The sociology of social classes in Portugal was undeniably shaped by the impact of research conducted by the sociologist João Ferreira de Almeida (1941-2022). In collaboration with António Firmino da Costa and Fernando Luís Machado, for instance, Almeida contributed to the development of a theoretical-methodological model – the ACM typology – important for operationalizing the analysis of Portuguese social classes. In broad terms, the typology articulates occupations and employment status in a classification matrix of individuals into seven social classes: i) entrepreneurs and executives; ii) professionals and managers; iii) self-employed workers; iv) self-employed farmers; v) routine employees; vi) agricultural workers; and vii) industrial workers. Since its development, this model has been applied in various studies over time, conducted by a significant number of researchers interested in the phenomenon of social classes. However, to what extent is the ACM typology still heuristically valid for examining the social stratification of contemporary Portuguese society? To what extent does this typology remain efficient for classifying individuals with a view to analysing attitudes and social values in Portugal? The objective of this communication is to provide answers to these and other questions to test the potential of the ACM typology through the exploration of data collected and made available by the European Social Survey (ESS). To do so, the results of an analysis developed using different data analysis methods applied to axes continuously explored by the ESS will be presented. In this way, the aim is to explore the potential of the ACM typology through a systematic analysis of the differences in social classes not only in terms of their sociodemographic profiles but also regarding their social values and political attitudes, especially concerning their political orientations and forms of political participation, understanding and evaluation of different elements of democracy, levels of subjective well-being, and perceptions they have about topics sensitive to social life, data obtained through the ESS.

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