class and inequality Flashcards
PROLETARIAT
those who produced goods
/exploited
BOURGEOISIE
those who own the means of production, focussed on maximizing products (capitalists)
Karl marx
The class ppl belong to influences how they relate to others, esp to members of other classes
Class is fixed
Oppression reflected economic disparity resulting from the division of labour between proletariat and capitalist to be imbalance where one group benefits from the
product of another’s labour
→ class consciousness helps recognize oppression and action for protection (ex. Demanding higher wages, better working conditions, secure employment, formation of unions)
Class consciousness
a sense of shared identity and common interests that stems from an awareness of similar economic position
Weber
Grounded notion of class in life chances from a group’s status
Intersectionality
individs occupy multiple social identities- such as race, gender, sexuality, and ability- that intersect and interact w each other in complicated ways
Social stratification
the creation of social groups w diff wealth, status and opps (upper, middle, working, lower class) → a hierarchical system of inequality
Functionalism
Inequality and poverty serve important functions in society
Poverty motivates ppl to work harder to improve their life conditions
Rewards such as income and status motivate ppl to occupy certain necessary positions in society (highest rewards to positions hardest to fill bc of need of specialized skill sets and knowledge or credentials, thats why “easier” jobs get less reward and can be easily replaced)
Cons:
A competitive market is not proven to the survival/well being of society or socially necessary
Ignores the development of needed skills and talents in society can be driven by other factors than money
Talent skill and effort arent the only thing that determine which ppl are gonna get a job and the rewards (passion, humility rather than economic interests)
Conflict theory
A structural power imbalance exists between capitalists and workers
Workers depend on wages for survival and are therefore vulnerable to exploitation
By exploiting workers through poor working conditions and poor pay, owners amass more wealth for themselves
Tends to promote revolution and societal change
Marx concept of false consciousness: individuals within a society may hold beliefs that are not in alignment with their true interests, but instead serve to uphold the interests of those in power. In other words, individuals may be unaware of their own oppression and exploitation due to the influence of dominant ideologies.
Media and education systems used to propagate ideologies of the ruling class and reinforce exploitation of the working class and lead individuals to believe that their own interests and the interests of the ruling class are one and the same.
Alienation
interrupting class consciousness and separating the working class from each other which make it difficult to recognize the common interests that exist between themselves and other members of the working class.
-Technology slowly replacing human labour to reduce costs → loss of jobs
4 types of alienation
Alienation of the worker: Workers are separated from their humanity as they become integrated into an industrial system made up of machines.
Alienation between workers: In a capitalist system, labour becomes yet another commodity to be exchanged rather than a meaningful social relationship between worker and employer.
Alienation of the worker from the product: The product is commodified and mass produced, thereby ceasing to be under the worker’s control.
Alienation from the act of production itself: Work is perceived as a meaningless activity, with few or no intrinsic satisfactions.
Dialectical materialism:
a conflict of classes, caused by material needs, gives rise to political and historical upheavals, which, in the long run, can be seen as a series of contradictions and their solutions.
-the Marxist solution to social problems is to end all class differences through protest and armed revolt
Feminism
Class, gender, and racial inequalities interplay to explain the individual hardships suffered by many marginalized genders.
Marginalized genders experience class inequality differently than men.
Women’s wages are rarely at par with those of their male counterparts, selling women, and particularly racialized and Indigenous women, short in the labour market.
Symbolic interactionism
This approach focuses on the symbols associated with different classes.
We are socialized to employ and recognize status symbols and their social meaning.
Conspicuous consumption: The purchasing of valuable goods to express class belonging and status.
Status symbols and distinguishing between social classes
Upward social mobility:
The ability to move from the social class one was raised into a “higher” or more desirable social class with greater earning potential and opportunities, and fewer barriers.
a key indicator of a society’s openness and well-being.
Exchange mobility:
can only occur when an existing position becomes vacant. (ex. stuco)
Structural mobility
result of structural growth through the creation of new jobs or positions and is commonly associated with organizational or economic growth.
Intergenerational mobility
(nepo baby): movement of people into positions that are higher or lower than the positions held by their parents
-generational wealth
Intragenerational mobility
social mobility within a person’s lifespan
-self made
Meritocracy
the belief that individuals who are skilled and competent can aspire to reach the top based solely on their merits (myth)
—> doesn’t acknowledge the systemic forces and our unconscious and conscious biases that get in the way. A lack of success may be attributed to a personal failing rather than systemic marginalization based on ethnicity, culture, gender, religious belief, or sexual orientation. (structural barriers than personal bias)
measures of poverty
LICO: low income cut off: identifies income thresholds below which a family will likely spend a larger proportion of its income on necessities than will an average family of a similar size )spending majority on housing and not enough for food, clothing, transport, education)
MBM: market basket measure: calculates how much income a household requires to meet its needs, including both subsistence needs (e.g., basic food and shelter) and the needs that satisfy community norms (e.g., appearance norms set by the type of clothes worn in that community)
LIM: low income measure → calculates the low-income threshold of a household as one-half of the median income of a household of the same size in a similar-sized community. counts households according to their relative poverty; in other words, not by what they can or can’t afford to buy but by how much less they have than others in their community.
Absolute poverty
not having enough income to meet basic survival needs such as water, food, shelter, and access to critical health care.
Relative poverty
describes people or families with enough income to survive but not enough to afford an average standard of living.
strategy
in 2018, released a report titled Opportunity for All: Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy and, in 2019, passed the Poverty Reduction Act to set the MBM as Canada’s first official poverty line
