Weberian ethnic inequality

• Rex and Tomlinson- Weberian


  • Ethnic minorities experience class and status inequality which leads to poverty.
  • Creates a marginalised black underclass who are alienated and frustrated.
  • City riots are a result of young blacks feeling socially excluded and harassed by police.
• New right criticised Rex and Tomlinson as ethnic minorities only have themselves to blame for their poverty. Murray argues that weak parenting in ethnic households led to a culture of dependency.
• Barron and Norris - Weberian


  • The labour market is characterised by two sectors.
  • Black people are more likely to be in the secondary sector, characterised by low pay, insecurity, and no ladder of promotion.
  • The primary sector is dominated by white men.
• McPherson Report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence


  The legal and political framework (power/party) supporting black people is weak. The police are institutionally racist.
• Davidson criticises Barron and Norris for failing to see the concrete ceiling that prevents ethnic minority women being promoted.
• Parkin- Weberian


  • Ethnic minorities are blocked from privileges through social closure.
  • Exclusion strategies, such as immigration controls, are used by groups anxious to protect their privilege.
  • Usurpation strategies, such as the Race Relations Act, are used to try gain some of the privileges of others.
• Patterson, Functionalist, disagrees with Parkin as it is up to ethnic minorities to assimilate rather than blaming social closure, they exclude themselves.
• Marxists criticise Parkin's theory as it fails to explain why this happens and why some exclusion and usurpation strategies are successful and some are not
• Hutton - Weberian


  • Britain is dividing into a 40/30/30 society.
  • Bottom 30% are unemployed and disproportionately made up of ethnic minorities.
  • Other 30% are in structurally insecure forms of employment, such as part time or zero hours.
  • Top 40% hold tenured jobs that have secure income and are covered by trade unions. This group is dominated by white, middle class men.
• Marxists criticise Hutton for being descriptive rather than analytical, it doesn't give a structural explanation.