Work, Poverty and Welfare - Paper 2

Question 1

What is the poverty line?

Answer 1

people living on or below 60% of the median income

Question 2

What is absolute poverty?

Answer 2

A person living in absolute poverty lacks the minimum necessary for survival - resorting to food banks and not being able to pay water bills

Question 3

How many people were living in poverty in 2017/18?

Answer 3

14.8 million (8m working age adults, 4 million children 2 million pensioners) with the Joseph Rowntree foundation finding little change in overall poverty for more than 15 years

Question 4

Why are there difficulties in defining absolute poverty?

Answer 4

Difficulty in identifying basic needs objectively. Rowntree’s minimum budget was based on a list of nutritional and other requirements and based on the views of those who made the list e.g., ignores the reality of people’s lives - ill health. Ignores impact of cultural expectations - socialising, attending events, tech, clothes etc.

Question 5

Who came up with the deprivation index?

Answer 5

Townsend

Question 6

What did Townsend argue?

Answer 6

That individuals can be considered to be in poverty when they lack the resources to obtain types of diets, participate in certain activities etc. leading to exclusion from society

Question 7

What is the deprivation index?

Answer 7

A list of goods and services that if people could not afford were considered poor

Question 8

What are the strengths of the concept of relative poverty?

Answer 8

• Recognises that poverty is a social construct
• Recognises that the definition of poverty changes over time in the same society
• Links poverty to wider issues of social exclusion

Question 9

What are the weaknesses of the concept of relative poverty?

Answer 9

• Not an indicator of poverty, more social inequality - relative poverty exists at every class level
• Based on the values of experts not members of the public
• Measure of absolute poverty is much more scientific and easy to measure

Question 10

What is social exclusion?

Answer 10

Townsend used social exclusion as a measure of poverty. This allowed poverty to be understood through interconnecting disadvantages such as bad health suggesting there is more to poverty than just low income

Question 11

What is the minimum standard of living?

Answer 11

The centre of research social policy and the JRF developed the minimum income standard for defining relative poverty. A single person needed an income of £16,300 a year before tax. Nuclear - £20,300 from each parent

Question 12

What are the cultural explanations of poverty?

Answer 12

• Culture of poverty
• New right: dependency culture and welfare state
• Charles Murray
• Myths of welfare state

Question 13

What do cultural explanations of poverty do?

Answer 13

Focus on the behaviour and attitudes of the poor. Theories are often victim blaming arguing there is a shared set of values that make people reliant on others such as the state

Question 14

What is the culture of poverty?

Answer 14

Oscar lewis studied cultural attitudes of the poor in Mexico and Puerto Rico suggesting the poor have their own culture of poverty with distinct norms and values. Children that grow up in this culture are socialised into these values so remain poor due to their values

Question 15

Who investigated the culture of poverty?

Answer 15

Oscar Lewis

Question 16

What are the norms and values Lewis found of the poor?

Answer 16

• Resigned to their situation and don’t take opportunities to change it when they arise
• Sense of fatalism
• Reluctant to work
• Don’t plan for the future - present time orientated
• Don’ts see themselves as part of mainstream society - marginalised

Question 17

How do the New Right view people in poverty?

Answer 17

As undeserving

Question 18

What does Marsland argue about poverty?

Answer 18

Poverty persists because of the generosity of the welfare state claiming:
- Handouts from a nanny state have created a dependency culture - people are happy to live on benefits rather than work

• Universal welfare benefits regardless of income e.g., child benefit being available to all stops money being invested into the economy
• Universal benefits should be stopped and only given to those who are disabled or long term sick. Any that can work should
• Job seekers allowance - demonstrating actively seeking work to continue receiving benefits. Cuts to the amount that people receive. 2020 universal credit roll out - people receive one payment per month from which they have to pay rent and council tax

Question 19

What is Marsland?

Answer 19

New Right

Question 20

What does Murray believe about poverty?

Answer 20

• There is an emerging underclass in 1980s Britain who were responsbile for rising rates of crime and unemployment
• These people were happy to claim welfare benefits and live in a ‘deviant’ family structure such as single parenting (PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
• This leads to dependency culture
• Children brought up in SPFs were more likely to become criminal due to a lack of primary socialisation

Question 21

What are the arguments that welfare benefits do lead to dependency culture?

Answer 21

• People get paid for not working and perverse incentives may lead them to carry on
• NR - easier to claim benefits than find work

Question 22

What are the arguments that welfare benefits don’t lead to dependency culture?

Answer 22

• People on welfare benefits are in need of it and they’re not doing it to drain the state because they have no other choice
• State and ruling class have vast wealth which should be distributed

Question 23

What are the criticisms of Murray?

Answer 23

• Without benefits, there would be more crime due to rise in absolute poverty because crime would be necessary to survive e.g., fraud or burglary
• Scapegoating the poor for their situation is an example of victim blaming and ignorance because they are saying the poor are deserving of their situation. He ignores individual factors/experiences. He doesn’t provide adequate solutions to fix poverty
• Genetic modification of the poor is unethical because being poor isn’t a genetic fault there is no biological link. Placed into situation due to factors out of their control, society has constructed poverty not nature

Question 24

What are the myths of the welfare state?

Answer 24

• There are generations of work shy families - there are only 0.3% of households with 2 or more generations where neither generation have worked
• Benefits are too generous - £77 a week
• The benefit bill is too high because of benefit cheats - it is a normal amount
• Most claimants are sitting at home on benefits for years
• Most welfare spending goes on the unemployed
• We are spending vast amounts on large families with too many children

Question 25

What are the criticisms of cultural explanations of poverty?

Answer 25

• There is no clear evidence that children inherit their parent’s behaviour - Rutter and Madge found at least half of children born into poverty do not repeat the behaviour. It is too deterministic as it ignores free will and choice it is victim blaming. Shildrick argued there is no evidence of a dependency culture he found only 9.5% of households had a culture of worklessness
• Blaming victims. rather than causes - their theories blame the poor for their situation and fail to consider structural factors/ Marxists argue it is easier to blame the poor than the government
• They are based on myths around the welfare state. Baumberg, Bell and Gaffney suggest that the new right view of the underclass is based on a constant polluting flow of misinformation from the government and the media

Question 26

What are material explanations of poverty?

Answer 26

• Blame lack of material support; inadequate welfare state and basic lack of funding from those in poverty
• Economic and social position of groups like this with low pay, the rich, elderly and unemployed influence behaviour of the poor
• Hopelessness of the future leads to a live in the moment attitude (present time orientated)
• Attitudes and values are a response to being poor no the cause

Coates and Silburn - emphasised how the poor are trapped due to circumstance - they called this the cycle of deprivation e..g, child born into poverty, may get ill a lot, misses lots of school, underachieves, goes into low paid job or unemployment and experiences poverty as an adult

Question 27

What is the social democratic view of the underclass?

Answer 27

• Consists of people right at the bottom of the social hierarchy; whose poverty means they are excluded from taking part in society
• Field suggests this group consists of the elderly, lone parents, long term unemployed, disabled, low paid and long term sick
• They are forced to rely on inadequate state benefits which are too low to give acceptable standard of living
• Many migrant workers and asylum seekers work illegally in very low paid jobs as they cannot claim benefits. They are stuck in the poverty trap

Question 28

Why do the poor pay more?

Answer 28

Cost of living is higher for the poor, they are immediately disadvantaged and the cost of living hinders them if they try to escape poverty:
- Poor quality homes that are expensive to heat and maintain
- Cost of home and car insurance is high as there are higher crime rates in the area
- Have to buy cheap clothing which doesn’t last
- Have to pay more for food as they can only afford ot buy in small quantities e.g., Costco good value but need membership/car
- May have to shop at the corner shop which is more expensive as they don’t have a car to get to the supermarket
- Pay more for credit as they have to go to loan sharks
- Suffer more ill health and have to pay non-prescription medicine e.g., painkillers

Question 29

What is the marxist view of the underclass?

Answer 29

• Miliband is critical that the poor are an underclass. They see them as not separate but simply the most disadvantaged of the working class.
• They see them as not separate but simple the most disadvantaged of WC
• Argue that all working class could join this group if they become sick, unemployed or disabled. To solve this we need to destroy the capitalist system

Question 30

What are structural explanations of poverty?

