Stratification Flashcards
Stratification
Stratification is about the inequalities in society. Stratification sees society
like a trifle split into different layers. Most societies have had inequalities.
Inequalities
Inequality may mean income, wealth, health, lifestyle, opportunities,
education and anything that is to with life chances.
Functionalist theory of stratification
o Davis and Moore are Functionalists . They believe that stratification
(inequality) is needed by society to help make sure that the best roles get
allocated to the most able. This is called role allocation. Unequal rewards
help this to happen. Functionalists believe that society is a meritocracy. The best rewards are
given to those who work hard and who have talent. Sociologists names to
know are Parsons and Davis and Moore. Inequality plays a positive function for society.
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New right view on stratification
The New Right believe that the UK is fairly close to being a meritocracy. Peter
Saunders is a New Right and he thinks that the higher social classes are
naturally born clever and that is why they do well in life.
Conflict view of Marxism regarding stratification
The Marxist theory of social stratification disagrees with this view. The UK is not
a meritocracy as society is unfair. There are two classes and the ruling class
have great advantages. The system is rigged in their favour to keep them in
power.
Through private schooling and the Old Boys Network they keep in power.
Society is a two class system . The working class (proletariat) and the ruling
class (bourgeoisie). The ruling class exploit the proletariat.
Power and Authority
Weber believed that there were three kinds of authority which gave people
power. Traditional authority is based on long established customs e.g. Religion, our
kings and queens.
Charismatic authority is based upon the personality of the leader . E.g. Christ,
Martin Luther King had this kind of authority.
Legal Rational authority is based upon clear and logical rules , such as an
election. E.g. prime minister.
Power def
Power means being able to influence others to get what you want.
Informal sources of power are sanctions used by people to control others . For
instance, parents control teenagers thorough the use of sanctions, such as
grounding ,loss of devices or stopping pocket money.
Formal source of power
Formal sources of power are sanctions used by the forces of social control, such
as the police and courts. Police and courts are the agencies of social control.
.4 Factors which may influence access to life chances and power SOCIAL
CLASS
Social Class
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Disability
life chances
Life chances are to do with a person’s chances of enjoying the good things in
life and avoiding the bad things.
Life chances are to do with Health, Quality of Life, Lifestyle and Wealth.
E.g. Good life chances would include the
chance to: Be rich.
Live in a nice house.
Receive a good
People with bad life chances are more likely to be
likely to: Be poor.
Live in poverty
Low life
expectancy.
Be unhealthy.
Be unemployed or low
paid. Be a victim of crime.
Go to prison.
groups that have the lowest life chances.
Some ethnic minorities do worse in education. Black Afro-Caribbean boys
do worse and are more likely to be permanently excluded from
school.
Some ethnic minority groups have higher rates of unemployment and are likely
to live in poor housing. They are likely to be discriminated against and are
more likely to be victims of crime.
Girls do better than boys at GCSE and A’ Level.
Women commit far less crime than men and may be treated less harshly by
the police and courts (Criminal Justice System). However, female crime
is growing.
Evidence shows that women still hit the glass ceiling at work. They are
denied access to the top jobs.
ASCRIBED STATUS –
– a PERSON IS BORN WITH THIS STATUS E.G. THE QUEEN. There are
many people who are still born into titles and wealth. They have high status by
birth and inherit power to influence decisions.
ACHIEVED STATUS
– A PERSON HAS TO WORK TO ACHIEVE THIS E.G. A LAWYER.
People like MP’s gain power and influence in this way. In theory anyone could
become prime minister but in reality, in the UK some people are born with
advantages.
How do you measure social class?
Wealth – what you own in property, possessions or have in the bank.
Income – how much money you earn each week, month or year. These days
often paid into a bank account. Having a large income does not mean you are
wealthy. It depends on your outgoings (what you need to spend each month).
Occupation (job)
Status ( how important are they?)
Other things that could be important are:
Type of education
Accent
Clothes
Neighbourhood
The person’s own view of what social class they
are. Type of house they live in.
