AGE INEQUALITY Flashcards
What are the 4 explanations + sociologists for age inequalities
functionalism
- Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow younger generations to take control of the family. (Parsons)
- Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow the younger generation to be productive at work. (Cumming and Henry, support with dependency ratio)
- Age inequality for the young has to occur to allow young people to cope with the challenges of adult life. (Eisenstadt)
- Age inequalities are a result of anomie. (DURKHEIM’S CONCEPT APPLIED TO EXPLANATION)
who supports the explaination: Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow younger generations to take control of the family. + their ideas
functionalist theory
PARSONS
* Society is in agreement over social roles.
* Old people disengage from their central role in the family allow space for their children to create their own families.
who are the 2 sociologists that support the explaination: Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow the younger generation to be productive at work. + their ideas
functionalist theory
CUMMING AND HENRY
Argued that there should always be more financially independent people than financially dependent- otherwise the economy would break down.
SUPPORT WITH DEPENDENCY RATIO
How we calculated the number of financially dependent vs financially independent individuals.
who supports the explaination: Age inequality for the young has to occur to allow young people to cope with the challenges of adult life. + their ideas
functionalist theory
EINSTADT
* Saw adolescence as a stage for developing independence.
* Youths need to go from the ascribed status of a child to achieved status of individual adult.
* Suggests that peers create a sense of community that help young people to get through struggles.
who supports the explaination: age inequalities are a result of anomie. + their ideas
functionalist theory
DURKHEIM’S CONCEPT APPLIED TO EXPLANATION
* Suicide is the leading cause of death in children and young people. Them experiencing anomie,
* no longer knowing what their role is supposed to be in society.
what are the 4 points for marxist theory of age inequality + sociologist
- the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society (philipson)
- individuals are kept in a false cosciousness about their exploited position (gramsci)
- the elderly are forced to become dependent to create space in the labour market for young, productive workers (phillipson & Jacobson)
- the capitalist class manipulates the elderly into rertiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal isses (vincent)
who supports the explaination: the young and the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society + their ideas
marxist theory
PHILLIPSON
* stated that a reserve army of labour was necessary part of capitalism
* young and elderly were often put into zero hour contracts as temporary or flexable labour
* age inequality can be seen as something conctructed by the Bourgeoisie.
who supports the explaination: individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position + their ideas
marxist theory
GRAMSCI
* neomarxist- states importance of maintaining ruling class dominance within a capitalist system
capitalist state is made up of two overlapping systems:
* rule through force- army police and prison ect
* rule through consent- ideas and values to persuade subordinate classes
* false consciousness created of their exploitation.
who supports the explaination: the elderly are forced to become dependent to create space in the labour market for the young, productive workers + their ideas
marxist theory
PHILLIPSON AND TOWNSEND
* economy places the elderly in a negative position as a burden on the economy
* economy constantly needs to renew the workforce to employ more productive, young workers
* * the elderly are institutionally marginalised- through a process of institutional dependency (e.g. elderly being forced to retire becuase they arent seen as valuable to the economy )
who supports the explaination: the capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues + their ideas
marxist theory
VINCENT
sees state pensions as creating disadvantage becuase they are too low
* the issue of state pensions is made worse by setting a retirement age.
* this has been constructed by capitalism becuase of the need to control a surplus of labour and allows companies to sell private pensions.
* to justify this inequality, created a moral panic over the ageing population
* suggested this is a social construct
* ageing is presented as an ideological distraction, elderly act as a scapegoat for economic issues
what are the 3 pieces of evidence to show elderly disadvantage within the workplace?
- the national pensioners convention
- barrow and norris
- Johnson
the national pensioners convention
elderly disadvantage in the workplace
- 1 in 5 older people live below the poverty line
- majority of these are females living alone
barron & norris
elderly disadvantage in the workplace
- suggests that the elderly are more likely to be found in the secondary labour market
- this is defined by low pay, low status, no benifits.
Johnson
elderly disadvantage in the workplace
- suggested that agesim occurs in the workplace
- it is expressed through stereotypical assumptions of ones ability of a job due to theur age
- the older you get, the harder it is to get a job.
what are the 3 pieces of evidence to suggest elderly disadvantage in health?
- greengross
- the royal college of surgeons & age uk
- human rights watch
