Social Class (Chappy 7) Flashcards
What is social inequality? what are the characteristics?
Resources (economic social and political) are unequally distributed in society - It endures and changes over time
What are the different kinds of social classes accoring to Kendall, Murray and Linden (2007)?
Hint: 7
Old-upper - inherited money
New-upper - new money/entrepreneurs
Upper middle class - uni edu, high income, control over work conditions
Lower middle class - post second edu, lower level managers/white collar office workers
Working class - relatively unskilled, lower paying jobs
Working poor - working but not above pov line
Underclass - lower edu, income and high rate unemployment
What are the implications of looking at class as a socieconomic status?
Class as socioeconomic status (SES)
Not antagonistic but recognizes inequality - tends to see inequalities as reflection of differences in skills, value of jobs (somewhat inevitable, very functionalist)
Due to: Income, occupational, education
Divided into: Lower class, middle class, upper class
What is the Marxian class, how does Marx view classes?
What are the predominant classes in a capitilist society?
What does Marxian theory allow us to do in terms of studying classes?
Class: central concept for understanding the nature of power and inequality Sees classes in society as having opposing interests, wealth is socially not individually created - wealth creation relies on having a class of people who have work in order to live
Capitalist society = 3-4 classes
Bourgeoisie (owning class)
Petit-bourgeoisie (small business owners)
Proletariat (working class)
Lumpenproletariat (underclass - unemployed, marginalized)
Using a Marxian theory, it is possible to study class in different societies
Talk to me about class position and structure? what is class consciousness? What is the majority class in Canada?
Social mobility is possible, as classes can change by shrinking and expanding, however, overall class structure remains constant over time
Class consciousness - awareness of social location
ex: more awareness in the upper class (need to protect economic interests) ex: paradise papers, bilderberg group
Technically majority of Canada are part of working class
What is the Weberian class? What were Weber’s thoughts on class and Marx?
Class is essentially: A category of people that have a specific causal component (determinant) of their life chances
Marx seems to oversimplify things, other factors are involved
How power was distributed in society is multi-dimensional
Class matters but also status groups (prestige) and parties (pol influence)
(Still Weber)
What are life chances? what is the causal cmpt in life chances?
What are the types of skills one provides to that causal cmpt, how does the result of contribution present?
Life chances: individual’s opportunities to share/get the economic or cultural goods created in a society (members of a class share common life chances) The market: causal cmpt that distributes life chances - distribution is based on what each individual or class brings 2 market (what resources have potential value) Many possible classes or clusters
Types of skills workers provide to market
Skilled, semi-skilled, unskilled
Different wages/salaries result in different standards of living and life chances (dentists vs. barbers)
Who is Dr. David Gordon (1999) ?
Made a list of sarcastic tips for better health (ex: don’t be poor)
List the social determinants of health?
Hint: 10
Acro: Ed gave Ida an Em for her third rococo drawing
Income/income distribution Gender Education and access to information Transportation, housing, built enviros - safety Employment/working conditions Food security/access Health care services, social safety net Aboriginal status Race Disability
What did Richard Wanner (2009) think about accessibility in Canada?
In Canada there is still a major inheritance of privilege/advantage - different levels of access to post secondary edu
What results regarding post secondary edu did Krahn’s 2009 study reveal?
14y longitudinal study of high school graduates in Edmonton
Kids from families with one or more university educated parents were 3x more likely to complete university themselves
What were Pierre Boudieu’s thoughts on the makings of class? what two thinkers did he combine?
What did he believe were the three forms of capital, what was central to these forms?
Class is not purely economic, question of taste - culture is central in the production of differences and inequalities between social classes
Combines Marx and Weber
Cultural capital - embodied, objectified, institutionalized
Social capital
Economic capital
It is a a resource that is always changing forms:
Economic to cultural, cultural to economic, social to economic etc…
All forms of capital can confer status/prestige upon those who have the right kind (socially valuable)
Mass Prac Q: Fill in the gaps:
Essentially, class differences are a BLANK system. The way we BLANK can signify something about our BLANK.
Essentially, class differences are a SYMBOLIC system. The way we SPEAK, EAT AND OUR CONSUMPTION OF GOODS/SERVICES can signify something about our SOCIAL POSITION.
