Inequality Concepts Flashcards
Durkheim
social Darwinism
survival of the fittest, those who have natural ability survive in society.
Durkheim
social cohesion
inequality in society is necessary for it to function to create social cohesion and encourage hard work.
parsons
meritocracy
(ladder of opportunity, social mobility, achieved status) the harder you work in society the better you will do.
davis & Moore
role allocation
roles are given in society according to effort and ability (achieved status)
Friedman & Bauer
laissez faire economics
letting the economy operate without intervention and under free market principals, letting people fend for themselves.
Friedman & Bauer
Trickle down economics
when those at the top have more they spend more.
Murray
cycle of deprivation
when people are born into poverty they are doomed to repeat the cycle
saunders
welfare dependency of the unskilled
those who have no useful skills become reliant on welfare and do nothing of worth to contribute to society
marx
Economic base
Inequality is maintained in society by controlling the superstructure which maintains the economic base.
Althusser
Alienation of workers
Workers become alienated from they work they do because they don’t care about the work they do, (fire and rehire)
(Goran Therborn)
Existential inequality
restricting freedoms of the working class covertly (Voter id in the UK)
Antonio Gramsci
Hegemony
The ruling class rarely need to use force because they rule through persuasion. The ruling class use cultural and political means to encourage the working class to side with them to ensure the stability of the capitalist system. Institutions like the media and education are used to control people’s ideas.
Dual Consciousness
Gramsci
Gramsci believed that some of the w/c have a dual consciousness, where they are aware of inequalities and injustices in the capitalist system. He believed that it was the role of the left-wing intellectuals to build on this awareness and lead a w/c revolution.