Answer 30

Poverty arises from the structure of inequality in a capitalist society. Wealth is unequally distributed. They suggest the poor lack the ability to change their position

Question 31

What are marxist structural explanations of poverty?

Answer 31

The poor are poor because they are exploited by the rich

Question 32

What are Weberian structural explanations of poverty?

Answer 32

They lack skills and power, weak market position

Question 33

What are Functionalist structural explanations of poverty?

Answer 33

They serve a purpose in maintaining society

Question 34

What is wealth?

Answer 34

Property in the form of assets that a person can sell for cash. Wealth and assets survey in 2015 measured wealth in each household measuring: marketable wealth, non-marketable wealth, productive property and consumption property

Question 35

What is income?

Answer 35

The money people get from work earned income, benefits or if they own property and rent it out

Question 36

What is disposable income?

Answer 36

What you have left over after paying tax

Question 37

What is discretionary income?

Answer 37

What is left after tax, bills, food and travel costs

Question 38

What do functionalists say about the distribution of wealth/poverty?

Answer 38

• There is always going to be rich and poor people in society, inequality is needed for it to function
• Meritocracy - succeed on own hard work
• Everything in society has a purpose. Durkheim said institutions work together to keep society going, if one fails, they all do - organic analogy. Inequality in wealth is needed for society to function

Question 39

What do marxists say about the distribution of wealth/poverty?

Answer 39

• Everyone should be equal and that there should be an equal distribution of wealth
• Proletariat are unfairly disadvantaged by the bourgeoisie - exploitation
• Inherited wealth - meritocracy is a myth

Question 40

How have the government attempted to redistribute wealth?

Answer 40

• Inheritance tax: tax payable on money inherited
• Capital gains tax: intended to reduce profits from dealing property and shares is payable when these are sold
• Income tax: payable on both earned and unearned income and increases as wage does
• Social welfare benefits: these are from the state and are a way of using taxes form the wealth to support the poorest in society

Question 41

Why haven’t attempts to redistribute wealth worked?

Answer 41

The rising cost of living and wages and benefits not meeting this, changes in government, tax goes back into government and isn’t used to redistribute wealth to poor, greed of upper class (marxism), stigma - some may not claim benefits they’re entitled to.
The wealthiest 10% of households owned 45% of overall wealth, the bottom half of households owned 9% of overall wealth

Question 42

What is the distribution and extent of poverty in UK social groups?

Answer 42

14.6 million living in poverty:
- 33.6% of all children live in poverty
- 50% of those in poverty are on low incomes or without a job
- 16% of pensioners are in poverty
- 46% of lone parents are in poverty
- Ethnic background can increase likelihood of being in poverty: 65% of Bangladeshis, 45% of Black Africans and 25% of Indians
- Disabled make up 28% of those in poverty

Question 43

What does postmodernism do?

Answer 43

Focuses on individual experiences

Question 44

What do post structural feminists say about poverty?

Answer 44

Double disadvantage - Racism and sexism

Question 45

What do marxists say about ethnicity and poverty?

Answer 45

Structural explanations - racism and lower social class exploitation

Question 46

What do functionalists say about ethnicity and poverty?

Answer 46

Poverty helps to motivate and discipline society, all roles need filling, it is functionally important

Question 47

What do the new right say about ethnicity and poverty?

Answer 47

Cultural explanations - norms and values of different family types - links to Modood

Question 48

What do Kenway and Palmer say about ethnicity and poverty?

Answer 48

Almost 50% of children from EMG are in poverty, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Chinese families most likely to be affected

Question 49

What are the reasons for EMG being in poverty?

Answer 49

• Low pay: Purdah - women kept separately from men so men work
• Unemployment: higher amongst Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Black Africans and Black Caribbeans
• Discrimination in employment: Wood - racism in rectutment
• Underachievement in education: Ball - ethnocentric curriculum
• Family types: Modood - differences in values, family types (SPF)

Question 50

What do marxists say about age and poverty?

Answer 50

Structural factors lead to the elderly being in poverty, the way society is structured is the reason

Question 51

What do functionalists say about age and poverty?

Answer 51

They’d argue that elderly being in poverty is good for society as they’ve served their function, society needs poverty to function correctly

Question 52

What do the new right say about age and poverty?

Answer 52

Murray: children are in poverty due to poor parenting and lack of socialisation in the underclass created by a generous Nanny state. This means that people are having children to get a council house and be on benefits, this will be a cycle and the reason for poverty continuing as the children see their parents do it so think it is right

Question 53

What are the reasons for different age groups being in poverty?

Answer 53

• Child poverty can cause wider social problems e.g., crime and bullying due to not being able to afford things
• Older people are less likely to live in poverty, children are more likely to live in a low income household - 33.6% of children in UK live in poverty
• Hirsch: causes material and social hardships which affects education and has lasting effects on physical and emotional health. greater risk of poverty as adults

Question 54

What are the factors that lead to greater risk of poverty in age groups

Answer 54

• Lone parenthood
• Lack of work or low paid parents
• Disability of parents
• Lack of benefits
• Lack of support - cost of childcare

Question 55

What do marxists say about disability and poverty?

Answer 55

Structural factors lead to those with disabilities being in poverty

Question 56

What do functionalists say about disability and poverty?

Answer 56

The disabled being in poverty is good because it creates jobs in health and social care

Question 57

What do the new right say about disability and poverty?

Answer 57

Murray: Those on disability benefits could be working and not relying on the system

Question 58

What does Palmer say about disability and poverty?

Answer 58

33% of disabled adults are living in povety, 2/5 are single adults looking after kids due to lack of day to day support they experience social exclusion

Question 59

What are the reasons for those with disabilities being in poverty?

Answer 59

• Inadequate welfare benefits: not enough to keep people out of poverty especially with rising cost of living. Disability benefits haven’t increased at the same rate as those for children and the elderly
• Discrimination from employers: discrimination against those with disabilities although illegal it often happens because of the cost of adaptations or appointment absences
• Low pay: more likely to be in a low paid position which impacts future pensions especially if they need to retire early because of physical problems
• Unemployment: those with disabilities are 4X more likely to be unemployed even if they have similar qualifications
• Inability to undertake paid employment: disabilities prohibit it if they are welfare dependant

Question 60

What do marxists say about gender and poverty?

Answer 60

Structural factors lead to women being in poverty or given low paid jobs - employers worry about maternity leave. It is better for capitalism for women to be at home

Question 61

What do functionalists say about gender and poverty?

Answer 61

Women should be married they shouldn’t work to raise the children as this is society’s structure

Question 62

What do the new right say about gender and poverty?

Answer 62

Women are more likely to be lone parents because of perverse incentives - council houses

Question 63

What are the reasons for genders being in poverty?

Answer 63

20% of both males and females live in poverty
- single female pensioners higher risk
- Women of all ethnic backgrounds have lower average income - glass ceiling
- Women are more likely to take up part time work and be low paid –> miss out on work related welfare benefits
- Women are responsible for childcare –> Ferri and Smith (Dual burden)
- Women are the majority of homeworkers who usually do jobs which fit around children - body shop or scentsy consultancy which means they’re only paid on what they sell so no employment rights
- Women are more likely to be lone parents with the responsibility of children
- Women are more likely to sacrifice standard of living for themselves to provide –> Middleton: mothers sacrifice no food for themselves to provide e.g., clothes and holidays
- Women live longer than men so lack of pensions means more poverty in old age

Question 64

What are Davis and Moore?

Answer 64

Functionalists

Question 65

What is Gans?

