social inequalities, class 40 marker content Flashcards
1
Q
functionalism, organic analogy 2
A
- durkheim- not all parts of body are equally imp similarly not all ppl contribute as much as others justifying inequality
- parsons= some sort of stratification is inevitable in all societies
2
Q
evaluation for this
A
3
Q
role allocation, davis and moore 3
A
- stratification is a universal feature of human societies therefore its functional
- role allocation= ensure that society’s roles are filled by the most appropriate ppl
- those more talented should be given higher status and power
4
Q
evaluation for this, tumin 2
A
- claimed there are numerous jobs in society which are highly paid that dont contribute to society and vice versa
- maintained that its much easier for high class ppl to pursue their talents then it is for a working class person
5
Q
meritocracy, parsons 2
A
- if a person works hard, theyll succeed. society is open and theres alot of social mobility
- social class is a fair system based on talent/ efforts and can be changed
6
Q
embourgeoisement, goldthorpe and lockwood 4
A
- embourgeoisement = idea that working class is becoming more like the middle class
- in the 1960s, they wanted to test if this happened, hadnt fully occured but that a new sort of working class had begun to emerge, suggested a degree of convergence amongst the working classes
- evidence based on car workers in luton who were richer and had new values:
1= being home owners
2= family orientated not community focused
3= co-operated with managers bc they had the ambition to be a manager - class is becoming less of a significant form of stratification as classes are merging
7
Q
evaluation, savage
A
class identity was still strong amongst the working classes
8
Q
evaluation, braverman
A
- process of proletarianization has occurred instead where the middle classes started to feel like their losing their status and being treated like the working class
9
Q
new right intro 2
A
- extension of functionalism, based on traditional conservative politics
- argue a person’s social class position is due to their own efforts
10
Q
inequalities are functional, saunders 3
A
- poor better off under a stratified society than if they were equal in an un-stratified one
- inequality creates more wealth where everyone benefits, even if not equally. e.g= if a country is economically successful and many of the rich have large incomes so they pay more tax which is used by the gov to contribute to society through benefits and free education
- the whole society benefits from having the most able-bodied ppl doing the most imp jobs
11
Q
the underclass, murray 5
A
underclass has diff norms and values to the working class
1. live on benefits
2. criminality
3. single parenthood
4. males absent from parenting and lack commitment
5. immediate gratification
- class inequalities are due to the person’s poor values which keeps them in poverty and these values infect society negatively
12
Q
evaluation, marshall 3
A
- widely criticised for ignoring that class divisions are caused by economic differences not cultural attitudes
- marxists like marshall believe this is a way of blaming the poor and reinforcing negative stereotypes and the concept of the underclass is a myth
- most ppl with benefits also work
13
Q
inadequate socialisation, sewell 3
A
- studied afro-carribean families, argued their often lone parent and this results in boys not having male role models
- they dont see men in their fam achieving in the workplace therefore they learn they dont need to succeed in a job either
- this explains why certain ethnic groups are in the working class and why its their fault
14
Q
evaluation
A
- ignores that female headed lone parent families can socialise their children adequately and that matrifocal families can install discipline in their kids
15
Q
define capitalism
A
economic and political system where a couintry’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit
16
Q
class conflict, marx 3
A
- Marxism is based on the principle of class conflict and that economic power was the most imp form of division
- marx= in a capitalist society, the bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat
- the bourgeoisie own the means of production, factories, and the proletariat are subjected to unreasonable working hrs and low pay in order to make money for the bourgeoise
17
Q
polarisation 2
A
- higher classes are getting smaller and richer, working classes getting larger and poorer
- amount of money the bourgeoisie make would increase, therefore the gap between rich and poor would increase
18
Q
evaluation, pakulski and waters
A
- class is ‘dead’ ands classes are now converging with less obvious distinctions between the classes
19
Q
social reproduction, marx 2
A
- class is ascribed= they are given and cant change
- the bourgeoisie continue to stay the bourgeoisie bc they own the means of production and ensure the proletariat never have enough money to change their position
20
Q
social reproduction, engels 3
A
- bourgeoisie have created a family structure system ensuring they keep their wealth
- development of nuclear fam means fathers coul pass on their wealth through inheritance of property to their sons
- wealth stays within families and not shared with others
21
Q
evaluation 3
A
- greater social mobility than in the past
- uk govs would argue they put measures in place to help this happen - bursaries and benefits
- marx didnt acknowledge fully a middle class of professional workers where an individual can earn a high pay, high status job
22
Q
neo-marxism intro 2
A
- retains basic marxist ideas of class conflict, but their attitude to class places less emphasis on economics than traditional marxism, more evidence on the media and cultural factors
- these create sets of ideas which the working class see as natural, these facts serve the needs of the ruling class and create false consciousness - dont realise their being exploited
23
Q
capitals, bourdieu
A
- aimed to explain how the bourgeoisie maintained social reproduction. said it was thru the passing down of capitals from one gen to the next
- bourgeoisie have these capitals which maintains their social class position and vice versa for the proletariat
- creates a habitus for the diff classes which is very difficult if impossible to change
24
Q
