Abstract: This paper reviews the class concepts and class analysis in the Western academia since Karl Marx and describes schools of thought represented by Marx， Weber， Marxism， Weberism and the New Marxism. Marx and Weber determined two kinds of class analysis. Their class concepts have been interpreted and redefined by their followers. However， the new definitions have led to an even blurrier class conceptualization. The class concept has become a core concept in the controversy of social sciences and political struggles. Since the 1980s， New Marxian and New Weberism have taken up the research to operationalize the class conceptualization and have tried to lay out a theoretical framework for empirical studies； thus， the two research routes have started to converge.

Key words: classes, Marxism, New Marxism, Weberism