Social Class Inequalities Flashcards
What did Marx find?
The infrastructure (economy) shapes the superstructure (institutions). e.g. Bourgeoisie have designed the education system in a way that ensures they remain in power. 2 social classes = the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat. A class is a social group who share the same relationship to the means of production. The relationship between the classes is one of mutual dependence. Dependant on labour, dependant on money Not an equal relationship, based on exploitation. Capitalism is seen as just, rather than exploitative due to the infrastructure shaping the superstructure. False class consciousness. Proletariat would eventually stage a revolution which would lead to a communist society.
What did Westegaard find?
Polarisation is occurring where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
What did John Scott research?
Social Closure. ‘Toffs and Snobs’.
What did Gramsci research? (Neo Marxism)
Hegemony Ruling class dominate intellectual marketplace - persuade people that capitalism is the only system that can work. They accept it, they feel any alternative would be worse = dual consciousness.
What did Wright find?
3 classes: ruling, middle and working The middle class hold a contradictory class position, as they are both exploited by the ruling class and also exploit the working class. Mainly due to having managerial roles.
What did Braverman research?
Proletarianisation of the middle classes and worker becoming deskilled. Identifying more with working class identity in terms of pay and the conditions of their employment - particularly the amount of control and freedom they have with their work. The skill of their work has been reduced, mainly due to technology replacing jobs. Some professional jobs have become deskilled. E.g. Secutary.
What did Feeley study?
Family is designed to teach passivity, not rebellion.
Socialises family members into traditional roles.
Ideology of the family in a capitalist society supports patriarchy.
What did Benston study?
Women’s domestic work is unpaid. By a wife feeding her husband and looking after him, it keeps capitalism running smoothly.
Criticises the nuclear family and a women’s role within it it is a stabilising force in a capitalist society
What did Ansley study?
‘Safety valve’. Women are the takers of shit. Husbands take their frustration out on their wives after a long day. Acts as a ‘sponge’ aids false class consciousness and discourages a revolution.
What did Beechey study?
Women are the reserve army of labour. Women sees women as a reserve army of labour, brought in during economic booms. One of their functions is to reduce wages. A group of unemployed people creates competition. This gives employers an advantage and allows them to reduce wages and increase the rate of exploitation.
Women don’t tend to be in unions, they are prepared to work for less if their wage is a second income and they are seen as combining work with domestic responsibilities
What did Durkheim research?
Modern societies are characterised by a specialised occupational division of labour, in which people have different functions, skills and abilities. It is characterised by social divisions. Value consensus means that members of society accept the legitimacy of stratification. They accept that occupations should be graded in terms of their value to society and that these should receive greater rewards. Stratification is beneficial because it sets limits on competition, in that it clearly links criteria such as skills and qualifications to particular roles so people don’t become overly ambitious.
Ascription, where roles are allocated on the basis of fixed inherited criteria e.g. gender.
What did Parsons study?
Social inequality and difference are functional. Social systems which need to be hierarchal to achieve order and ranking. Ranking is based on consensus about society’s values, esepcially with regard to:
kinship, personal qualities, achievment, possessions, authority.
Stratification is the outcome of general agreement in society about how roles should be ranked in terms of their functional importance.
What did Davis and Moore study?
Stratification is a permenant and universal feature because it is functionally necessary. Society faces the task of ‘placing’ people. It needs to motivate these people, so society offers higher rewards, for important jobs. Normally they are ‘unique’. The most important jobs tend to have other positions dependant on them. Also, no other occupation can subsitue for them.
Second criteria is the scarcity of personnel. This is either the shortage of people with innate ability or to the necessity of a long period of job training. Tempt gifted people by guarentee financial rewards and high social status.
What did Saunders study?
A degree of inequality is desirable and functional in order to encourage competition. Social mobility. 80% of people born in households below the poverty line escape poverty when they reach adulthood.
What did Saunders and Hayek believe?
Inequality is justified because it promotes economic growth. Competition ensures goods and services increase in quality and fall in price. Not everyone is able to afford consumers products initially but standards of living will constantly increase. Trickle down theory.
