Class Inequality Flashcards
A person’s societal position is based on a combination of their class, status and party - Social Class is now more fragmented (Weber)
Claimed there’d been emergence of 4 different social class groups within Capitalist societies - approach allows for finely graded occupational classes based on own market position
All people within each class share similar chances - Weber defined social classes as clusters of occupations
4 Classes:
Propertied upper class
Property - less white collar workers
Petty - Bourgeoisie
Manual workers (working class)
Social class has become far more complex, there are a range of social class categories preventing a unified experience of class
(Draper)
M/C = diverse in lifestyle,
occupation + attitude = little
cohesion
like a dish of herrings and
strawberries - one extreme end is
SUPER RICH ELITE MIDDLE CLASS
other side range of LOW LEVEL
occupations = both defined M/C
but hard to distinguish from
income, status etc
Hard for M/C to share common
interests or unite together for
political situations
A person’s experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they receive from others
(Weber and Parkin)
defined status as most important cause of stratification. refers to social honour,
prestige, and superior. High
socio-economic positions
and legal/public occupations
hold status. Low social class
occupations can gain status
through achievements.
Those without status face
prejudice and discrimination.
White MC men use
exclusionary closure to keep
“negatively privileged status
groups” out of high status
positions.
A person’s “power” or “party” can influence how much influence they have within society ( Weber and Beck)
“Party”
refers to the influence
someone has over decision-making in legislation. Unions, pressure
groups, and campaigns like
Greenpeace and BLM have
more “party” than political
parties, promoting equality
and defending the
environment. New social
movements have created
distinct political identities.
