This book investigates the conceptual ambiguity surrounding property and power within social and political theories of class inequality. Dick Pels examines the intellectual history of these concepts to address why they remain poorly defined despite their central role in stratification theory. By analyzing the historical development of these ideas, the author provides a framework for understanding how property and power interact in modern social structures.

Experts recognize this work as a rigorous contribution to the history of social thought, particularly for its focus on the intellectual rivalry between competing theories. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for scholars and students of political sociology.