Answer 65

Functionalist

Question 66

What do Davis and Moore say about the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 66

Role Allocation
Inequalities in wealth and income are needed to maintain society:
- Some positions in society are more functionally important than others. These require specialist skills that not everyone in society has the ability to acquire
- Those who do have the ability to do these jobs must be motivated and encouraged to undertake lengthy training with the promise of high wages. There must be a system of unequal rewards to make sure the most able to get the highest positions

A functionally important job e.g., doctor is a long process to be qualified but physically demanding and low paid footballers and influencers don’t necessarily have a difficult job but get paid very highly

Question 67

What does Gans say about the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 67

Gans argues that the existence of poverty has important functions for the stability of society because:
- The existence of poverty makes sure that the undesirable, dirty and dangerous jobs are done as people do these who have no choice
- Poverty creates job occupations, such as social workers, debt advisors
- The treat of poverty keeps people working even if for low rewards and reinforces values of a hard-honest day’s work
- Some sectors thrive on having a high number of people on low paid role e.g., Health service and clothing industry

Question 68

What are the criticisms of functionalist explanations for the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 68

No way of deciding which jobs are more important - can change over time, some have inherited wealth - class system isn’t enforced. Some are not motivated by a financial reward of higher pay. Poverty may not motivate people to work to avoid it - Murray and nanny state

Question 69

What does Weber say about the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 69

Inequalities in wealth and income exist due to the different market situations of individuals - different skills a person has and how much it is worth. Some have skills, talents and abilities that are in demand such as scientists or doctors. In our celeb-based society celebrities get higher rewards for their skills.
Poverty arises when a person is in a weak market situation - they may lack the skills needed to earn reward of high pay or have barriers which stop them acquiring those skills - sexism-gender pay gap, glass ceiling. Ageism and racism, dysfunctional family - weak support system

Question 70

What are the strengths of weberian explanations for the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 70

• Recognises individual situations compared to functionalists
• Recognises skills qualifications - still relevant to society
• Focuses on other factors than class (more useful than marxism)

Question 71

What are the criticisms of weberian explanations for the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 71

• What you’re born into - Marxist view
• Outdated - postmodernists
• Murray would criticise as market situation is based on norms and values and attitudes, no skills/quals which gives underclass an excuse

Question 72

What do Miliband and Westergaard and Resler say about the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 72

Suggest that wealth and income inequality and the existence of poverty lies in the private ownership of the means of production. The concentration of ownership means that all of this is owned by a small number of upper class - this makes them a lot of unearned income

Question 73

What are Miliband and Westergaard and Resler?

Answer 73

Marxists

Question 74

What are the key marxist arguments about the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 74

• Wealth and income is concentrated in the hands of the ruling class, this creates inequality
• Poverty is inevitable in a capitalist society
• The working class keep the inequality going by working for the ruling class through cheap labour
• The existence of non-working poor keeps wages down as there are always new workers looking for low paid jobs
• Poverty divides the working class into us and them and helps maintain false class consciousness
• Divide and rule - divide up working class to rule over them

Question 75

What are the criticisms of marxist explanations for the distribution of poverty, wealth and income?

Answer 75

It fails to consider individual differences - gender, age, people with disabilities, race/ethnic group and sexuality. Post structural feminists would consider the double disadvantage of racism and sexism
Post modernists focus on the individual person

Question 76

What is the welfare state?

Answer 76

One that is concerned with implementing social policies guaranteeing the ‘cradle to the grave’ wellbeing of the population. The welfare state in Britain mainly began with he Beveridge Report of 1942 which was based on full employment, universal welfare, free healthcare and education and that women would be housewives and mothers

Question 77

What did the Beveridge Report say the welfare services aimed to destroy?

Answer 77

The 5 Giants

Question 78

What are the 5 giants?

Answer 78

Want - greed, dissatisfaction, no money
Ignorance - homelessness, more exploitation, lack of education, crime rates increasing, discrimination - led to free education
Disease - illness lack of health, no NHS led to NHS
Squalor - not living in good conditions, homelessness, council houses, leads to ignorance and want
Idleness - lack in financial needs, social deprivation, job seeking

Question 79

What are the advantages of the welfare state?

Answer 79

• Provides a safety net when private sectors fail e.g., given benefits by the government if a business fails or loans in construction/care businesses
• More likely to provide a wider range of services e.g., social services cover housing, family difficulties, extracurricular clubs, homelessness, support for young people, ill and cradle to grave. Full care - holistic care for the whole person cradle to grave
• Can easily be held to account for their failings e.g., underperforming schools will be judged by competitive standard, getting harder each year. Parents, Ofsted, general public - taxpayer held accountable

Question 80

What services did the welfare state provide paid for by taxation?

Answer 80

Benefits: welfare and child benefits, state pension, universal credit. COVID 0 furlough
Free NHS: maternity checkups, mental health services free prescriptions to 16, subsided treatments and prescriptions
Free compulsory education: till 18, nursery free 15 hours, range of schools and colleges with specialities, choice of quals and apprenticeships, university/tuition fee loans and maintenance loans
Social services: mental health services, child protection, children in care get extracurricular activities paid for, support fostering and adoption, respite care - people with disabilities, housing support - residential/care

Question 81

What are the disadvantages of the welfare state?

Answer 81

• It is often at the mercy of funding from the government which can be cut as we have seen in the NHS and salary being cut. Police funds cut money not spent wisely by the government. More unemployment - less taxpayers. Universal credit decreasing
• Too much demand can place the service under incredible pressure e.g., the NHS waiting lists and during COVID the lack of doctors/nurses for patients

Question 82

What is welfare pluralism?

Answer 82

Welfare provided by the public sector (state), private companies, voluntary organisations, charities, families and community groups

Question 83

How can we link theories to welfare pluralism?

Answer 83

Less stress on government - shared responsibility
Functionalism - organic analogy
New right - shouldn’t depend on government nanny state
Postmodernism - focuses on specific social groups - targeted support

Question 84

What is informal welfare provision?

Answer 84

Welfare provided informally and for free by family and friends

Question 85

What are the COVID statistics about carers?

Answer 85

13.6 million carers during COVID but statistics could be invalid and inaccurate - large amount unaccounted for (dark figure)

Question 86

Why do the government benefit from informal welfare provision?

Answer 86

They don’t have to spend money on taking care of people, less pressure on government and reduces dependency culture.

Question 87

What did the 2011 census show about carers?

Answer 87

Women 73% more likely to be carers than ,en. This could be because of traditional gender stereotypes and the patriarchal society we live in. Beveridge repots a patriarchal assumption. It can emotionally affect young carers as there is no one to take care of them

Question 88

What does the Beveredige Report say about the patriarchy and informal welfare provision?

Answer 88

included the patriarchal assumption that women would primarily be house drivers and mothers concerned with looking after the family. In this sense they would go to their working husbands for financial support. Much welfare provision today still rests on this assumption, despite the fact that most women now also work outside the home in paid employment. Dual burden-caring and working (Ferri and Smith), triple shift (Dunscombe and Marsden)

Question 89

What is the voluntary sector?

Answer 89

Voluntary organisations are non profit making organisation, often charities. They are staffed by volunteers and paid staff

Question 90

What are the advantages of the voluntary sector?

Answer 90

• High levels of expertise such as: mental health professionals food banks, specialist advice and information - job seeking link to other charities - training and research to give specialist advice
• Able to respond quickly in meeting people’s needs: 24/7 services, charities specialise in certain sectors- smaller target group, bases around the UK so is accessible
• Specialise in areas such as mental health, child safety, homelessness, financial and emotional support and medical support
• They can act as a pressure group, highlighting social inequalities such as racism, unequal pay, class divide, sexism, a voice for the powerless, excluded or marginalised from society

Question 91

What are the disadvantages of the voluntary sector?

Answer 91

• Often lack adequate funds to be as effective as they would like to be because the government don’t have enough funds to give charities, small scale, not enough donations / money to give - cost of living casts
• Do not exist in all areas where they are needed due to underfunding, not enough volunteers, lock of public awareness and competition for donations
• Under severe pressure as a result of funding cuts from the government so it is harder to help people, they cannot pay for resources especially with the cost of living crisis

Question 92

What is the private sector of welfare provision?

Answer 92

-Provides welfare services such as private hospitals, schools, care homes, pensions and medical insurance such as BUPA.
-Access to the private sector is only available to those that can afford it. The most disadvantaged therefore may not be able to get services if the state doesn’t provide them
-People who have the money can pay to ‘queue jump’ e.g., paying to see a private consultant who can put them at the top of a waiting list.

Question 93

What would the New Right say about the private sector?

Answer 93

It is more efficient and effective

Question 94

How would marxists criticise the private sector?

