Weberian and neo- weberian view on Stratification

Question 1

what does Goldthorpe say

Answer 1

• developed webers ideas to devise ways of measuring social class :
  • employment relationships
  • conditions of work
  • life chances into his classifications of class

Question 2

what do barron and norris say

Answer 2

concept of the dual labour market
• suggests there are 2 forms of labour
• middle and ruling class people = primary market ( high pay , good conditions)
• secondary labour market ( low status , lack power )
• women and ethnic minorities = secondary labour market
• white and male = primary market
• hold stereotypical and racist beliefs and have the power to withhold responsibility and promotion

Question 3

what does giddens say

Answer 3

• middle class have recognised skills based on education , professional and social qualifications that advantage them in the workforce
• W/C can only sell their labour
• W/C are vulnerable to technological change which means that their skills are not valued and their jobs are insecure
• Link to the “glass ceiling “

Question 4

what do Rex And Tomlinson say

Answer 4

• marxism fails to account for racial inequality , but we erona accounts of inequality make analyses of racial disadvantages easier to develop
  • Argue that ethnic minorities experience low class and status in society
  • this is compounded by racism so ethnic minorities lack power
  • feel frustrated and alienated from society

Question 5

what does Weber say

Answer 5

• disagrees with marx on the inevitability of class conflict in capitalist societies
• believed it was possible but not inevitable
  Power has three elements :
  • Class :
  The unequal access to possessions of wealth e.g. business owners have more power over employees
  Party ( political power) :
• Being able to influence decision making
• Ruling class has a higher party over decisions due to dominating society .
  Status :
  Respect - who we give attention
• Social closure :
  Status does not equal wealth e.g religious leader
• Adapted 4 social classes :
  • propertied class , petty bourgeoisie , white collar workers and technicians , manual workers
  • did more research , found 7 social classes

Question 6

how can we evaluate weber

Answer 6

• difficult to measure some forms of power as status is subjective
• people can belong to a number of different status groups based on job , gender age etc. Not clear which has the most impact on their power

Question 7

How can we evaluate goldthorpe and the idea of fragmentation

Answer 7

• society is not as fragmented as Weber claims , people identify and are proud of being in a certain status group
  • identities are not always fragmentary as people may identify with specific small groups e.g. being Acottsih
  • Postmodernists
• society is fragmented so people belong to more than one youth culture or identity

Question 8

how can we evaluate rex and tomlinson

Answer 8

fuller :
black girls rejecting negative labels ( education)
weberian analysis of class and gender are problematic