ethnicity Flashcards
functionalist
The host- immigration model – Patterson (1965)
The arrivals of immigrants disrupted the stable society that British people had. The norms and values the immigrants upheld were culturally different to the norms and values in British society. Patterson interpreted these clashes in terms of understandable fears and anxieties on the part of the host community. She claimed that the host were not actually racist, just very unsure about how to act towards the newcomers. the failure of immigrants to assimilate i.e. to become totally ‘British’ and integrate.
Weberian theory and Ethnicity inequality
Weber had a strong influenced on explanations for racial discrimination and inequality because he was keen to point out that stratification in modern society could occur on the basis of status and party as well as class (economic factors).
Rex and Tomlinson (1979) in their Weberian-influenced study
material disadvantage experienced by ethnic minorities in the area was so great that it actually cut them off from the White working-class group. Rex and Tomlinson found that ethnic minorities formed a separate underclass beneath the White working class, where they experienced disadvantage with regard to the labour market, housing, and education. Moreover, these disadvantages were worsened by the hostility directed at them by white society. Rex and Tomlinson argued that a Black underclass had been created, consisting of people who felt marginalised, alienated, and frustrated. Furthermore, the Black underclass’ experience of status inequality was further compounded by them feeling as if they had been socially excluded from the standard of living that most other members of society took for granted, as well as overzealous policing, which they experienced as harassment. Therefore, Rex and Tomlinson concluded that in a capitalist society, the underclass are the ultimate victims and ethnic minorities are heavily concentrated within the underclass.
Cox (1970) – Racism (Marxist)
Cox argues that racism has its origins in the development of capitalism, with its need to systematically exploit labour power.
He argued that early capitalism went hand in hand with colonialism. As European nations conquered other areas of the world, they were able to exploit the workforce in those colonies and they justified their actions through racism, by claiming that white Europeans were superior to other races.
It is not only white people who are capable of racism, but it was white people who developed capitalism, and therefore it was they who first developed racism.
According to Cox, if capitalism had not developed, then the world may never have experienced racial prejudice.
Castles and Kosack (1973) (Marxist)
looked at immigrant workers in Britain. reserve army of labour
Believe that capitalist economies were unstable, periods of boom and slump, and therefore a reserve arm of labour needed to be available to be hired and fired as the fluctuating fortunes of the economy.
After the Second World War, capitalist societies exhausted their indigenous reserve army of labour: women. Therefore, countries in Europe turned to immigrant labour to provide a necessary cheap pool of workers who could be profitably exploited.
feminist
Brewer (1993)
Sees the basis of black feminist theory as an understanding of race, class and gender as simultaneous forces. Black women suffer from disadvantages because they are black, women and working-class, but their problems are more than the sum of these parts; each inequality reinforces and multiples the other inequalities. The distinctive feature of Black feminism to Brewer is that it studies the 'interplay' of race, class, and gender in shaping the lives and restricting the life chances of black women.
Mirza (1997)
Mirza (1997) supports Brewer by arguing that there is a need for a distinctive Black feminism. She does not claim that Black women have a unique insight into what is true and what is not, but she does believe that this group can make an important contribution to the development of feminist theory. In fact, Black feminists can challenge the distorted assumptions of
dominant groups by drawing on their own experiences, and in doing so can offer other ways of thinking that can ‘invoke some measure of critical race/gender reflexivity into mainstream academic thinking’.
new rights
Murray (1984)
Murray argued that the USA had a growing underclass that posed a serious threat to American society. He expressed concerns that government policies were encouraging increasing numbers of Americans to become dependent on benefits. Furthermore, he claimed that during the 1960s, welfare reforms led to an increase in the number of never-married black single mothers, and many black youths losing interest in getting a job. Therefore, he argued that increases in the levels of benefits were counterproductive as they discouraged self-sufficiency and were costly to tax payers.
