Elderly used as a reserve army of labour for a number of year although it is increase recently- elderly are neglected by the capitalist system, no longer have disposable income or spending power that is attractive to capitalists- Age inequality can be seen as a social construction used to benefit the bourgeoisie e.g through the reserve army of labour- elderly are seen as a burden on the economy- Younger workers are seen as more productive, elderly are institutionally marginalised and institutionalised dependency- status of the elderly is lowered as they have no relationship to the means of production- Logic of capitalism, which is about exploiting workers and consumers for profit, is incompatible with the needs of the elderly- Elderly loose status as they do not contribute to consumerism due to having low disposable income so are ignored in society facing huge age inequality’s- Benston- Reserve army of labour- Neccersary part of society, applied to individuals under the age of 14 and those over 65- Young provide a cheap pool of flexible labour – a reserve army of labour- that can be hired and fired as necessary- Growing market of zero hour contracts- Not have dependants and so are willing to work for low wages. In terms of full-time employment, their lack of experience legitimates low pay, and competition for jobs keeps wages low- Age inequality is a social construction used to benefit the bourgeoisie