Answer 94

It benefits the rich and creates a bigger class divide. The government should be providing because private businesses will exploit people for profit. Myth of meritocracy and fake caring face of capitalism - Pearce

Question 95

What are the Marxist approaches to welfare?

Answer 95

-See the welfare state mainly as a way of buying off working class protest. This is done by reducing the risk to social order and political stability caused by extreme inequality, ill health and poverty. By keeping the labour force healthy and efficient, it creates a caring face of capitalism (Pearce). The truth is that the bourgeoisie want to keep their workforce healthy so that they can continue to exploit them in the workplace

Question 96

What are the Feminist approaches to welfare?

Answer 96

-Emphasise the way the welfare state supports patriarchy, and the inadequacy of the welfare state to meet the needs of women. They point out the way the benefits system is frequently based on contributions made up by full time workers, who are less likely to be women. The state also makes assumptions that care will be undertaken for free by women who rely on being financially supported by their husbands - Beveridge report

-Gender pension gap (article) page 44 work poverty welfare

-Policies introduced to reduce the gap: Equal pay act (1970s,), equality act (2010) - replaced sex discrimination act (1970s). Shared potential leave (2015), gender pay gap reporting yearly

Question 97

What are the Social Democratic approaches to welfare?

Answer 97

-Originated in the 1940s with cradle to the grave concept of support

-Universalism (welfare if needed should be available to all)

-The government should be responsible for social welfare and for action to eliminate problems that affect the most vulnerable and socially excluded in society
A03: people in weak market positions should be helped by the government became the weberian theory recognises individual differences - increases social mobility. in general relative deprivation and marginalisation - Lea and Young

-Social inequality threatens the stability of society, and wealth and income should be redistributed through taxation. The more you earn the more you pay. The state should provide ‘womb to tomb’ support to reduce social inequality and tackle poverty.
A03: Beveridge report - aiming to destroy the 5 giants using the NHS. Education, benefits and social services

-Benefits should be available to all because tested benefits create a stigma on those claiming them. This means that sometimes those entitled to benefits don’t claim them. Means testing also puts people off from getting low paid jobs as they are not much better off working than being on benefits
A03: The New Right wouldn’t agree with this because they’d argue that this creates dependency culture and makes a nanny state. They say the underclass is good and they should receive stigma because it stops people claiming benefits, producing a nanny state.

-The need for more social cohesion-greater equality in health care, education, and employment promotes a more cohesive and less divided society.
AO3: feminist would support this because they advocate for equality an equal society will reduce societies issues but say this isn’t happening yet
Marxists would agree because they want to see equality between social classes

Question 98

What are the New Right approaches to welfare?

Answer 98

• Individualism (everyone must be independent and not rely on the state)

-Approach developed during the Conservative government between 1979 and 1997 when the aim was to ‘roll back’ the welfare state and make people more independent. Approach also known as the market liberal approach because it believes that individual should have the freedom to choose welfare provision for themselves

​​-The generosity of the nanny welfare state is seen as undermining personal responsibility and people’s willingness to work and support themselves. Charles Murray (1989) and Marsland (1989) argue that the welfare state has created a dependency culture and a work shy underclass. They avoid work and rely on welfare benefits which are known as perverse incentives - encouraging lone parenthood as women realise they will be supported financially by the state.

Question 99

What are the feminist criticisms of the welfare state?

Answer 99

Welfare system isn’t generous so won’t encourage women to rely on it. The patriarchy controlling females false assumptions create negative views of women

Question 100

What are the New Right criticisms of the welfare state?

Answer 100

Welfare services are better quality when they are not provided by the state e.g., if they are provided by charities or voluntary organisations e.g., cancer care according to new right, competition will improve standards

Question 101

What are general criticisms of welfare?

Answer 101

• Taxation should be kept to a minimum and shouldn’t be wasted on providing welfare benefits and free healthcare to those unable to support themselves- undeserving poor
• State benefits should be restricted to the very poor and those unable to work through sickness or disability. The rest of the population should provide their own welfare such as private medicine and private pension plans

Question 102

What are the Conservative 1979-97 government’s main aims for welfare?

Answer 102

• Raise quality of welfare through competition, reduce in efficiency, eliminate dependency culture and develop principles of self-help
• Target benefits to the ‘deserving poor’ such as the sick and disabled, beneficial for sick and disabled as they cannot work
• The rest of the population were encouraged to rely on their own resources rather than those of the state. Weber says social mobility is possible so using resources the poor can get out of their situation. CRITICAL - feminist disagree because it encourages informal welfare provision- patriarchal assumption
• There were serious cuts in welfare spending and benefits. Poor don’t have enough to survive on if they have barriers meaning they can’t work. Encourages individualism and reduces dependency culture (Marsland and Murray). CRITICAL - social democrats would criticise this because they want more support. Marxists would say they’re cutting it for the ruling class benefit to keep power and control
• Child support allowance (csa) was introduced to penalise absent fathers. Feminists would agree with this policy mostly but it is forcing the nuclear family structure. Patriarchal assumption that mother is the main care-giver. New right says it increases individual responsibility as the government won’t pay

Question 103

What are the New Labour 1997-2010 government’s policies for welfare?

Answer 103

• An increase in how much people could claim benefits. Pensions for the elderly were increased and big increases in spending on healthcare and education. (Social Democratic)
• The introduction of the national minimum wage (1999). Introduction of tax credits to hold the lowest paid in society. This would help to up peoples wages and would help overcome the poverty trap by making work pay more benefits (Social Democratic)
• The introduction of the ‘Family Intervention Project’. This helped to tackle the cycle of deprivation and the passing of poverty from one generation to the next, by intervening in families where there were multiple problems and anti-social behaviour. (New right and Social Democratic)
• An increase in childcare and nursery education with all 3&4 year olds guaranteed 5 half days in nursery (Social Democratic)
• Sure start centres were opened to provide parenting advice/baby groups for disadvantaged/minority groups (Social Democratic)
• A neighbourhood renewal strategy to regenerate the most deprived communities and to help improve the health and education of the most disadvantaged. This involved spend in more money on social housing (Social Democratic)
• 1 in 4 children lived in poverty at this time. Labour wanted to reduce child poverty with the aim of eliminating it within generations. This included getting women back to work through schemes such as ‘New deal’. (Social Democratic and Feminism)

Question 104

What are the Coalition 2010-15 government’s policies for welfare?

Answer 104

• Continued emphasis on parenting skills, and flexible childcare to tackle child poverty
• Steps taken to ensure that it was more beneficial to go to work than be on benefits
• Introduction of universal credit. A simplified benefits system to make it easier for people to apply for benefits aimed to provide people with a basic minimum income that would only get reduced as income increased through employment.
• The coalition government showed themselves through a greater emphasis on individual responsibility and self help. There was a re-emergence of the ‘deserving’ and undeserving poor’ and a focus on tackling. ‘Dependency culture’.
• Foucault (1991) - there was an intensifying process of disciplining those on benefits ongoing checks to see is they were actively seeking work, sanctioning those (removal of benefits) who failed to comply
• The language of welfare took on support for ‘strivers and ‘hard working families’ with disdain for those on benefits being regarded as ‘shirkers’
• There was a stricter definition imposed as to what being incapable of work really meant. New medical tests were introduced which were much harsher with the aim of cutting the number of people claiming sickness benefits. Feminists - medical tests are made for mon so it’s less likely to work for women. This negatively affects women as they may not realise they have something
• Benefits for the disabled particularly families with disabled children were cut. Social democratic-in the position through no fault of their own, Weber- weak market situations not their fault
• Sure start centres were either cased down completely or suffered under funding. Targets set by New Labour to reduce child poverty were also abandoned. Social democratic - setup in disadvantaged areas - people not able to escape the poverty trap. Feminist- single mothers have more burden
• The level of child benefit paid to parents was frozen for 3 years which meant the value of the benefit did not increase. The number of children you could claim for was also limited to 3. Feminists - would criticise this patriarchal assumption of providing childcare
• Housing benefit was capped depending on which area you lived in. This then forced people out of the inner cities to the North where rents were cheaper. However, this affected poor families the most as their areas had higher rates of unemployment. Benefits were also reduced for those who had a spare bedroom. This became known as the ‘bedroom tax’. New right would agree as it makes sure only the deserving poor get council houses. The New Right wants efficiency, not wasting council larger houses which aren’t needed but the waiting list is too long to do this. Post modernists highlight individual circumstances
• The ending of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) and higher university fees had the worst effect on the educational prospects of the poorest groups in society. Marxists would criticise this because it enforces the class divide as university is only accessible for the rich. Impacts working class progression to higher education. Cultural reproduction (Willis) Key Marxist. Weber - market position won’t change, keep disadvantaged in weak market positions.

