Social class Flashcards
what is social class
divisions in society based on economic status, things like occupation and volume of money
what is stratification
idea that society is made of layers - wealthy at the top and poor at the bottom
what are the two ways of defining class
objective and subjective
what is the objective way of defining class
refers to a persons income/ occupation
what is the subjective way of defining class
refers to what class a person thinks they belong to
what is habitus
refers to knowledge, norms, values, attitudes and behaviour of a particular social group
how does cultural capital and habitus link together
middle class habitus provide them with cultural capital as they have more opportunities and advantages in society
what is cultural capital
knowledge, norms, values, attitudes that you have that will give you more opportunities in society
what is social capital
refers to the people who are associated with your sociasl network
what is economic capital
amount of wealth you have
how many social classes are there
5
what are the 5 different types of classes
upper class
middle class
tradional working class
new working class
under class
what is upper class
hold highest social status, usually wealthiest, great political power and priviledge
includes: royalty, owners of industry, stars of entertainment
what is nouveau rich
when you aquire wealth rather than inherit it
what is middle class
people in the middle of social hierarchy
consaists of people in wide range of non-manual work
usuage has often been vague whether defnined in terms of occupation, income, education, or social class
what is working class
comprises of those engaged in manual-labour (blue collar) jobs who are remunerated via wages
includes two main groups: tradition and new
what is the underclass
at the bottom of social class hierarchy
developed by new right sociologiest Charles Murray
suggested thast the welfare state was overly generous and offered perverse incentive, encouraging lone parenthood and discouraging working
what are the difference between traditional and new working class
traditional: close nitt community with traditional gender roles and more focused on getting a skill rather than education
new: a privatised home centred lifestyle with little involvement in the community, conspicuous consumption and instrumental approach
how do we learn our class identities
through agents of socialisation
what are the agents of socialisation which we learn our class identity from
media
peer group
family
education
religion
workplace
how does the media socialise us into our class identities
it represents different social classes differenty
WC is devalued - dumb and stupid baffoons - Butsch
Shildrick: ‘chavs’ = lower position in society due to own failings
blamed for unemployment, ‘benefit scroungers’
MC represented as superior - over presented and shown positively
eg ‘supernanny’ - how to control un-ruly lower class children
how does the peer group socialise us into our class identities
Mac an Ghail: ‘macho lads’- male WC, reject school and act tough
Brah: ‘white skin heads’- norms and values reflect class and ethnicity
how does the family socialise us into out class identities
primary socialisation- meal times: WC = eat around a TV at 5pm
MC = around a table with family at 6pm and focus on manners
Sugarman: WC socialised into 4 values
immediate gratification
present time orientation
collectivism
fatalism
MC have opposite values
how does the education system socialise us into our class identities
Bourdieu- uni fits MC habitus making WC feel isolated
Becker- apprenticeship linked to WC, academic studies linked to MC
status of uni attracts different status of students
Teachers likely to label MC kids as ideal pupil - Becker
how does religion socialise us into our class identities
HARD TO IDENTIFY LINK BUT:
evidence that attendance to church is higer in MC
attending church provides a degree of status within community
Rasafarianism are more likely to have a broader working class base as they are often located in inner city areas
how does the workplace socialise us into our class identities
manual work tends to be associated with WC, non-manual with MC
Willis-1970 manual work was central to mens sesne of masculinity as ‘real men’ and was their main source of identity
what is marxists perspective on social class
class is important in influencing the inequalities of people
it is the most significant part of someones identity
two social classes: Bourgeosisie and Proletariat
social class is determened by whether you own the means of production
Bourgeosisie own means of production and Proletariat have to sell labour for income
what is functionalist perspective on social class
important as we live in a meritocratic society (earn merit by hard work) where class is defined by hard work
everyone has same opportunities
different classes work in different roles but it helps society run smoothly (organic analogy= social order)
differences in wealth are justified as everyone had an equal chance
what is postmodernists perspective on social class
lifestyles and consumption have become more important
social class is no longer significant part of identity
people have more choice to ‘pick n mix’ the identities they want from consumer choice - Pakulski and waters
range of other things influence identity - not just class
eg gender
what are some evaluation points for postmodernists perspective on social class
social class influences peoples standard of living and many other factors such as homeownership, risks of unemployment
not everyone is able to form an identity based of leisure activities as they are influenced by income
British social attitudes survey found 95% of people identify themselves with a social class
