New Right Theory Of Social Class Inequality

Question 1

What are the four explanations of class inequality?

Answer 1

1. Inequality must occur to encourage competition
2. If work is done to try and equalise society, individuals become morally complacent
3. There is no incentive to work hard without inequality in society due to the welfare state
4. Those from higher social class groups are part of the cognitive elite so do better than those from lower social classes

Question 2

Who said inequality must occur to encourage competition?

Answer 2

• Saunders

Question 3

Who said if work is done to try and equalise society, individuals become morally complacent?

Answer 3

• Murray

Question 4

Who said there is no incentive to work hard without inequality in society due to the welfare state?

Answer 4

• Marsland

Question 5

Who said those from higher social class groups are part of the cognitive elite so do better than those from lower social classes?

Answer 5

• Herrnstein and Murray

Question 6

What did Saunders say?

Answer 6

• does not see stratification as an inevitable part of all societies
• a society based on social equality would only be possible if considerable force were used
• some forms of inequality is right and everyone enjoys legal equality
• supports the principle of equality of opportunity
• a degree of inequality is desirable and functional in order to motivate people to compete

Question 7

What did Murray say?

Answer 7

• criticises how government policies encourages underclass to become dependant on welfare state as it causes laziness
• critical of educational policy change (education reform act)
• blames single mothers as it’s a women’s duty to make a marriage work and also blames for poor socialisation of boys leading them to commit crime

Question 8

What did Marsland say?

Answer 8

• dependency culture refers to the idea that long term welfare recipients develop a mindset where they become reliant on state benefits rather than striving for independence through work and personal effort eroding traditional values like responsibility and creating a cycle of dependency
• leads to decline in moral standards, weakens family structure and contributes to social problems such as crime so advocates for reducing welfare benefits and encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their own life

Question 9

What did Herrnstein and Murray say?

Answer 9

• intelligence often measured by IQ, plays a big role in determining people’s education, income and overall social status
• society is becoming more divided based on intelligence creating a group of highly intelligent individuals who have better access to opportunities and resources
• because of these differences in intelligence, efforts to reduce inequality might not work as well as hoped
• higher intelligence is more common among those in upper socioeconomic classes but they do not claim that all individuals in the upper class inherently have higher IQs
• Instead argue that intelligence can influence educational and job opportunities which can lead to better socioeconomic status