define social. cultural and economic capital 3
A
- social= having connections to others in high social positions
- cultural= knowledge and attitudes which are valued amongst the ruling classes
- economic= income and wealth
25
evaluation, giddens 2
1. we have reflexivity over our habitus
2. possible for individuals to change their habitus, social changes made this more possible
26
cultural hegemony, gramsci 2
1. developed original ideas of Marxism and argued that power and influence of the bourgeoisie isn't maintained through economic difference but through hegemonic ideology
2. ruling class socialise the proletariat into their beliefs and this prevents them from rebelling against inequalities
27
ideological state apparatuses, ISAs 3
1. working class are prevented from feeling working class even tho they r and are exploited due to this
2. false-class consciousness due to ideological state apparatus
3. bourgeoisie reinforce their ruling class ideology through various agencies to ensure the proletariat believe what they want them to believe
28
ideological state apparatus, skeggs 3
1. analysis of reality tv suggests the working class are 'ritually humiliated' thru stereotypical, negative representations
2. big fat gypsy wedding= based on mocking ppl, often working classes. leads to negative labels forming against them
3. ensures society views benefits as problematic and treats them negatively
29
ideological state apparatus, blackburn and mann 6
1. british neo-marxists who argue the media are major tool of ideological control
2. ruling class use the media to divide the working class into a number of heterogeneous groups who are turned against eachother
1= affluent worker against poorer worker
2= employed against unemployed
3= ethnic differences, immigration and racism
4= women against men
30
evaluation 2
1. doubt whether media has influence over our thoughts, beliefs and values. hard to prove the media represent the working class in a more negative way than the middle classes
2. old idea of the 'hypodermic syringe model' - where the media shows ideas and the public passively accepts them, has been discredited
31
webarianism, status groups. marx and weber 4
1. weber was a conflict theorist but disagreed with marx over the cause of conflict. marx saw society based on class conflict, whereas weber saw society based on conflict between status groups.
2. a status group refers to any group that tries to benefit its members thru organised activity, e.g trade unions such as teachers
3. according to marx the key source of class conflict was a difference in economic power (bourgeoisie have wealth and proletariat dont)
4. however, weber said that as well as wealth, status and power should be considered
32
weberianism, fragmentation, roberts
1. class has fragmented into a number of heterogeneous groups where there is no longer one single class identity
33
weberianism, fragmentation, savage 2
1. important to understand that the middle class is now divided into a number of strata and can be seen in terms of 'class fractions'. he identifies a number of class fractions such as higher professionals, lower professionals, middle managers etc
2. savage argues that these groups are distinct from each other and have developed their own set of values that set them apart as distinct heterogeneous groupings
34
weberianism, authority and power, weber 2
1. individual can gain power in other ways than just thru economic power (money as marx argued). believed those with economic power didnt have it due to owning the means of production, but bc of their 'market situation'
2. this means they have a professional job which is in demand from society
35
what else did weber say about this 3
bourgeoisie didnt keep their authority due to their economic position and there were other ways of gaining and keeping power:
1. traditional authority= ppl have power bc they hold a position which has always had power in society e.g- the royal family
2. legal rational authority= ppl elected into positions of power e.g - democracy where political figures are elected
3. charismatic authority= ppl have influence due to their individual personality which means ppl want to follow them
36
weberianism, social closure, crompton 3
1. divisions maintained thru social closure which is preventing other classes moving into ur class
2. british ruling class only socialise with those of the same status as themselves
3. e.g= socialising the rich to believe they should only marry the rich and create exclusive independent skls like eton which are hard to get into unless ur rich
37
stat evidence for social closure 7
1. 7% of the population go to a priv skl
2. yet 52% of students who attended oxford or cambridge uni went to priv skl
38
evaluation for socal closure 2
1. gov introduced schemes to reduce social closure
2. social mobility foundation
39
postmodernisms, pakulski and waters . evidence for class being dead 3
- argue class is dead
1. fragmentation and embourgeoisement of most of the working class
2. meritocracy, convergence and growth of the middle classes
3. ownership of big companies is no longer in the hands of the few. share ownership has widened and so has the important of pension funds
40
evidence for the death of class 3
1. work= working class has become small and fragmented, led to death of institutions like trade unions
2. politics= working class lost its sense of class consciousness. therefore political effort no longer goes into working class politics
3. this is why the 'old' labour party of the working class has been replaced by 'new' labour - but into single issue campaigns like fox-hunting, green issues and ethnic equality
41
cause of the death of class
1. classes only exist if there is a 'minimum level of clustering or groupness', and that minimum level no longer exists - ppl dont think of themselves belonging to a class
2. social classes, as defined by goldthorpe, contain sm diff types of work that theres no sense of identity between them
3. the division of classes has been replaced by new divisions such as consumption, gender, ethnicity
4. globalisation means that inequalities within countries are less imp than those between countries, theres more of a contrast when comparing inequalities across the world
5. largely due to media which allows us to access info about all countries