Question 105

What approach did the Coalition government take to welfare?

Answer 105

Policies of new labour, re-emergence of New Right, policies to tackle dependency culture

Question 106

How has the welfare state failed to make things more equal?

Answer 106

Townsend showed that in the 60s, relative poverty was still a major problem and it remains today. This is because there has been a shift from reducing poverty in the 60s to reducing welfare costs from the 80s. Since 2000 the focus has been on the ageing population which has been putting growing pressure on pensions, health and social care. As a result there have been cuts which we saw during COVID. Means testing of benefits prescription charges, dental charges, fees for university have all affected those on the lowest income most.

Question 107

What is the Inverse Care Law?

Answer 107

Those whose need is greatest get the least spent on them and those whose need is greatest and get the least spent on them.
Julian Le Grand (1982) argued that most welfare spending consists of universal benefits going to everyone (state pensions, free healthcare and education) or is spent in a way that provides services from which the middle class have most to gain

Question 108

How does the welfare state improve class inequality?

Answer 108

-Make better use of the health service as they are more assertive with doctors and more likely to be referred for further treatment
-Receive more funding in education as children more likely to stay in education
-More likely to commute to work so benefit from spending on public transport
-More likely to use public services such as libraries, parks etc

Question 109

How can we see ethnic inequality?

Answer 109

-Discrimination in education due to the ethnocentric curriculum - this leads to lower qualifications and lower paid jobs
-Wood did a study which found ethnic minorities are less likely to be recruited
-Inequality act 2010 - not effective because people say it isn’t due to race
-White- British more likely to get higher paid jobs
-Effect of this inequality is marginalisation so they will feel excluded - social exclusion

Question 110

How can we see gender ineuqality?

Answer 110

-Women have a dual burden as they are responsible for unpaid domestic labour
-The gender pay gap means that women are paid-no punishment for this less than men for the same work
-Women more likely to provide child care so cannot work as many hours
-Patriarchal assumptions - women will take care of children
-Women have lower pensions overall due to women living longer they get more money over time

Question 111

How is the welfare state succeeding?

Answer 111

• Free healthcare through NHS is universal
• Policies to support most vulnerable - council houses and free school meals
• Free state education - gives chances of a good life and qualifications to everyone
• Extra payments - £20 universal credit, furlough
• Cradle to grave security
• Services available to vulnerable groups

Question 112

How is the welfare state not succeeding?

Answer 112

• Cutting benefits and not enough in the first place. Not high enough to support people out of poverty
• Bedroom tax: people in council houses are being penalised
• Inequality within wealth, education, housing and employment
• NHS failing to cope with demands
• Middle class benefit mostly from education - values and cultural capital
• Lack of mental health support for disabled
• Stigma of benefits- people ‘scrounging’ from the state

Question 113

What are the future aims of the welfare state?

Answer 113

-Tackling welfare dependency
-Tackling the pension time bomb and social care costs
-Making people pay for services if they can afford them
-Putting greater emphasis on provision by the voluntary and private sectors
-Making public services such as schools, hospitals, social services etc more efficient

Question 114

What is the labour process?

Answer 114

Refers to the role that people play as they apply their labour at work to produce goods and services. It also refers to the conditions in which people perform their work, the skills they use, and the amounts of autonomy (independance) and control they have over their work

Question 115

What was work in industrial industries like?

Answer 115

No employee welfare, 1750 - 15% lived in town/city, 1850 - 80%, 1900 - 85%. Rise in factory work, mass production and exploitation. Decline in family size as not enough space and cannot afford to have large families. Risk of ill health and disease - Beveridge report.
Ruling class own means of production and the working class sell their labour for low income.

Workers initially reluctant to submit power and control to factory owners, control, discipline, productivity and motivation of the workforce became major concerns for owners and managers of the means of production. This gave rise to ‘low-trust’ systems of management control - the idea that workers cannot be trusted, and need to be closely supervised or monitored

Question 116

What does Abercrombie say about the strategies for controlling the workforce?

Answer 116

Responsible autonomy, bureaucratic control, technical control and direct control

Question 117

What is responsbile autonomy?

Answer 117

workers given a wider degree of discretion/control, and are less controlled by direct superiors. Workforce is more self-policing

Question 118

What is bureaucratic control?

Answer 118

workers controlled by hierarchy of authority; every work has immediate superior, and format rules controlling their job.

Question 119

What is technical control?

Answer 119

nature of jobs/speed of work are controlled by technology, with each worker given a limited range of tasks, involving little skill

Question 120

What is direct control?

Answer 120

clear supervision of the workforce by owners/managers. Typically found in small businesses; not very common today, in larger companies

Question 121

What is scientific management?

Answer 121

management of workers should follow scientific principles - strict control of workforce, and performance of tasks in same was a piece of machinery

Question 122

What is Taylorism?

Answer 122

breaking work down into simplest elements. Managers give workers clear instructions on exactly how to do their job

Question 123

How is Taylorism seen in the workplace?

Answer 123

Idea of using technology not only to produce goods but also as a means of controlling the work force developed by Taylor who believed in the principles of scientific management - workers in an industrial firm should be tightly controlled and perform tasks in the same way as a piece of machinery. Taylor believed that the best means by which management could reduce the power of workers over the labour process, increase the workforce and ensure maximum output of goods by:
-Making the labour process completely independent of the autonomy (decision making), creativity, and ability of the individual worker
-Defining every task in work, down to the smallest detail, and working out how long each task should take eg. McDonalds
-Removing as much skill as possible from the workers’ jobs, breaking each task down into small, simple and repetitive talks that can be completed with little skill.

Workers then became extensions of the machinery they operate. Lean approach-more efficiency

Question 124

What is Fordism?

Answer 124

He used assembly lines to produce the first mass produced cars. Cheap standardised cars were produced with work broken down into small repetitive tasks that require little skill and training, keeping labour costs low. Workers were controlled closely by managers and supervisors who planned, coordinated and controlled the production process. Workers lacked skills, knowledge of the production process and control of work speed. Mass of unthinking robots.

Question 125

How are marxists critical of fordism?

Answer 125

it enforces a divide between the owners and employees .It keeps the bourgeoisie controlling and exploiting the proletariat. It removes workers ability to be critical thinkers

Question 126

What is McDonaldisation?

Answer 126

Process of workplaces/society becoming like a fast food restaurant. A contemporary example of the way work today employs similar Taylorist/Fordist low-trust principles of scientific management is found in Ritzer’s (2011) McDonaldisation thesis. The principles of a fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more sectors of society
Ritzer argues the labour process in fast-food chains involves 4 interrelated aspects

Question 127

What are the 4 interrelated aspects of the labour process and fast-food chains?

Answer 127

Efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. These techniques of management(Taylorism, fordism, mcdonaldisation) later became known as the deskilling thesis

Question 128

What is efficiency in the labour process (Ritzer - McDonaldisation)

Answer 128

Every aspect of the labour process is carefully evaluated so that the production process is as streamlined as possible, and carries out uniforms. Example - simplified jobs - one worker assigned to one job, don’t need to know specific details, technology improves efficiency

Question 129

What is calculalbility in the labour process (Ritzer - McDonaldisation)

Answer 129

Each item in the production process is carefully calculated and quantified. Example-products like a Big Mac are of similar weight and size, and can be processed in the given amount of time.

Question 130

What is predictability in the labour process (Ritzer - McDonaldisation)

Answer 130

The products, the way the staff treat and talk to customers, and the environment are stable, consistent and predictable, and can be duplicated in all branches across the world. Example - good attitude and quick service, customer service skills, short wait time, clean environment

Question 131

What is control in the labour process (Ritzer - McDonaldisation)

Answer 131

Management controls the labour process through technology, ideology. Example- rules about timings, mangers train them in customer service, uniform rules

Question 132

What is the Deskilling thesis?

