Abstract

In this paper, I try to strike a brief balance concerning the discussion between Goldthorpe and his critics appeared in the second issue of Sociologica. After examining the main criticisms presented to Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, I maintain that this notion is still a useful devise to construct a general theory of social stratification. Surely, the concept - especially in its first formulation in 1970 - lacks precision and is pervaded to a certain extent by ideological biases. Nevertheless, Bourdieu's theory of social mobility places power as the central key to sociological analysis, and this aspect makes his approach a valuable and fruitful contribution.