I 1998 placerede den internationale sociologiske forening bogen som nummer 4 blandt det 20. århundredes vigtigste sociologiske bøger, efter Webers ''Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft'' fra 1921, [[C. Wright Mills]]' ''The Sociological Imagination'' fra 1959 og [[Robert K. Merton]]s ''Social Theory and Social Structure'' fra 1949.<ref name="isa-sociology">{{cite web|url=http://www.isa-sociology.org/en/about-isa/history-of-isa/books-of-the-xx-century/|title=ISA - International Sociological Association: Books of the Century|publisher=International Sociological Association|year=1998|access-date=2012-07-25}}</ref> Det er den ottende-mest citerede [[samfundsvidenskab]]elige bog udgivet før 1950.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Green|first1=Elliott|title=What are the most-cited publications in the social sciences (according to Google Scholar)?|url=http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2016/05/12/what-are-the-most-cited-publications-in-the-social-sciences-according-to-google-scholar/|website=LSE Impact Blog|publisher=[[London School of Economics]]|date=12. maj 2016}}</ref>
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