Answer 132

The organisation of work under capitalism for reflecting conflict between the owners and working class. Managers cannot trust workers to work efficiently so minimise the autonomy of workers. Argues that in contemporary capitalism, an increasing proportion of jobs are becoming more degraded in skill as tasks are subdivided with a loss of creative capacity and control over the labour process.
Cashier - self service tills calculate change
Security - CCTV
Receptionist - self service, NHS app

Question 133

What are the criticisms of the deskilling thesis?

Answer 133

-In the 19th century, most workers were already in unskilled or semi-skilled jobs e.g., factory workers, chimney sweeps, miners. Maybe we never lost skills, jobs didn’t have them in the 1st place.
-Rather than removing skills, technology has created new skills which require new jobs e.g., computer science, mechanics, engineers, marketing and cyber security. Workers are reskilling
-The fordist model of mass production is old-fashioned and disappearing. Employers are using more flexible methods of production. Workers are becoming multi-skilled and flexible as employers look for a wide range of skills.
-Upskilling: there has been a decline in semi- and unskilled manual work ‘ and an increase in skilled work. Gallie (1994) found little evidence to support the deskilling thesis, many said their work has been upskilled - more qualifications needed and more time spent on training.
-Other Marxist argue that deskilling is only one means of controlling the labour process and workforce.

Question 134

What are the criticisms of Fordism, Taylorism and McDonaldisation?

Answer 134

Many argue that Fordist modes of production are increasingly outdated. While assembly-time production and the application of Taylor’s scientific management principles of McDonaldisation are effective for producing a very limited range of cheap products on a mass scale, customers have become more demanding, and want more personalised, customised or specialised high quality goods. Firms therefore now use computer technology and more skilled workers to make production more flexible - Piore and Sabel (1984) refer to this as flexible specialisation - postmodernism (choice and individuality) constructing our identity through products, pic and mix, globalisation

Question 135

What is the human relations approach? (Alternative to fordism)

Answer 135

• Developed by Elton Mayo
• He led a team of researchers in the Hawthorne plant, in an attempt to find factors affecting productivity of workers
• He found that workers were more productive if they felt valued, less controlled by management, and enjoyed their work

Question 136

How is work made more rewarding?

Answer 136

• Job enrichment: giving workers more independence and responsibility for decision-making in their work, and the way they organise it, plus the chance to use their initiative, rather than being closely supervised.
• Job rotation: giving workers a wider variety of jobs to do
• Job enlargement: including a wider range of talks and skills within a job
• Teamwork: where a team is responsible for completing a product, rather than individuals having responsibility for a single, boring talk.

Question 137

What is the Hawthorne effect?

Answer 137

To tell what affected productivity, several conditions in the factory were manipulated e.g., room temp, lighting, working hours, rest breaks. At first, it was found that productivity went up even when conditions were made worse, showing that the presence and interest of researchers themselves had the greatest impact. There was a methodological issue in this experiment

Question 138

Who came up with the idea of responsible autonomy?

Answer 138

Abercrombie

Question 139

What is responsbile autonomy?

Answer 139

Friedman (1977) although writing from a Marxist perspective like Braverman, is critical of his deskilling thesis and the idea that the workforce is controlled through technology.
Friedman argues that employers can achieve more effective control of the labour process and higher levels of efficiency by involve in workers more in their work, rather than by direct control through the application of scientific management approaches
He suggests workers will identify more with a company and their work, and require less direct supervision and control, if management gives them some responsible autonomy, allowing them to use their own initiative in organising the in work, with a limited degree of control in the labour process

Question 140

How has the organisation and management of the labour process changed?

Answer 140

Need for flexibility in production has led to changes in organisation and management of work. Pollert (1988), Dex and McCulloch (1997) extent of changes exaggerated
-‘Responsible autonomy’ (Friedman) - workers are given more independence and decision making as well as more flexible working hours (Microsoft)
-Less hierarchical control by management, more trust and less surveillance of workers. More teamwork, and workers are encouraged to use their initiative

Question 141

What was technology like during fordism?

Answer 141

Machinery did the work

Question 142

What was technology like post-fordism?

Answer 142

Computer-controlled, multi-purpose machines

Question 143

What was production like during fordism?

Answer 143

Mass production

Question 144

What was production like post-fordism?

Answer 144

Job rotation

Question 145

What were products like during fordism?

Answer 145

No customisation

Question 146

What were products like post-fordism?

Answer 146

Variety of specialised, high-quality products, geared to consumer demands for customised products

Question 147

What was work like during fordism?

Answer 147

Small tasks and deskilling, tight control and no autonomy

Question 148

What was work like post-fordism?

Answer 148

Upskilling and workers have more individuality

Question 149

What was worker’s involvement like during fordism?

Answer 149

Workers have no responsibility because of micro management

Question 150

What was worker’s involvement like post-fordism?

Answer 150

Responsible autonomy. Workers have more control over their work as there is looser management

Question 151

How can we see flexible working today?

Answer 151

Microsoft - four-day work week and freedom to work at home or in office (hybrid working). Links to post-fordism highlighting responsible autonomy

Question 152

What is the labour process like with self-employment?

Answer 152

28.2% of those in employment are self-employed. The split is males 2/3 and females 1/3.

Question 153

What is a criticism of saying self-employed have more control in the labour process?

Answer 153

easy to exaggerate the control the self-employed have over the labour process; many have little control, and may depend on selling their labour services to others. As such, for the majority of the self-employed, their work situation is not that different from that of paid employees

Question 154

What is alienation?

Answer 154

the condition whereby workers lack power and control at work and have no job satisfaction/fulfilment. Work is meaningless, apart from as a means of earning money.

Question 155

What is an extrinsic attitude?

Answer 155

External reward. Most important thing about a job is high wages

Question 156

What is an intrinsic attitude?

Answer 156

Internal reward. Other factors are more imprint e.g., job satisfaction, engagement, socialising (enjoyment and community), experience and transferable skills.
Alienation is the clearest lack of job satisfaction therefore workers lack an intrinsic attitude.

Question 157

How would marxists say alienation occurs?

Answer 157

Occurs through a lack of socialisation. They would say about divide and rule and conflicts within one class. Deskilling has an impact on alienation as workers feel less valued. Forced to stay with employers because they have not been trained and are being exploited. Links to MOUR - prevents revolution

Question 158

Who came up with the 4 aspects of alienation?

Answer 158

Blauner. Blauner believed alienation and job satisfaction was influenced by the technology involved in work, and the amount of control it gave workers he referred to this as technological determinism

Question 159

What are the 4 aspects of alienation?

Answer 159

Powerlessness
Meaninglessness
Isolation
Self-estrangement

Question 160

What is powerlessness? (Alienation)

Answer 160

Worker has no control over decisions made (lack of autonomy)

Question 161

What is meaninglessness? (Alienation)

Answer 161

Work is seen as pointless, only making up one small part of a finished product. Will lack motivation and productivity

Question 162

What is isolation? (Alienation)

Answer 162

Friendships are hard to form, and workers feel like cogs in a machine

Question 163

What is self-estrangement? (Alienation)

Answer 163

Workers feel their full potential is not being fulfilled, with no creativity or self-expression

Question 164

What is craft production?

Answer 164

Worker makes a complete product from start to finish using manual skills. Blauner studied the printing industry, finding such workers had full charge of the printing process, with in absence of external control by management. They had a sense of control, pride and purpose in their work. Would feel valued because they are controlled and can use individuality and creativity.

Question 165

What is mechanisation?

Answer 165

Blauner used the example of mechanisation in the textiles industry, where he found workers had little control, freedom or decision making in their work. The labour process was routine and repetitive. No autonomy so feel powerless and have an extrinsic attitude so may experience alienation.

Question 166

What is assembly-line production?

Answer 166

A further development of mechanisation. Blauner used the example of the car industry (fordism and assembly line production). Workers lack control over the speed of their work as the assembly line dictates how fast they must work. The role requires creativity, training or skill and workers have little freedom of movement and are isolated from other workers. Assembly line workers face the highest levels of alienation and have a highly instrumental approach to work. Leads to deskilling because of scientific management.

