Social Class Inequality Overview Flashcards
Gramsci (MARXISM)
The ruling class rarely need to exert power because they rule through persuasion.
Braverman (MARXISM)
Many middle class workers have actually been de-skilled e.g., they are now performed by machines or broken down into simple steps. Employers can pay less.
False class consciousness (MARXISM)
When the working class realise the nature of their exploitation, they would rise up and overthrow capitalism.
Davis & Moore (FUNCTIONALISM)
Main function of social stratification is to ensure the right role allocation and performance of people. It puts people in the right roles by offering them higher rewards, such as income. People in these roles perform to their highest standards.
Parsons (FUNCTIONALISM)
Parsons says in all societies, some individuals are better off than others at achieving things that are seen worthy of reward.
(Key terms include: Meritocracy, value consensus and functions of social stratification)
Murray (NEW RIGHT - use to support functionalism)
Believes welfare benefits created a ‘dependency culture’ and gave the poor no motivation to better themselves. He saw that the underclass drained taxpayers money and tended to socialise their children badly too. This leads to crime and underachievement at school.
Weber (WEBERIAN)
Focus on status and party. Defined status as privilege or social honour & ‘party’ as interest groups that either exercise power or influence. Agreed with Marx social class was the most important type of status inequality but criticised Marx for ignoring and neglecting other important types of status inequality, eg., gender, ethnicity, religion and nationality – which have little to do with wealth or profit.
Abbot (FEMINISM)
Claims that women’s experience of social class is worth exploring because women’s experience of work is very different to that of men. For example, women are more likely to be in part-time work and they are more likely to carry a dual burden of paid work and unpaid domestic labour.
Marxist criticisms
‘Over-deterministic’: it suggests that people’s social behaviour is wholly determined by their social class. Marxism does not acknowledge that people may be free to make their own choices.
Functionalist criticisms
- Tumin: critiques Davis & Moore, arguing people can be motivated by a sense of service
- The top of the stratification system is also occupied by those who live off inherited wealth and by celebrities. Neither of these two groups are necessarily functionally important to society.
Weber criticisms
Neo-Marxists criticise the notion of status differences within social classes because Marxists see these as deliberately created by the bourgeoisie in order to divide and rule workers so that they never achieve full class consciousness and become a dangerous revolutionary class
Feminist criticisms
Ignores other factors
