Final answer:
Marx, Weber, and Bourdieu each offer unique perspectives on social class distinctions, with Marx emphasizing economic relations, Weber including status and power, and Bourdieu focusing on habitus and socialized dispositions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Pierre Bourdieu provided distinct frameworks for understanding social class distinctions. Marx focused on the dichotomy between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, believing that the ownership or lack thereof of production means leads to social stratification with clear lines of conflict. Weber, while acknowledging economic factors as important, also saw class distinctions being informed by status and power - considering additional variables such as education, race, and gender. He posited that society is divided not just by who owns production, but also by noneconomic factors that affect an individual's prestige and influence. Bourdieu, on the other hand, introduced the notion of habitus, which describes the deeply ingrained habits and dispositions people develop based on their social context. He argued that these dispositions are pivotal in maintaining and changing societal structures, such as class systems. He introduced the concept of habitus, which is the ingrained habits and dispositions that individuals acquire based on their status in society.