social stratification Flashcards
what is social stratification
the way society is structured into a hierarchy of unequal strata or layers
how is social hierarchy shaped
pyramid - most privileged at the top, least at the bottom
what is social inequality
the uneven distribution of resources (money) and opportunities (education)
what are the different forms of stratification
- status
- open / closed system
- slavery
- caste system
what is status stratification
ascribed - fixed at birth
achieved - earned based on merit
what is open/closed stratification
open - social mobility is possible
closed - social mobility isn’t possible
what is slavery stratification
one group claims right on another group and treats them as property
what is caste stratification
feudalism old class system - social class system today
what perspective was Davis and Moore
functionalist
what did Davis and Moore argue
- societies need a way of placing individuals into the different roles or social positions that must be filled (role allocation)
- most people cannot fulfil these roles as they are unmotivated to train for them, roles need to attract the right people - most desirable for the role
- societies need some degree of inequality to survive - creates competition for people
what did Davis and Moore say about stratification
functionally necessary for society because it ensures the most talented people train and fill the most important jobs
criticisms of Davis and Moore
- many jobs that are vital to society have relatively low pay or low status
- assume society is meritocratic - critics disagree
- marxists and feminists see stratification as a system in which some groups gain at the expense of others
what were the 2 classes Karl Marx identified in a capitalist society
bourgeoisie
proletariat
what did Karl Marx say about economic factors
- this is how class membership is determined - ownership or non ownership of the means of production
- wealthy bourgeoisie own the means of production, proletariat sell their labour to them in order to survive - proletariat experience alienation (lack of control) due to this
what are the 2 other classes
lumpenproletariat - dropouts/criminals of society
petty bourgeoisie - owners of small businesses
what do the bourgeoisie and proletariat both have
opposing views
bourgeoisie - ever increasing profits, exploit the proletariat - leads to class struggle
proletariat - higher wages
what is the ruling class ideology
ideas of competition and free market disguise the reality of exploitation - bourgeoisie are justified by this
what does ruling class ideology lead too
false class consciousness - proletariat are unaware of the true nature of social relationships under capitalism
what did Karl Marx argue
over time
the bourgeoisie would get richer and smaller and the petty bourgeoisie would be unable to compete, sink the proletariat.
proletariat would get bigger and increasingly poor, eventually they would rebel, leads to a revolution - resulting in classless society as means of production would become communally owned
what did Weber argue
classes are formed in the labour market, where one class of people hires labour and another class sells the labour, this process is crucial in explaining class
what did Weber argue class to be
a group of people who have similar life chances of being successful (education, health)
what did Weber label the 4 social classes to be
property owners
professionals
petty bourgeoisie
working class
how do these different classes work
all have different market situations or life chances in the labour market
what did Weber see class to be based on
distribution of economic resources such as wealth - similar to Marx
what were the non economic factors which Weber stressed
status - prestige attached to their lifestyle - may differ from their economic position
power - different amounts of power in each of the 4 classes
what is the main form of stratification in England today
socio-economic class
what is social class based on
economic factors (occupations)
what is occupations used for
measure class because it’s linked to level of pay, work conditions and status
subjective class
how people see themselves in class terms (working, middle, upper)
what are life chances
peoples chances of having positive or negative outcomes over their lifestyle in relation things such as their health, education or employment.
they are distributed unequally and shaped by inequalities.
