Week Seventeen - Explaining Class

Question 1

Three approaches..

Answer 1

Functionalism

Libertarianism

Egalitarianism

Question 2

Functionalism

Answer 2

Class division is essential if fair and based on merit - the notion of just reward for services rendered. Emphasises hard work and has a moral dimension.

Question 3

Libertarianism

Answer 3

Little time for notions of fairness or just reward. Humans should be free to use their talent to make money. It is about freedom not fairness. The free market, laissez-faire capitalism.

Question 4

Egalitarianism

Answer 4

Class is a consequence of social privilege and disadvantage, accidents of birth. It is not a meritocracy, it is given, ascribed, inherited rather than earned. It is also gained by the ruthless and the self-seeking.

Question 5

Class is a product of…

Answer 5

Economic, social and political power

It determines how laws are framed, institutions are organized, and resources are distributed

It is a social construction, a product of capitalism