Question 167

What is automation?

Answer 167

Blauner used the example of the chemical industry to illustrate automation. Automation has become very popular due to the development of computer technology. Blauner argues automation removes some of the more boring aspects of work. Workers have responsibility and control in running, supervising and maintaining the complex machinery. They are not tied to the machine, they work in teams and have greater chances to socialise. Their control and responsibility for the whole process given workers a sense of meaning and higher levels of job satisfaction

Question 168

How can we evaluate Blauner’s (Marxist) view of alienation?

Answer 168

-Marxists argue Blauner gives too much emphasis to technology as a cause of alienation. Would say that alienation comes from the social hierarchy and divide in society. Would say it comes from a lack of socialisation from workers being extensions of machinery. Capitalism - ruling class exploiting lower class stems from focus on profit.

-Automated industries are alienating. Gallie (1978) found that most workers in automated industries were also indifferent about their work. Not being challenged in their work. Have more control but work is still unfulfilling as technology does the work so don’t have satisfaction of using their skills. Abercrombie - technical control (don’t have ability to be free)

-Blauner’s work is outdated. There have been more improvements in technology so machinery doesn’t need to be monitored as much. Post modernists would say Marxist views no longer apply to our society. Rise in se to employment (post fordist society)

Question 169

What are some responses to alienation?

Answer 169

Alienated workers are likely to develop a high level of distrust of employers, there are a number of methods to resist it.
How employees might get back at employers:
-Strikes, reporting employers to media, not working as hard-being unmotivated and quitting
What employers could do to reduce this:
-Listening to employees, changing ways for better employee welfare, introduce meritocracy system, engagement activities and managers becoming approachable

If attempts aren’t genuine, it is the fake caring face of capitalism-Pearce

Question 170

What is work?

Answer 170

People generally think of work as ‘paid employment’, but work and employment are not the same thing. This shows that work is a social construction.

Question 171

What is the importance and significance of work?

Answer 171

• Without, could lead to dysfunctional family
• Affects status - society, Weber
• Life chances
• Tires people
• Values and attitudes
• Time and schedule - routines
• Leisure time
• Social mobility - Functionalist :), Marxist and feminist :(
• Helps you earn money - luxury and housing
• Impact on relationships, health mentally and psychologically

Question 172

What does Parker say about work? (criticised by feminists)

Answer 172

focused on male full time paid employment, writing that people’s occupations and the way they experience their work have important influence on their leisure activities which can influence the identities of the project to others. Suggested there are 3 patterns in the link between work and leisure.

Question 173

What is the work-leisure pattern of opposition?

Answer 173

Nature of work: Physically hard and dangerous male dominated occupations and hostility to work

Typical occupations: construction worker, miner, traditional industries

Nature of leisure: Opposition to work, Leisure is a central life interest- contrast in opposition to work and an opportunity to escape from hardships of work

Typical leisure activities: go to pub, watch TV, sleep and retail therapy

Question 174

What is the work-leisure pattern of neutrality?

Answer 174

Nature of work: Boring and routine work, with little job satisfaction, leading to apathy and indifference to work

Typical occupations: office work, factories, cleaners, childcare, hospitality and retail

Nature of leisure: Nothing much to do with work (neutral); leisure for relaxation with home and family

Typical leisure activities: Watch TV, reading, going out with friends, sleeping and family time

Question 175

What is the work-leisure pattern of extension?

Answer 175

Nature of work: Working involving high levels of personal commitment, involvement and job satisfaction

Typical occupations: doctors, law enforcement, self employment, public services, teachers and lawyers

Nature of leisure: Because work is so interesting and demanding, leisure time is work related. Work extend into leisure time which may be used to improve work performance opportunities

Typical leisure activities: Promotion tasks, volunteering, marking, continuing work at home, research

Question 176

What do feminists say about work-leisure patterns?

Answer 176

male streamed research, women’s leisure activities determined by children

Question 177

What do postmodernists say about work-leisure patterns?

Answer 177

outdated research (social and legal changes) doesn’t take into account free will and choice. Activities can vary between people in same roles

Question 178

What do marxists say about work-leisure patterns?

Answer 178

unequal chances for leisure activities because some may not be able to afford certain activities. Some have to work long hours so don’t have leisure time

Question 179

What do postmodernists say about work now?

Answer 179

Postmodernists argue that society is no longer based on production but that we are now in a consumer society
They argue that consumption is now more important in constructing people’s identities than work
Doherty’s end of work thesis discusses the changing nature of work

Question 180

What is Doherty’s end of work thesis?

Answer 180

A lot of jobs in contemporary society have become less skilled with many experiencing alienation with little work satisfaction, interest or opportunity to set involved in, or attached to the work. The security of jobs for life has disappeared and work has become more insecure. Working hours have become more flexible and short term with more part time, short term, temporary, seasonal and fixed term employment contracts and more insecure zero hour contracts. Their jobs face constant insecurity, as they are undercut by cheaper labour performed by exploited migrant workers, disappear altogether and are exported to other countries, as goods are produced in cheaper locations all over the world.

Question 181

What is Beck and the risk-society?

Answer 181

Workplace isn’t as secure as it used to be. People’s jobs change more than they did. Risk society-creates uncertainty and feeling of instability. Impacts on our lives about our identities.
Functionalists would argue that work hasn’t lost its central place as without work, society wouldn’t function-organic analogy. Variety of contracts means more people can work so the work has adapted to the needs of society. It’s still important

Question 182

What are life chances?

Answer 182

Peoples opportunities of obtaining those things defined as desirable, and avoiding those things defined as undesirable in any society

Question 183

Why are those of working-age more likely to have better life chances?

Answer 183

Those at working age might be more likely to have better life chances than those not of working age. Those at working age earn money so will have higher levels of social capital built through work. They also have high levels of economic capital because they are more likely to have income. Weber would argue those of working age are in a stronger market position

Question 184

How might the changing nature of work impact life chances?

Answer 184

An array of job contracts. Younger people are more likely to have part time contracts. Those at working age are likely to get full time contracts. Difficult to generalise because of individual factors

Question 185

What is globalisation?

Answer 185

The increasing interconnectedness of societies across the world

Question 186

What is trade?

Answer 186

• Global businesses-international opportunities
• Global products
• Goods traded with other countries

Question 187

What is technology?

Answer 187

• WWW - online jobs, websites - Microsoft Teams
• Social media - used by businesses, digital marketing
• Everyone uses technology - ideas spied around the world
• Increased focus on online presence
• Advertising presence globally

Question 188

What is transport?

Answer 188

• Global migration
• More job opportunities - travel sector

Question 189

What would postmodernists say about globalisation and work?

Answer 189

Globalisation enables us to construct our identity-free will and choice. It is evidence of our Postmodernist society. Beck would say globalisation has had a negative impact and created instability for our identities-risk society.

Question 190

How has globalisation led to fewer standard jobs and more non-standard low quality jobs?

Answer 190

Castells (2010) and Beck (1992, 2000) suggest that globalisation has affected work in several ways:
Standard jobs - permanent full-time and well paid. Workers are generally well trained and well qualified.
Non- standard jobs - poorly paid, insecure, temporary, part time, short term, zero hours
Globalisation has created more non standard jobs, with large numbers of employees not guaranteed set hours each week and paid only if and when needed.
Edgell (2011) argued that those in non-standard jobs suffer a ‘wage penalty’ (15%) as they often don’t qualify for in-work benefits from their employer or the government.

Question 191

How has globalisation led to more outsourcing and potential unemployment?

