Social class structure and its Changing trend in Iran (1961 - 1913)

Social class structure as the most impressive social group has wide ranging effects on social relationships and the development of social trends. It is too difficult to clarify different aspects of sociological issues of a society without considering the interferences of this variable. Iran’s social class had witnessed considerable changes during the course the years and that is what this research takes into consideration; Oil and its revenues have contributed significantly to it. This paper aims to study social class transformations during the period of (1961 – 1913) in Iran and also to explore its diverse aspects. Many studies have examined class structure in Iran; yet، there have been few quantitative investigations about it. In order to provide a realistic quantitatively-oriented overview of the class structure and to show the social class chanes during the period، all census data of Statistical Center of Iran have been used. Theoretically، this study relies on Thompson، Wright، and Giddens viewpoints; and Nomani and Behdad’s method in their worthwhile study over the class structure in Iran was also utilized. In this study workforce has been divided into four classes; bourgeois class – petty bourgeois class - working class - middle class. Findings show that numerically petty bourgeois class continuously was above all other classes; and middle class had the most improvement during the time; these signs aren’t fair for the forces of production and its progress.