Explanations of Inequality Introduction/Functionalism and New Right (40) Flashcards
Inequality
The existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society.
Social Inequality
The idea that some people are at a disadvantage in various areas of life due to a particular characteristic like race, gender, age or social class. (Edu and Health)
Introduction: Attempts to combat discrimination
- Race Relations Act: Combat ethnic discrimination and have all public institutions to promote ethnic equality
- The Equality Act 2010: Bars discrimination based on these characteristics as well as disability, sexual preference, pregnancy and marital status.
Functionalism (Parsons)
- Society is based on a value consensus (shared common values) Makes society functional as there is an agreement and social order.
- Institutions socialise individuals into the ‘culture’ of society.
- Also, provide the ‘sanctions’ to help reinforce behaviour and the appropriate standards.
- Social Order is produced through the patterns of predictable behaviour arrived at via socialisation.
- Meritocracy
Meritocracy
- A social system in which people get opportunities and succeed based primarily on their talent and effort.
- Argues that social inequality is due to inequality of talent rather than prejudice or discrimination.
Meritocracy Evidence (YouGov)
78% believe that is it is the government’s job to ensure rich and poor children have the same values (2013)
-Shared values of society
British Society according to Functionalists
Meritocratic and The Land of Opportunity.
Anyone can be successful if they work hard.
Meaning that society has to be unfair so it is structured in a way so the most talented are incentivised to work hard to do the hardest jobs
Incentivised with things like prestige, rewards and status
Davis and Moore (1945)
- One of societies ‘functional prerequisites’ is effective role allocation and performance
- Meaning all roles must be filled by those best able to perform them.
- Roles must be performed conscientiously and this role allocation must be done meritocratically.
Role Allocation (Davis and Moore)
- Allocated on the basis of skills/ ‘specialised division of labour’
- High rewards to top positions attract the best and make up for sacrifices
- Competition for these positions ensures the most talented
- Training and education will be required for these positions so high rewards motivate high performance
Doctors Example
- Doctors graduated in 2013 will have debts of more than £82,000.
- Train for 6 years to qualify.
- Prestige, high wage and respect is their motivation.
Education (Davis and Moore)
- Education main role is to promote meritocracy.
- Meritocratic education system/“sifting, sorting and selecting was done”
- Identify the most skilled with qualifications and match them to the most important roles.
- High rewards are attached to these positions to motivate people to compete for them.
- Competition leads to the best people succeeding as they are most motivated
Functionalism and Inequality
Meritocracy refutes the idea that inequality as those who don't achieve is just not putting in enough effort. Not because of their gender, ethnicity, social class or age.
Functionalism and Inequality Example (Milburn)
Found 13% of children in 2014 from the lowest income quartile rose up to the highest quartile in adulthood
Functionalism Criticisms: Milburn
Also found the majority in the top income quartile also grew up in it
Limits explanation and shows that Britain is elitist
Functionalism Criticisms: Advantages of Elites
Not everyone has an equal chance.
Parents with political and economic power put kids in top positions even if they don’t deserve it.
-2/3 of Brits believe its who you know over what you know
Functionalism Criticisms: Conflict Theories
- Conflict theorists are sceptical of meritocracy.
- Issues such as Private education and Lack of equality, Setting, Fees and Elite self-recruitment
Functionalism Criticisms: Tumin and Job Importance
- D/M assumes that the most rewarded positions are the most important but there is no objective way of measuring the functional importance of a job, and they ignore the influence of power on the unequal distribution of rewards.
- Nurses are important but do not have the same prestige
- Royal College of Nurses found 7/10 think nurses are underpaid
Functionalism Criticisms: Tumin
- Inequality is not inevitable and can be dysfunctional, can de-motivate and divide, create disharmony and lack of stability.
- Major obstacles like S/C and Ethnicity that are ignored
- There is a difference in rewards depending on gender
Gender Pay Gap Example
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2017) men wages are 17% higher than women’s in the same position
The New Right
Based on consensus.
Ideas which has influenced the political right and the Conservative party in recent years.
The New Right and Functionalism
Agree with F and use it as the basis of their own theory.
Inequality is functional so sympathetic to D/M.
Inequality is not inevitable, however.
The NR view on Inequality
- Society is more or less fair but people are no longer motivated to work hard.
- State took away incentives by establishing the Welfare State.
- Undermines individuals responsibility to sustain themselves.
Murray (1980s)
- Gov intervention has created a ‘dependency culture’
- Welfare benefits for the unemployed and lone-parent families have created the ‘underclass’ of people trapped at the bottom of society.
- Underclass a drain on taxpayers as they pay for their benefits but also there poorly socialised children, who due poorly in edu and turn to crime
- “The Bell Curve” reports on racial differences in IQ score.
- Black in the U.S. score lower on average than white
Sauders (1990s)
- We live in ‘fluid and open society’
- Stratification is not inevitable
- An equal society only possible if the threat of death or prison was used. As everyone would need to do jobs to best ability without rewards
- Legal and Opportunity equality is possible but rejects equality of outcomes as would be rewarded regardless of whether or not it was deserved
- A degree of inequality is desirable and functional in order to motivate people to compete, as everyone has an equal opportunity to take part in the competition.
- Attempts to equalise are misguided.
- Attempts to ensure that w/c children do as well as m/c children are mistaken because he argues that m/c children are more able and intelligent and deserve it.
- Intelligence is inherited and m/c have brighter parents so have a genetic advantage.
