Explanation:

- Option 1: Max Weber

- Weber looked at class, status, and party as different sources of power.

- He did discuss class in relation to economics, but his focus was broader—he cared about social status and authority too.

- Option 2: Parsons

- Parsons was all about social systems and structure.

- He didn’t really define class strictly by production or wealth but by the roles people played within bigger systems.

- Option 3: Merton

- Merton is famous for theories like “role model” and “deviance,” not for defining class by wealth or production.

- Option 4: Karl Marx

- Here’s the heart of it—Marx was laser-focused on how classes are formed and defined by their role in producing and distributing wealth.

- He split society into the proletariat (workers) and bourgeoisie (owners).

- For Marx, class struggle was all about who controls the wealth and means of production.