Social class and life chances

Question 1

What were the 5 desirable thing to achieve in life that Weber listed ?

Answer 1

• living a long and healthy life
• good education
• fulfilling and well-paid job
• chance to own your own home
• enjoy paid holidays and leisure activities

Question 2

What term did weber coin ?

Answer 2

Life chances

Question 3

What does Weber say that being a higher social class gets you ?

Answer 3

Higher social class gives greater opportunities to succeed in achieving the ‘desirables’

Question 4

What do modern sociologists think affects life chances ?

Answer 4

Other kinds of social inequality such as being female.
E.g. Gender-pay gap

Question 5

What different factors are life chances linked to ?

Answer 5

Employment
Education
Health

Question 6

What can less income lead to ?

Answer 6

Less access to:
- food
- quality of housing
- access to transport

Question 7

How can income be defined ?

Answer 7

Flow of money to a person over a period of time, monthly or annually

Question 8

Where can income come from ?

Answer 8

• earnings
• benefits
• pensions
• investment
• savings

Question 9

What is the average annual earning in the UK (2023) ?

Answer 9

£34,963

Question 10

What is the gini coefficient ?

Answer 10

Represents income distribution.
The coefficient is scored between 0 - 1
0 = complete equality
1 = complete inequality

Question 11

What are the effects of taxes and benefits ?

Answer 11

• The government takes more taxes from the rich than the poor
• More welfare benefits are given to the poor than the rich

Question 12

What are direct taxes and who do they affect ?

Answer 12

Also known as income tax
Affect the rich more heavily

Question 13

What are indirect taxes and who do they affect ?

Answer 13

Things like:
- VAT
- Duty on alcohol
- Tobacco
- Fall heavily on the poor

Question 14

Why do some believe that income inequalities are disappearing ?

Answer 14

• Income has increased for almost all in the UK over the last 50 years
• The rich are richer and the poorer are better off

Question 15

Why do some believe that income inequalities still exist ?

Answer 15

• The rise for he poor has risen much slower since the 70’s
• Whereas the middle class have enjoyed larger increases
• The richest have seen the biggest increase of income overall so it isn’t proportional

Question 16

What is the difference betwen the functionalist/ new right view and the marixst view ?

Answer 16

Functionalists believe that unequal rewards are beneficial as it encourages hard work and they justify high salaries.

Where as the marxists think that senior directors are in charge of their own salary so they have the power to create a culture where big rewards are the norm.