who focuses on inequalities based on gender
feminists
what are inequalities based on gender argued
- gender is a key division of society
- women experience glass ceiling, which is where their is a ‘barrier’ to promotion
- explanations to gender inequality are due to sex discrimination in the workplace
- argue society is patriarchal and men have power
what are the inequalities based on ethnicity
many places have equal opportunity polices to support equality and diversity and awareness of institutional racism is increased
HOWEVER
some sociologists say little has changed in certain fields of employment - justified by racism and discrimination
what do Marxist says on inequalities based on race
racism and sexism is built into the capitalist society - some people of ethnicity were hired during the economic boom and fired during recessions when capitalism no longer needs them
what are the inequalities based on age
age is socially constructed and expectations surrounding age vary historically and culturally
e.g. change in views on child labour
what is ageism
a situation where someone is treated differently and less favourably due to their age
e.g. people who are too old cannot learn new ways
young people and old people are more vulnerable to ageism - there are now regulations in place to limit it where possible
how else can peoples life chances be influenced
disability - unable to complete job
sexuality - homophobic behaviours
religion - different views
beliefs - different views
what is the embourgeoisement thesis
working class families were becoming more middle class in their norms and values, their affluence led them to adopt privatised lifestyles centred on home and family and have aspirations based on consumerisms
who did the affluent worker study
Gold thorpe and Lockwood
how did goldthorpe and lockwood conduct their study
through interviewing affluent workers and their wives from 3 companies in Luton about their attitudes to work, lifestyle, aspirations and political views
what did goldthorpe find
he rejected the embourgeoisement theory but argued affluent workers may be part of a new working class that resembles the middle class in therms if their privatised, home centred lives
facts about affluent workers
- had instrumental views to paid work - work was a means to an end rather than to get satisfaction and friends
- affluent workers support labour party
- they had a sticking together motto rather than solidarity
how did devine conduct her research
carried out interviews with 62 luton residents - men mainly worked in shop floor jobs at the car factory + some women
what did devine revisit luton for
the explore how far working class people’s lifestyles were privatised
what did devine do with her findings
compared it to her secondary data of goldthorpes study
what did devine argue
working class lifestyles, norms and values had not changed as much as suggested by goldthorpe
3 factors of devines work
- her sample did not have purely privatised and home centred lifestyles and social relationships
- interviewees we’re not purely instrumental or motivated by desire to improve living standards
- aspirations and their social and political values were not individualistic - plenty evidence of solidarity
what is social mobility
people moving up or down a societies strata, between social classes
what is inter generational social mobility
movement between the generations of family and occurs when a child enters a different class from their parent s
what are some routes to social mobility upwards
- educational credentials
- marriage
- changes in occupation
what are some barriers to social mobility upwards
discrimination - race, gender, ethnicity
lack of skills or educational credentials
what does research show about social mobility in the uk
children from working class backgrounds have less chance of moving into professional occupations than children from professional backgrounds
what is a decrease in mobility due to
changes in occupational structure
when do sociologists know more about social mobility and why
the past more than now due to individuals outcome or destination cannot be known until they reach middle age as society is so unpredictable now compared to before
what are the problems met with social mobility
- some studies mainly focus on men rather than women
- participants may not remember their employment histories and their parents
- problems with when to start looking into a persons career to measure mobility
wealth
the ownership of assets such as housing and land as well as saving and shares
income
the flow of resources that individuals and households receive over a specific period of time
absolute poverty
their income is insufficient to obtain the minimum needed to survive
relative poverty
their income is well below average so they are poor compared to others in their society
social exclusion
people are shut out from everyday activities and customs
what does the definition of poverty by the state show
determines how far government accepts that poverty exists and the policies to address it
subjective poverty
based on wether people see themselves as living in poverty
environmental poverty
measures deprivation in terms of conditions such as housing or air pollution
who discovered poverty in the UK
Townsend
what did Townsend aim to discover
how many people were living in poverty in the UK
what did Townsend develop
a deprivation index to measure relative deprivation based off of 12 items such as ‘household does not usually have a Sunday joint’
what did Townsend find
almost 23% of the UK were in poverty, the proportion was much higher than that based off the state standard of poverty and the relative income standard of poverty
criticisms of Townsend
- question some off the items in townsend’s index and how they are selected
- if the index is inadequate, then the statistics are also questioned
groups at risk of poverty - ethnicity and poverty
- people in UK households headed by someone from a minority ethnic group are at risk of living in low-income households
- minority ethnic groups are often disadvantaged in terms of unemployment and pay and quality of jobs
- includes racism and discrimination
groups at risk of poverty - gender and poverty
- women are more at risk than men
- women have a longer life expectancy yet are less likely to have a occupational pension
- women are more likely to be head lone parent families than men
- gender pay gap : relatively poor paid
- women are more likely to be in part time employment
groups at risk of poverty - child poverty
- children are more vulnerable to poverty if they live in families with 4 or more children
- poverty are more likely to have negative life chances on children (life expectancy, health, etc)
culture of poverty and cycle of deprivation
people from the poorest part of society are socialised within a sub-culture of poverty - they develop a immediate gratification and see no point in planning ahead - however, these values discourage them from staying in school and saving money and in turn escaping poverty.
