Age Inequality

Question 1

What are the four explanations of age inequality?

Answer 1

1. The young and the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society
2. Individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position
3. The elderly are forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young productive workers
4. The capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues

Question 2

Who said the young and the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society?

Answer 2

• Phillipson

Question 3

Who said the individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position?

Answer 3

• Gramsci

Question 4

Who said the elderly are forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young productive workers?

Answer 4

• Phillipson and Townsend

Question 5

Who said the capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues?

Answer 5

• Vincent

Question 6

Why do the young and elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society?

Answer 6

• elderly have historically been used as a reserve army of labour, this role has grown in recent years so age inequality constructed by the bourgeoisie

Question 7

Why are individuals kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position?

Answer 7

• discusses the importance of maintaining ruling class dominance within a capitalist system
• false consciousness explains that people do not realise the exploitation through concessions they receive

Question 8

Why are the elderly forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young productive workers?

Answer 8

• elderly are institutionally marginalised through the process of institutionalised dependency

Question 9

Why does the capitalist class manipulate the elderly into retiring and use them as scapegoat for societal issues?

Answer 9

• issue of the state pensions is made worse by setting a retirement age, not a necessity as people can’t work but as something that has been constructed by capitalism because of the need to control a surplus of labour and allows companies to sell private pensions
• presenting ageing as a problem presents an ideological distraction, the elderly act as a scapegoat for economic issues