The issue of socioeconomic inequalities is generally addressed considering the "pole of poverty" detached from its relationship to the "pole of wealth". The imbalance that characterises the latter results from multifaceted processes leading to the emergence of complex forms of appropriation and private fruition of socially produced wealth. It is necessary to return to the debate in terms of social class and formulate new concepts if Sociology is to learn the consequences of the current process on society as a whole, including substantial wealth, the personification of wealth, affluent classes. At the same time, the existence of objective, material hindrances and prejudices should be recognized, since they need to be overcome to enable movement towards the production of critical knowledge about society's division into social classes and the forms of power and modalities of subordination.
social theory; socioeconomic inequalities; substantial wealth; concentration of wealth; personification of wealth