Social Class

• Weber (1948) - Life chances (social class)


  the rich have more opportunities than the working class
• Parsons (1951) - value consensus and stratification (functionalism)


  value consensus - some individuals are better than others at achieving things worthy of rewards, eg. those who create wealth deserve the highest rewards as they contribute most to society
• Davis and Moore (1945) - social stratification (functionalism)

  • stratification is functionally necessary
  • social stratification is to ensure effective role allocation and performance
  • it allocates the right people to the most important roles
  • the most important positions are filled by the most able
  • functional uniqueness, a job that is only suitable for one person thus deserves a higher reward, eg. a postman can’t do the job of a heart surgeon
  • the degree of independence of others, the extent to which one role impacts on the ability of other people to do theirs
• Tumin‘s evaluation of Davis and Moore (1953) - functionalism

  • the low-paid cleaner is just as important to the patient’s survival as the surgeon, important is opinion - not fact
• Saunders (1990) - New Right (social class)

  • stratification is not an inevitable part of society
  • social equality in society needs rewards and punishments, rewards won’t motivate all to do their jobs
  • against the idea of everyone being rewarded in the same way
  • degree of inequality needed to motivate people to compete
  • working class kids are less intelligent, inevitable in society as they lack access to education
• Marx (1867) - social class

  • bourgeoisie vs proletariat, depend on each other
  • workers create the wealth of the rich but get low wages
  • workers are exploited by their employer, aim to keep wages low and profits high
• Weber (1948) - social class

  social class - a group who share a similar market situation and similar life chances

  • there is a basic economic division between property owners and those who sold their labour for wages, also division within each group
• Weber (1948) - Status

  Status = distribution of social honour, eg. how much respect a person receives from others

  • People with a common status may form a stronger group identity
  • social class may be relatively unimportant for many people as a source of identity
  • class and status linked with wealth
• Weber (1948) - Party

  Parties = groups who were concerned with exercising power or influencing decision-making

  • parties linked to class interests, many trade unions represent groups within the working class
• Zimbardo (1969) - The Broken Window Theory

  those experiencing bad behaviour from others (in a bad environment) are more likely to have bad behaviour themselves, leading to criminal activity
• Parsons (1951) - Meritocracy (functionalism)

  the more effort, the greater the reward
• Harding (2014) - The Street Casino

  • street casino metaphor to describe the competitive and risky environment of gang life, youths are the "players"
  • street capital refers to social assets that individuals accumulate, eg. status - are crucial for survival and advancement within the gang hierarchy
  • gangs as social arenas where actors struggle for distinction and survival
• Tumin (1953) - a critique of Davis and Moore

  • the pool of talent - the assumption that only some have the talent to do top jobs
  • motivation - the assumption that only money motivated people
  • power and rewards - argues high pay of some jobs reflects power over the deserved reward
• New Right

  • social class is based on effort
  • inequality is necessary to motivate society for economic growth
• Abott - feminist

  • women do more part-time work and carry a dual burden of paid work and unpaid domestic labour
  • glass ceiling, invisible barriers to success