social class

Question 1

functionalism - meritacracy

Answer 1

DURKHEIM - his study about the division of labour, he saw modern societies as characterised by a specialised occupational division of labour in which people have very different functions, skills and abilities. this value consensus also means that members of a society accept that occupations should be graded in terms of their value in society, and that those occupying the most functional or valued positions should receive greater rewards for their efforts

PARSONS - KAPPA- Social inequality is functional and an inevitable feature of a social system that requires order and ranking. Ranking is based on a consensus about what society values with regard to:
Kinship – family status
Personal qualities – age, beauty, intelligence etc
Achievement – qualifications and skills
Possessions
Authority

DAVIS AND MOORE -All societies should ensure that their most important positions are filled with the most talented people. The most important jobs need the highest rewards meaning society is meritocratic. People’s class position is a fair reflection of their talents. Stratification encourages all members of society to work to the best of their ability.

Question 2

new right - meritocracy

Answer 2

SAUNDERS - Stratification serves important functions. He also sees a degree of inequality as desirable and functional in order to encourage competition. He believes that economic growth has raised the standards of living for everyone
(social mobility)

MURRAY - Suggests that the underclass promote a ‘dependency culture’ and blames the welfare state for allowing the underclass to emerge

Question 3

Marxist - capitalism

Answer 3

KARL MARX - he recognised that classes have been fragmented into two main class fractions in a capitalist society; the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The mutual dependency theory is the idea that the bourgeoisie depends on the proletariat for the army of workers and the proletariat depends on the bourgeoisie for survival as the bourgeoisie owns the means of production. He also explains that part of the capitalist society is the infrastructure (the economy) and the superstructure which are the institutions that the ruling class ideology is emitted which also leads to false class consciousness.

WESTERGAARD - differences became stronger in the UK in the late 20th Century.
The top 10% of the population have seen massive increases in their incomes whilst those on the lowest incomes have seen virtually no rise.

SCOTT - refers to social closure - If the upper class are exercising
social closure, they are able to maintain their wealth.

Question 4

Neo marxist - capitalism

Answer 4

GRAMSCI - Discusses hegemony and the idea that the proletariat hasn’t staged a revolution as the ruling class have persuaded just enough of them to ‘side with them’, through the use of ruling class ideologies. This is called hegemony and means that the ruling class are kept stable and keeps the power – Controlling minds

WRIGHT - The middle class occupy a contradictory class position – they are both exploited by the ruling class and exploit the working class. Three investments need to be controlled, investment, the means of production and labour-power. Ruling class = full power - Middle class managers = partial control - Middle class supervisors = minimal control - Working-class = no control.

Question 5

Marxist feminist - capitalism AND feminism

Answer 5

critique
BENSTON - Benefits capitalism as women looking after husbands allows the men to have more time to work. Also argues that if women were paid for domestic work it would cause a massive redistribution of wealth

ANSLEY - Views women as the ‘takers of shit’ as they soothe the frustrations of their husbands which encourages the false class consciousness and stops a revolution

BEECHEY - Sees women as cheap reserve army of labour as they are bought in during economic booms and thrown out during slumps

Question 6

weberian - class status and party

Answer 6

ZWEIG - argued that a section of the working class - skilled manual labours, had adopted the economic and cultural lifestyle of the middle class. EMOURGEOISIEMENT - skilled workers become more like the middle class by supporting bourgeoisie values and the conservative party as well as enjoying similar incomes- the difference between the middle and working class is disappearing

Question 7

Postmodernism - irrelevant

Answer 7

PAKULSKI AND WATERS - “the death of class” Globalisation help construct our identity from a wide range of influences therefore we are more likely to base our identities by what we consume and our consumptions become more important than class boundaries