparisons. It aims to test the empirical basis of the concept of capital composition. The second level only involves comparisons between middle-class and upper-class fractions. It aims to test Bourdieu’s representation of social space. Results indicate that 1) the composition of capital is associated with taste variability in both the middle and upper classes, and 2) taste similarities and dissimilarities between fractions belonging to different classes are linked to cultural capital. In sum, this study provides additional evidence for the consistency of Bourdieu’s homology thesis.