Ethnic Inequality- Functionalism Flashcards
What did Functionalists believe about the cause for ethnic inequalities experienced by immigrants?
They were the product of their cultural differences and their relatively low levels of skills
What’s the name of the society where functionalists believe ethnic inequalities would decline? How?
Meritocratic society
Immigrants would adopt norms/values of mainstream society and climb up career ladder.
What did Patterson discuss?
The Host-Immigration-Model
What does Patterson’s theory present Britain as?
Stable, orderly, high consensus, homogeneous
Define ‘homogeneous’
A group/society with individuals that share the same norms/values
What did the arrival of immigrants result in?
A culture clash
What were the three causes of ethnic inequality?
- Fear (of cultural differences and social change)
- Resentment (more competition for jobs and housing)
- Failure of Immigrant assimilation.
What is the impact of ‘cultural strangeness’?
Hostility towards immigrants’ culture if expressed in public.
What did Patterson think Britain would move towards? How would this happen?
Racial harmony- moving towards a full cultural assimilation by taking on norms/values of hosts’ society by shedding ‘old’ ethnic values.
What are the three stages immigrants go through to completely assimilate?
- Accommodation- minimal adaption and accepting mainstream culture.
- Integration- socialising with other ethnicity outside of work.
- Assimilation- complete acceptance.
(C) What is Patterson naïve to assume?
That all ethnic minority groups assimilate into British culture.
(C) What would Postmodernists say?
Britain is multicultural, diversity should be celebrated.
(C) What would Marxists say?
- Patterson ignores the significant role capitalism plays within society, and how the division of people by race helps maintain the capitalist structure.
- Assimilation is an idealistic goal which is impossible to achieve under capitalism.