Lifestyle
The Registrar General Scale
used to be the government’s method of deciding
which class you were. This depended on your job. If you were a child, it
depended on your
father’s job. Feminists said that this ignored women. Also, the scale does not include
the Upper Class.
Karl marx vs inequality
Karl Marx said that the owners of the factories and big bosses were the Ruling
Class and the rest of the workers were the Working Class (Proletariat). The
difference in power that being an owner gave people, meant more,
according to Marx, than any difference in status or wages that different jobs
may have. The
Ruling Class own the big businesses and are
people like Alan Sugar and Richard Branson.
All scales of class that are based on jobs do not include wealth. Is a bricklayer
who wins the lottery working class?
idk
upper class
– this includes the aristocracy, ‘pop’ aristocracy (footballers and
pop stars) and business people like Richard Branson. The Upper Class own most
of the wealth and are very powerful. Some of them belong to ‘the old boys’
network’ and make sure that their children get into positions of power. The
Upper Class are a small group of people with a lot of power. They often
depend on inherited wealth being passed through the family.
Middle Class-
people at the top like doctors and professors have better life
chances than people lower down the middle , such as nurses and teachers. The
middle class is a large group. They are more likely to own shares, have savings,
pension schemes or to be saving for their children’s education. This is called
Deferred Gratification. You are prepared to wait to enjoy the rewards of your
hard work.
working class
– many people are proud of being working class. In the USA they
use the term lower class which does not sound as good. Many traditional
working class jobs are in decline and films like ‘The Full Monty’ show the effect of
this. Working class people tend to have a strong sense of local identity. They
may stay in one area of the country all their lives.
social mobility
means your ability to climb the social class ladder.
MERITOCRACY
– the idea that those with talent and ability should be able to
achieve. It means having equal opportunities. This is a huge debate in
Sociology.
If Britain was equal people should have an
equal chance of climbing up the social class
ladder. In fact, they do not, and privileged
people get a better start in life through private
education and better life chances. Talented
working class people may not get a chance to
succeed.
Since World War Two there has been an increase in
the number of middle class people. This has
meant that there have been many opportunities.
However, the recent evidence of the last 20 years
is that the very rich are getting richer and the poor
are getting poorer.
Facts about Social Class inequality
-Working class children do not do as well on average in education. This may be
because they lack cultural capital, have low expectations themselves or are
labelled by teachers. Cultural Capital means having the know-how of how to
get on in education. Middle class children may have more books in the
house, have parents who went to university
themselves and place more value on
education.
-Working class subcultures may make it
difficult for children to succeed. Working
class children may be more FATALISTIC in
their view of life.
They do not expect to be successful and have low aspirations.
Classless society? newrights view
New Right believe that social class does not matter much anymore. We now live
in a classless society. The old working class jobs have gone and everyone is
better off.
Classless society? Marxist view
Marxists disagree and say that class is still the most important difference. The ruling
class have power and privilege and get the best for themselves and their
children.
Classless society? Fiona Devine
Fiona Devine studied the working classes in the 1980’s and still found that there
was a sense of working classidentity. She studiedthe affluent or better off workers
who were more likely to have become like the middle classes.
reasons for reduced inequality between the two genders:genderquake
The idea that there has been a massive change in the
aspirations and expectations of women. Women no longer see their main future
as being mothers and house wives. How true this is is unclear.
reasons for inequality between the two genders:Stereotyping
girls not expected to do some things. E.g. play football. Boys not
expected to play with dolls, be emotional.
reasons for inequality between the two genders:Socialisation
Socialisation – girls are socialised differently than boys and guided away from
some occupations. E.g. at home by parents and at school by teachers. In the
past there were barriers to girls choosing different
subjects.
reasons for inequality between the two genders:sexism
Sexism – the belief that men are
superior to women and the
behaviour that comes from this.
reasons for inequality between the two genders:sexual discrimination
Sexual discrimination- when someone is treated differently because of their sex.
reasons for inequality between the two genders:Dual burden
Double burden or Double shift
