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Sociology > Social Inequality > Flashcards

Social Inequality Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Relative Poverty

A

When people cannot afford to meet the general standard of most people in their society. Examples include people on benefits.

  • Living on the breadline
  • Can afford basics but no luxuries
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2
Q

Subjective Poverty

A

Whether or not a person feels poor by their own standards - not necessarily seen poor by the rest of society.

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3
Q

Environmental Poverty

A

When your local area impacts your quality of life in terms of access to services like education, healthcare etc. Examples include poorer schools in certain boroughs (Newham).

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4
Q

Welfare State

A

A system in which the state takes responsibility for protecting the health and welfare of its citizens, whilst meeting their social needs.
Organised through taxation and state benefits.
- Free schooling
- State benefits
- National Health Service (NHS)
- Council Housing

Established by Labour in 1945.

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5
Q

Universalism

A

When welfare benefits are availed to all, regardless of their wealth and income.

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6
Q

Poor Law

A

16th Century
- Parishes and rate payers would care for the sick, disabled and elderly by providing them with work.

New Poor Law

  • Introduced during the Industrial Revolution
  • Workhouses created with poor conditions for poor to work and earn their living (employers assumed they were lazy and could get work elsewhere if they wanted to).
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7
Q

Old Age Pensions Act (1908)

A

Excluded criminals, people who had not worked continuously or could support themselves.

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8
Q

National Insurance Act (1911)

A

Workers, employers and government made to pay contributions into a fund which workers could use to support themselves if sick or unemployed.

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9
Q

Dole (1920)

A

Means tested benefit to support unemployed people whose insurance had run out. Only handed to people with no savings or income - children considered liable for their elderly parents.

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10
Q

Criticisms of Welfare State

A

Too expensive - especially with longer life expectancy so benefit cuts in some areas, e.g. healthcare (NHS costs £100 billion a year).

Welfare ‘scroungers’ get away with lying about their situation and take up tax payers money.

Encourages development of a dependency culture.

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11
Q

Income Support

A

State benefit for people (over 25) with low incomes:

  • eligible to approx £60 a week
  • can claim child tax credits
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12
Q

Maternity Allowance

A

Only applies to women not eligible for Maternity Leave (must have worked 6 months for this) - entitled to weekly payments which work out less than employers would pay.

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13
Q

Bereavement Benefits Allowance

A

Claimed 52 week from death of partner - must be married or in a civil partnership to claim and over 45.

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14
Q

Child Maintenance

A

Financial support towards a child’s everyday living costs to the primary carer after divorce. Either deducted from partner’s wages or payed by government.

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15
Q

Housing Benefit

A

Means-tested benefit for people on low incomes which helps them pay their rent - cannot be used to buy a house.

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16
Q

Means Tested Benefits

A

Benefit gives based on circumstances of individual

- considers their capital, i.e. savings, investments and property

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17
Q

Deprivation

A

Damaging lack of material benefits considered to be basic necessities in society.

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18
Q

Reasons pension age has increased

A
  • Ageing population
  • Longer life expectancy
  • Economic recession
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19
Q

Absolute Poverty

A

When income is insufficient to provide the minimum needed to survive, i.e. food, clothes. Examples include homeless and people in the poor world.

20
Q

Privatisation of NHS

A

Privatisation involves selling state owned assets to the private sector.
Advantage(s)
- Improves efficiency (pressure from stakeholders to make profit)
- Less political influence (so decisions made for long term - not just next election)

Disadvantage(s)

  • Seek to achieve short term profits not long terms projects
  • Quality of service declines with businesses motivated by profits
21
Q

Culture of Poverty

A

Immediate Gratification
Fatalism
Poverty Cycle/Trap

22
Q

Social Exclusion

A

When certain groups of people are marginalised by being made to feel like they do not belong in society.

23
Q

Stratification

A

When society is divided into different groups (stratas) based on shared characteristic traits. There is a hierarchy within these groups:

  • Age
  • Social class
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
24
Q

Benefits of Welfare State

A
  • Prevents absolute poverty
  • Keeps money in circulation (benefits are spent)
  • Lowers crime rates
  • Supports people to find work
25
Q

Social Mobility

A

Refers to people moving up or down society’s hierarchy (between classes in UK). Measures how meritocratic a society is by showing whether success is based on achievement or ascription.

26
Q

Intragenerational Social Mobility

A

Movement of an individual over the course their life, from one occupation to another, e.g. through promotions.

27
Q

Intergenerational Social Mobility

A

Movement between generations of a family - children enter different occupations to their families.

28
Q

Long Range Social Mobility

A

Moving from high to low status, or vice versa.

29
Q

Short Range Social Mobility

A

Moving between jobs from skilled to unskilled, or vice versa.

30
Q

Self-recruitment

A

When children remain in the same social class as their parents.

31
Q

Reasons for social mobility

A
  • Education
  • Marriage
  • Windfalls, e.g. winning the lottery or inheritance
32
Q

Ways the gap between rich and poor is growing

A
  • Benefits cuts and lower taxes on high earners
  • Numerical System Education
  • Increased tuition fees (£3,000 to £9,000)
33
Q

Government Policies to reduce gap between rich and poor

A
  • Pupil Premium (2011)
  • EBacc (2010)
  • Aim Higher (2004)
  • EMA
  • Improving access to education in later life - part time students entitled to loans on same basis as full time students
34
Q

Functionalist View Stratification

A

Top professions:

  • are vital for society to function (not everyone can do them)
  • must be desirable (require lengthy education and training)
  • are meritocratic
35
Q

Marx and Weber View on Stratification

A
  • conflict between classes
  • ownership vs non ownership
  • Bourgeoisie exploit Proletariat
  • Unequal life chances (not meritocratic )
  • minority will be overthrown (revolution)
36
Q

Life chances

A

Opportunities we have available to better our lives in terms of:

  • Education
  • Health
  • Housing/Area
  • Income
37
Q

Social Class (LC)

A
  • Kings Fund found that middle class are healthier because they eat healthy, exercise and avoid drinking and smoking.
  • Material Deprivation
  • Berstein’s Language Codes
  • Three quarters of top judges were privately educated (Guardian)
38
Q

Disabled (LC)

A
  • Paralympics and Steven Hawkings ‘Theory of Everything’
  • Portrayed as ‘benefit scroungers’ in media
  • British Social Attitudes Survey shows society has changed bu prejudice still exists, even if unintentional
39
Q

Age (LC)

A
  • Over 6 million people aged over 65 have never used the internet so tend to be pushed out of jobs
  • Have low incomes (state pension) so have a poor standard of living - 75,000 elderly people choose between food and heating (Guardian)
  • 1 in 10 young people suffer mental health issues (Young Minds)
  • Minimum wage is lower for those under 21
40
Q

Gender (LC)

A
  • Glass ceiling created by patriarchal society, where women have few role models - only 30% of MPs are female
  • Men hold 78% of top managerial positions, with women having the few remaining
  • Criticisms of Symmetrical Families (women have double/triple burden)
41
Q

Ethnicity (LC)

A
  • Never been a black prime minister
  • Afro-Caribbean children are three time more likely to be excluded and half of all people unemployed were black in 2012
  • Only 6.7% of Head Teachers are ethnic minority (Guardian)
  • Bhatti (1999)
42
Q

Asylum Seekers

A

A person who has left their home country as a political refugee and is seeking asylum in another.

43
Q

Glass ceiling

A

An unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.

44
Q

Social Security

A

Monetary assistance from the state for people with an inadequate or no income.

45
Q

Socio-economic class

A

Social position of an individual or group, often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation.

Sociology (7 decks)

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