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Social class inequalities - Coggle Diagram
Social class inequalities
Funcationalism
Davis and Moore : Principles of social stratification
Found that some form of social stratification was in all societies and concluded that it was functionally necessary
They argued that the main roles of socials stratification were to:
Allocate the right people to the most important role. This makes sure the role is filled by someone fully able
Ensures that people in these roles perform them to the highest standard
Davis and Moore argue we can tell which positions are most important by 2 factors:
functional uniqueness - a position is functionally unique if one or a small group of people can do it
The degree of dependence of others - E.g. a surgeon
Parsons: Value consensus and stratification
Social stratification is a reflection of value consensus
For example, in the middle ages knights were highly rewarded because a successful warrior was seen as important however in modern society entrepreneurs and executives who successfully run businesses are seen as important
Parsons argued that in all societies some individuals are better at achieving things that are regarded as worthy
New right
Saunders: In defence of inequality
Saunders does not see social inequalities as inevitable and believes with force such as imprisonment or death penalty it would be possible
Saunders rejects the idea that would involve everyone being rewarded in the same way whether they deserve it or not. He argues that a degree of inequality is desirable and functional in order to motivate people to compete, as long as everyone has an equal opportunity to take part in the competition
Saunders is critical of left-wing attempts in Government to try and equalise society, as he sees them as misguided. For example, the rich having to pay for tax which benefit the poor, e.g. benefits
Murray: The underclass
Marxism
Class Conflict
Marx argues although the bourgeoise and the proletariat depend on each other, their relationship is also based on class struggle as the proletariat create the wealth for the bourgeoise, only a fraction of what Marx calls the surplus value that they create comes back to them in wages
Marx argues that capitalism suffers from a series of problems which will eventually lead to its downfall:
The Polarisation of social classes
The divide between the bourgeoise and working class would grow steadily wider as they try to drive down wages and increase profits. This would drive out small businesses and widen the gap
Alienation
Workers would not be able to find any satisfaction in their work as they do not control it but outside of work they are encouraged to find satisfaction in consumer goods
Economic crisis
Marx argued that capitalist economies tend to suffer from periodic crises. Competition between companies creates boom periods but these are inevitably followed but recessions. Eventually, a crisis would lead to the collapse of the whole capitalist system
The overthrow of capitalism
Marx argued that the working class had the potential to overthrow capitalism because the workers were in the majority and only have to unite but they had to throw off what Marx calls false class consciousness and become a class for itself
Marx argued that the capitalist class perpetuated an ideology that justified capitalism and its inequalities through the political system, law, mass media, religious beliefs and the education system
Once the working class realised the nature of their exploitation, Marx was convinced they would rise up and overthrow capitalism and a new economic system called communism would be formed
Feminism
Abbott criticises Goldthorpe's study of social mobility for completely ignoring women. Abbott argues that there is a need to study women's social mobility as women's experiences at work are different from men
Women have lower rates of absolute mobility because women have less of a chance of reaching top jobs to help to boost men's chances of upward mobility. (glass ceiling theory)
Postmodernism
Webarian theory