PATTERNS AND THEORYS - WEBERIAN THEORY

Question 1

which sociologist does Weberian spring from?

Answer 1

Max Weber - conflict theorist

Question 2

what does Weberian theory argue?

Answer 2

inequalities in society are based on the struggle between different groups to secure resources like wealth but status and power are unequally distributed.

Question 3

which key thinker is Weber a critic of?

Answer 3

Marxists

Question 4

what were the three dimensions of social stratification?

Answer 4

1. social class
2. Status
3. Party

Question 5

what does social stratification mean?

Answer 5

refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power.

Question 6

what does Weber describe the social class as?

Answer 6

• people who share a similar market situation and life chances
• agreed with Marx that there was basic economic division but there could be further divisions like owners of big businesses can earn bigger profits than small businesses

Question 7

what are the 4 main social classes in capitalist societies according to Weber?

Answer 7

1. The propertied upper class - wealthy owners
2. The property-less white-collar workers = skills and education qualifications
3. The Petty bourgeoisie = small businss onwers
4. The manual working class = poorest market situation wealth nor qualifications

Question 8

what does Weber describe status as?

Answer 8

• people with common stats situation may form a stronger group of identity
• status refers to the distribution of social honour
• may be linked to a persons economic or class position but may also deprive from ethnicity, religion or lifestyle
• someone with relatively poor status can achieve high through sporting achievements or through charity
• caste system found in Hindu culture
• social class may be relatively unimportant for many people as a source of identity because individual’s are very aware of their status situation.

Question 9

what does weber describe status as?

Answer 9

• groups concerned with exercising power or influencing decisions making
• parties could include groups like trade unions that seek to improv the conditions of workers
• pressure groups often draw their members from all social classes
• pressure group stonewall campaigns for the rights of lesbians, gays and bisexual people

Question 10

criticism of weber

Answer 10

• stratification adopted by many sociologists
• ## main criticism from Marxists = focusing on multiple social classes obscures the fundamental importance of class divisions

Question 11

how has Weber’s ideas ben considerable influencal to modern sociologist?

Answer 11

• multi-class models = adopts a multi class rather than two-class models like Marxists.
  example = hope-Goldthorpe classifications and the N-SEC classifications
• social mobility and life chances = social class affects life chances like educationally
• new social movements = social class has become less important in politics. new social movements have arisen such as the women’s movement and environmentalism
• supports Weber’s view that parties and political conflicts will not always be based on a class struggle between the owners of property and property less