Stratification among Small Shopkeepers: A Study on the Shopkeepers of Howrah Contextualising Congruence of Market Situation and Status Position

Abstract

The field of social stratification has predominantly focused on the working class, leaving other social strata underexplored. This bias, heavily influenced by Marxian and anti-Marxian perspectives, has shaped both theoretical debates and empirical research, emphasizing working-class responses to structural changes in post-war advanced industrial societies. As a result, while considerable data exists on the working class, comparable studies addressing the middle class, particularly the lower middle class, remain scarce. Within this overlooked stratum, the small independent businessman—a significant subset of the lower middle class—has received minimal scholarly attention.

This paper argues that economic and social transformations have profoundly affected the position of small entrepreneurs, challenging their traditional middle-class identity anchored in property ownership and control. These changes, while extensively studied in the context of white-collar workers and debates on proletarianization or embourgeoisement, have left the dynamics of small business ownership under-examined. By focusing on the market situations and social status of small independent businessmen, this study seeks to illuminate how economic forces have reshaped their status, rendering their middle-class membership more tenuous.

Through a qualitative lens, this research explores the nuanced ways in which these individuals navigate changing market conditions and societal expectations. It highlights the need for a broader and more inclusive understanding of social stratification that extends beyond the working class, addressing the complexities and transformations within the middle class. This study aims to contribute to a more comprehensive discourse on class dynamics in contemporary society.