4 - Social Closure

• Townsend 


  Poverty is part of class inequality created by the labour market as most groups in poverty are; excluded from the market (unemployed/sick) or in a weak position in the market (unskilled/POC/women). Poverty is it's own class.
• As growth of income inequalities, like London 1980s, is widely linked to inequalities in the market encouraged by government free market policies e.g. lower benefits and abolition of wage councils.
• Can only be tackled by radical state policies by redistributing resources (communism) and direct investment of state money into education and housing. State intervention can change the entire system of inequality.
• Evaluation of Townsend:

  • Marxists argue the state is an instrument of capitalism and will represent their interests.
• Field (1989)


  Linked powerlessness and citizienship. 3 groups in society have been excluded from rights (for over 20+ years); the long term unemployed, lone-parent families and those on state pensions. These are an 'underclass' but not like Murrays. This underclass has been badly hit by government policies and increased the gap between rich and poor and caused more stigmatisation.
• Field (1989)


  Improvement of welfare policies is the only solution to poverty.
• Social closure


  Some groups will adopt an exclusion strategy to try and protect their privileges and status.

  Exclusion - organised effort of the privileged to maintain their advanced position (men resisting female entry to the workplace).

  Usurpation - effort of the excluded groups to gain advantage and power at the expense of more powerful groups (women).
• Weber accepts revolution as a possibility but not inevitable.