EXILED

• Marx - Overthrow of Capitalism (social class)

  • working class as the majority of the population overthrow capitalism
  • communism could replace capitalism by creating a classless society
• Weber’s social classes

  1. propertied upper class, wealthy business owners
  2. property-less white-collar workers, have a better market situation than manual workers due to advanced skills and education
  3. petty bourgeoisie, owners of small businesses (separate from the working class)
  4. manual working class, the poorest market situation as they posses neither wealth or educational skills
• Evaluation of Weber


  status distinctions within the working class are encouraged by the ruling class, aiming to ‘divide and rule’.
• Functionalism on Age inequalities


  age as a natural progression in the ‘life cycle’ - each age group will have its status defined by society with expectations about appropriate age behaviours and responsibilities
• Eisenstadt - functionalism (age)

  • different age groups learn and acquire new social roles
  • roles enable them to contribute to social cohesion and solidarity
  • young people experiment with deviant activities, without undermining social stability
  • deviance allows young people some freedom so they grow into functional adults
• Evaluation of functionalism (age)

  • focuses too much on conformity and acceptance of age related social roles
  • ignores inequalities between social classes and their experience of the life cycle, life cycle is worse for the poor
• Marxism and age inequality

  • the elderly are seen to have little economic benefit to capitalism
  • elderly have inferior status
  • capitalism marginalises the needs of the elderly
• Phillipson (1982) - neo marxism 


  the elderly are neglected by the capitalist system as they no longer have disposable income
• Vincent (2001) - age

  • the elderly, particularly women and the working class face inequalities in old age as a result of general social inequalities and the unfair distribution of wealth
  • there is a growing material division between the elderly and the working population
• Rise of elderly spending power ‘grey pound’

  • with the elderly as consumers, they become an asset to the economy
  • the privileged sector of the elder has the economic power to consumer services, eg. healthcare
  • allows the elderly to enjoy greater life expectancy and better health
• Feminism (age)

  • age inequality due to gender inequality and patriarchy
  • children and women oppressed by males
  • patriarchal ideology stresses the need to look young and attractive for females
• Weber (age)


  the young and old have a low market situation compared to other social groups, lower levels of class, and status.
• Interpretive approach (age)

  • the elderly are seen to be negatively defined in the UK, thus suffer from stereotypical treatment within society
  • questions common sense assumptions about age
  • argues the roles of people in the life cycle are socially defined
• Postmodernism (age)

  • reject the idea of there being a fixed ‘life cycle’ which determines the behaviour of individuals
  • individuals actively create their own lifestyles through the use of consumerism
  • increased life expectancy coupled with a planned retirement has given some old people the ability to become conspicuous consumers
• Blaikie (1999) - age

  • chronological age, ageism, and age-determined inequality are less likely to shape people’s life expectancy in the 21st century
  • increasingly individualised and consumerist culture allows old age to be avoided, eg. using youth-preserving products allows individuals to shape their own age identity
  • elderly experience a third age (young old age) that follows retirement and is characterised by personal fulfilment, eg. freedom from family responsibilities
• Patterson (1965): The Host - Immigrant Model (functionalism)

  • society’s equilibrium was disturbed by the arrival of immigrant ‘strangers’ with different sets of values
  • ’culture strangeness’ created fear in the host community, caused resentment due to competition for jobs and houses
  • eventually share culture and gain acceptance
  • predicted full assimilation of immigrant culture over time
  • disadvantages would melt away and were only temporary
• Evaluation of Patterson (functionalism) - ethnicity

  • naive to assume that all ethnic minority groups ‘assimilate’ into British culture
  • ignores that Britain is multicultural, eg. cultures exist alongside each other and that this should be celebrated (postmodernists)
  • ignores the important role of capitalism in society (marxist)
  • ignores how a divide helps us to maintain a capitalist structure (marxist)
  • assimilation will remain an ideological goal which is impossible to achieve under capitalism (marxist)
• Marxists (1870) - ethnicity

  • pessimistic view of race relations
  • immigration serves the needs of the capitalist class for labour
  • immigration is used to divide workers from each other, making it easier for them to be controlled
  • capitalism prefers conflict between ethnic groups as it is beneficial to the ruling class
• Critics of Cox (marxist) - ethnicity

  • his view is too simplistic
  • it is difficult to prove that racism is a capitalist ideology, not evidence
  • does not treat race as an important factor in it‘s own right, he is mainly interested in the economic differences caused by capitalism
  • ‘race blind’
• Evaluation of Castles and Kosack - ethnicity (marxist)


  it would be a mistake to think all ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in the UK, eg. there are over 5000 Muslim billionaires in the country
• Weber (1948)


  life chances impact social opportunities

  saw social class as dependent on life chances

  social mobility - the ability to move through social classes
• Feeley (1972)


  children are socialised to accept their role in a patriarchal society, learnt behaviours from parents
• New Right Approach to Gender

  • men have "instrumentalist role"
  • women have "expressive role"
  • biological determinism of gender roles
• Weber - social inequalities

  • economic position based on relationship to the means of production and access to resources
  • status groups share similar lifestyles, regardless of social class
  • class, status, and power shape an individual’s social position
• Cumming and Henry (functionalism) - Disengagement Theory 


  to enable young people to be employed, older people must step back and allow younger people to take over their jobs
• Interactionist - Activity Theory

  positive representation of ageing allows older people to be more active
• Conflict Theory

  age-based discrimination and prejudice of older people
• Laslett (1991) - age

  3 ages of life -

  1. a period of socialisation
  2. a phase of work and childbearing
  3. a time of independence
• Featherstone and Hepworth (2005) - postmodernist view on age

  negative stereotypes caused by the media
• Bradley - age

  • middle age is seen as having higher status
  • middle age people are in senior positions and often run the government
• Mead - age

  age is a social construction
• Davis - age

  most young people are conformist, share their parents’ views
• Abrams - functionalist view on age

  all age groups share a common culture, one of transition and change
• Labelling theory - age 


  age hasn’t changed, labels remain the same leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy
• Polemus - age

  • youth is a time for experimentation and finding our identity
  • social media allows youths to find their identity
• Postmodernist view on ethnicity

  identity is now fluid
• Nayak (2003) - “white wannabes”


  white individuals dress, act, and speak in a way influenced by black hip-hop culture
• Jafaican

  a style of speech/accent used in particular areas of London by young white people, influenced by African-Caribbean speech and accent
• polio survivor

  • Gill
  • 1997
• discriminatory language borrowed from an able-bodied society

  • Zola
  • 1982