Marxist Theory Of Age Inequality

Question 1

What are the four explanations of age inequality?

Answer 1

1. The young and the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society
2. Individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position
3. The elderly are forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young, productive workers
4. The capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues

Question 2

Who said the young and the elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society?

Answer 2

• Phillipson

Question 3

What did Phillipson say?

Answer 3

• elderly have historically been used as a reserve army of labour but this role has grown in recent years
• age inequality can be seen as something constructed by the bourgeoise as the youth are easy to exploit and the elderly are deemed not capable
• often hired as temporary or zero hour contracts which is beneficial to suit the needs of capitalism

Question 4

Who said individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position?

Answer 4

• Gramsci

Question 5

What did Gramsci say?

Answer 5

• discusses the importance of maintaining ruling class dominance within a capitalist system
• capitalist state as being made up of two overlapping spheres: rule through force (uses army, police, prison and courts to force other classes to accept its rule) or rule through consent (uses ideas and values to persuade the subordinate classes that its rule is legitimate)
• false consciousness explains that people do not realise their exploitation often through concessions they receive thus the elderly and youth do not question their exploitation through the labour market accepting zero hour contracts as they feel they get a small benefit in return

Question 6

Who said the elderly are forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young, productive workers?

Answer 6

• Phillipson and Townsend

Question 7

What did Phillipson and Townsend say?

Answer 7

• discuss how other Marxist views of age inequality discuss how the inequality must be had to meet the needs of the economy
• the elderly are placed negatively as a burden on the economy so are institutionally marginalised through process of institutionalised dependency ; elderly being forced to retire, to meet needs of economy making space for young workers
• due to institutionalised dependency, status of the elderly is lowered in society as they’re not seen as valuable to the economy

Question 8

Who said the capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues?

Answer 8

• Vincent

Question 9

What did Vincent say?

Answer 9

• sees state pensions as creating disadvantage because they are too low
• the issue of state pensions is made worse by the setting a retirement age
• not seen as a necessity because people can’t work but as something that has been constructed by capitalism because of the need to control a surplus of labour and it allows companies to sell private pensions
• moral panic over ageing population created to justify inequality faced by retired people, this is a social construct and main problem is not ageing but a failure to redistribute wealth (if government redistributed sufficient income from the wealthy there would not be a problem with providing social care)
• presenting ageing as a problem presents an ideological distraction, elderly act as scapegoat for economic issues