Answer 191

Outsourcing -work that used to be performed in the UK is moved to another country.
Globalisation allows for these products to be sold all around the world.
Edgell (2011) uses examples of call centres, which used to be based in the UK, but many of which are now based in India. A ready availability of english-speaking staff was one reason why companies were able to transfer this service provision abroad. Indian call centre employees need to adjust their lives to fit into UK time zones and holidays by working nights etc. Edgell also says that they are encouraged to make calls from abroad - time-space compression.
Outsourcing affects not only routine work but highly qualified knowledge work, taking advantage of lower wages among highly skilled workers in China and India. Knowledge work deals with ideas, information and analysis, rather than making or distributing physical products

Question 192

How has globalisation led to strengthening of the power of owners and weakening of worker’s power

Answer 192

Castells and Beck argue that the capital (wealth and assets) is global, but work is global/national
This means that the different parts of multinational companies are organised and coordinated across many countries while the workforce is organised within individual countries or individual factories
Compared to capital, labour is the before disorganised and weak; this works against the interests of the workforce
Transnational companies also have the ability to relocate their businesses to countries where labour is less regulated by the government and is cheaper.

Question 193

How has globalisation led to more migrant workers?

Answer 193

Globalisation has caused an increase in the flow of workers both to and from the UK (migration)
Gratton (2012) uses the term ‘transnationals’ (link to knowledge work, would have secure standard jobs) to describe a global elite of workers with specialist skills from across the world
Transnationals are willing and able to relocate at any time and even migrate from the UK to wherever they are needed, but this may also include members of the elite group emigrating to the UK from around the world
There is also a much less privileged group. Globalisation has meant that people from poorer countries often risk their lives in search of a better life in developed countries such as the UK. In the UK, low paid jobs have become so devalued in recent years that they are difficult to fill and the UK often relies on migrants from low wage countries to fill these positions.
MacKinnon et al (2011) found that many people in local communities were deeply affected by globalisation of the labour through migration especially from Eastern Europe and felt threatened and disempowered. They noted that this can lead to negative reactions towards these migrant workers and argued that this had led to a ‘hierarchy of whiteness’, which creates tensions and divisions in communities.

Question 194

What are labour markets?

Answer 194

The patterns of work in the UK are changing due to globalisation. Atkinson (1984) argued that this caused an increase in a divided workforce, referred to as the dual labour market

Question 195

What do functionalists say about the dual labour market?

Answer 195

Economy= part of organic analogy (Durkheim) - society remains stable
Davis and Moore - inequalities needed for society to function, role allocation
Gans - all jobs are important for society to function, meritocracy

Question 196

What do marxists say about the dual labour market?

Answer 196

Seen as less essential to the long-term needs of the organisation, so companies have little obligation to them
Wider structural insecurity leads to working class being dependant on the insecure secondary labour market

Question 197

What do feminists say about the dual labour market?

Answer 197

Walby - women more likely to make up periphery one to childcare restrictions and reserve army of cheap labour
Marxist and feminist. Benston - RA of CL
Post structural feminism- EMG women are likely to suffer double exploitation

Question 198

What is the dual labour market?

Answer 198

Core and periphery workers

Question 199

What are core workers?

Answer 199

Middle class, secure, standard jobs, high status, lawyers, permanent, ruling class, fixed contracts, job satisfaction, more responsible autonomy, high salary, monthly pay, higher levels of social capital-social hours, middle class

Question 200

What are periphery workers?

Answer 200

Hourly rate, disabilities- discrimination for standard job, zero Hour Contract, exploitation, unsociable hours, more alienation-less satisfaction, more likely to be deskilled, low wages, temporary/seasonal contract, weak market position, females - reserve army of cheap labour, low status, insecure-beck and risk society, migrant workers-discrimination, retail work, youth-little qualifications, non-standard jobs and working class
In Covid, periphery workers were viewed as essential

Question 201

How can we see growing insecurity and casualisation in work?

Answer 201

According to the 2020 labour force survey
-Approximately 1 in 4 people in employment were working part time
-1.2 million had second jobs
-1.4 million had a temporary job
-1/4 of temporary employees were temporary because they couldn’t find a permanent job
-11% of part time workers worked part time because they couldn’t find a full time job
-People on zero hour contracts are more likely to be young, women or in full-time education

Question 202

What is worklessness?

Answer 202

Lack of work is still a primary cause of poverty, and the diminished life chances associated with it. Nothing shows the importance of work more than the loss of a job, or not being able to find one. Worklessness affects life chances

Question 203

What is employment rate?

Answer 203

The percentage of the economically active who are unemployed

Question 204

What are the economically active population?

Answer 204

Those in the population who are either in work or looking for and are available for work

Question 205

How are unemployment statistics politically sensitive?

Answer 205

Because the government wants them to appear low. Want to show unemployment is stable especially after COVID

Question 206

How are Official unemployment statistics published?

Answer 206

• Claimant count
• ILO Count

Question 207

What is Claimant count?

Answer 207

Defines unemployed as those who are available for and actively seeking work, and who are in receipt of Job Seeker’s - ignores those who can’t claim

Question 208

What is The ILO Count?

Answer 208

The International Labour Organisation Count is the internationally agreed definition of unemployment/ Defines the unemployed as those without a job, who have actively been seeking work in the last 4 weeks and who are available to start work in the next 2 weeks, whether they are in receipt of job seekers allowance or not

Question 209

What are some unemployment statistics from the Claimant count and ILO count?

Answer 209

In 2018, there were 901,000 unemployed in the UK according to the claimant count but 1,346,700 unemployed according to ILO. They provided a useful indicator for trends.
Need to consider individual factors behind stats quantitative data doesn’t give a full picture

Question 210

Why are Young People at risk of unemployment?

Answer 210

Growing up in poverty causes young people to be stuck in the cycle of poverty. They have had difficulty being socialised so have a different upbringing where they may have missed out on opportunities due to larger issues in their lives

Question 211

What are EMG’s at risk of unemployment?

Answer 211

There can be lots of discrimination in the workplace. We can see this from Wood’s study with ethnic surnames and employment

Question 212

Why are the north at risk of unemployment?

Answer 212

The government has cut funding for many towns in the north which has led them to be deprived making it harder to get employment as the town is poorer so businesses are not staying open. People in the south are wealthier ‘London wage’ class divide

Question 213

Why are the disabled at risk of unemployment?

Answer 213

Some disabled people may lack the skills that employers want because they either cannot do them or have missed out on opportunities to learn because people assumed they couldn’t. There is lots of discrimination which leads to disabled people being unemployed because employers don’t want to adapt the workplace to fit them.

Question 214

What are the causes of unemployment?

Answer 214

Decline in manual work, globalisation, technology, rise in population and casualisation of work-periphery workers

Question 215

What are the consequences of unemployment?

Answer 215

For those in poorer-paid occupations, consequences of losing their job is more severe as the lower paid have smaller redundancy payments and are less likely to have savings to ease periods of unemployment.
Men and women may experience unemployment in different ways. Women are less likely to see their identities as totally tied into their paid employment and are less likely to define themselves as the primary breadwinner.
Young people with no family responsibilities or mortgage payments, who are relatively new to the world of work will cope better with job loss

Question 216

What are the consequences of unemployment for individuals?

Answer 216

• Poverty, mounting debts and hardship. Mounting debt leads to poverty. The poverty may lead to a cycle of deprivations as they cannot pay off their debts and spend what they need to survive- food, heating clothes.
• Social isolation and social exclusion lead to people not having social connections, a person with may De more likely to hear about job opportunities so these people who don’t are likely going to be struggling to find work more than someone with
• A loss of identity may lack clear social status and social identity, many experience anomie (chaos). Gini - lack of work rips away one of the anchors of adult life. Post modernist, Beck and risk society. Hirschi - employment can be a bind of attachment which may make people less likely to commit crime. Increased poverty leads to increased crime - necessity, status or shelter
• More ill health and depression will put strain on the NHS. For individuals it will mean people are out of work so cannot afford to survive as they are already in low pay and continuous days of may lead to termination
• Increasing stress in the family may lead to lone parents putting families in a weak market position

Question 217

What are the consequences of unemployment for society?

Answer 217

• More alienation and dissatisfaction at work leads to lack of motivation in the workplace which will affect the company
• An increase in social divisions leads to an unequal society. With social divisions becoming more prevalent people are starting to see the divide and this could lead to a working class revolution
• More racism and scapegoating can lead to it being normalised in society. This will mean more discrimination in employment so will lead to unemployment in minority ethnic groups - Wood
• Increased demand on the welfare state will put strain on the government. Funds will have to be redistributed and because of the increased demand many in society will not get the help they need