poverty involves both material and cultural deprivation - it consists from one generation to the next, which locks families into a cycle of deprivation
- CRITICISMS: tells you how poverty happens between generations but fails to show why poverty forms in the first place
MURRAY - NEW RIGHTS study focus
examines US governments and social policies since the late 1960s that aimed to reduce poverty, he focuses on the impact of these policies on the behaviour of members of the underclass
policies actually produced poverty and encouraged people to become more dependent on welfare benefits
he says the underclass is growing and poses as a threat to societies well-being because it’s members are responsible for increase in crime rates and are a burden to taxpayers.
the underclass in the UK
argues the underclass is growing rapidly, he focuses in behaviour of the ‘undeserving poor’ and examined 3 measures of the underclass:
1. rising crime rates
2. increase in illegitimate births
3. drop out from the labour force among working age men
criticisms of the new rights
rejects idea of the an underclass with different attitudes actually exists
underclass are used as a scapegoat from problems in society
functionalism and poverty
poverty performs positive functions for some groups in society and helps ensure that dirty and dangerous work gets done cheaply
CRITICISMS: functionalism defends poverty rather than explains it
marxism and poverty
poverty is inevitable based off the class based divisions in capitalist society - capitalism generates extreme wealth for the bourgeoise and poverty in the proletariat - poverty serves the needs of the bourgeoisie and the fear of poverty keeps wages down and profits up
feminism and poverty
women face greater risk of poverty than men, possible reason are: gender pay gap and inequality in the division of caring responsibilities, women are more likely to outlive their parents
what has globalisation done to poverty
- globalisation has increased inequality in the UK
Webber’s view on power and authority
individuals or groups exercise power when they get what they want despite any opposition, power is based on coercion or authority.
what is coercion
the use of threat or use of force including physical violence - people obey as they feel they have no choice and they are forced against their will
what is authority
exercised over people when they are willingly agreeing to obey an individual or group because they see it as the right thing to do, force is unnecessary because people consent to power being exercised over them
what are the 3 times of authority were identified by Weber
- traditional authority - custom and tradition (monarchy)
- rational legal authority - accepting a set of laws or rules
- charismatic authority - obey a leader who they believe has extraordinary personal qualities that inspire them
Marxist perspective on power
- power is closely linked to social class relationships and the bourgeoisies power is based on their ownership of the means of production and use their power to exploit the proletariat
- political power = economic power so the bourgeoise by their economic power also holds political power
feminists on power
- gender inequality is the most important source of division in society
- society is patriarchal
- women are underrepresented among holders of political power, decision makers and judiciary in Britain
Walby on patriarchy - 6 patriarchal structures
- Paid employment - women typically earn less than men and are excluded by better types of work
- The household - husbands and partners exploit women by benefitting from their unpaid labour at home
- Culture - culture differences between masculinity and femininity
- Sexuality - double standard is an aspect of male dominance, women - slags and men - admired
- Male violence against women - male violence effects womens actions and is a form of power over them
- The state - state polices are biased towards patriarchal interests and there has been little effort to improve womens positions in the public sphere
everyday power relationships
power is exercised in relationships between people in everyday settings such as homes, workplaces and classrooms due to people enter into peoples behaviours or when others try to control them
power relationships operate when there are inequalities in power between individuals and groups which operate between children and parents, students and teachers, public and police
