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WEBERIAN EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITIES - Coggle Diagram
WEBERIAN EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITIES
CLASS
Weber
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A persons societal position is based on a combination of their class, status and party - social class is now more fragmented.
Economic factors are a source of conflict. Class is a persons position in the economic marketplace which vary depending on source and amount of income, occupational skills and educational qualifications. Emergence of four class groups:
1.
propertied upper class
2.
property-less white collar workers
3.
petty bourgeoisie
4.
manual workers (working class). Social classes are clusters of occupations with similar life chances and/or patterns of mobility.
Draper and The Hope-Goldthorpe Scale
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Social class and inequality complex - there are a range of social class categories based on occupations.
Hope-Goldthorpe Scale
is a classification system for measuring social or occupational prestige originally from men's occupations. 24 categories in collapsed version. Erikson-Goldthorpe is the updated version which examines self employment/employment, income levels and promotion prospects and career progression when clarifying social class. Higher someone is on the scale, the more autonomy and power they have over the lives of others. We work in order gain material advantages of our labour that are gained through accepting and participating in capitalism.
Draper
discussed the fragmentation of the middle class and compared the new middle class to a dish of herring and strawberries. Various groups within one class have little cohesion or things in common. Middle class is difficult to distinguish from the working class. Makes it difficult for the middle class to share common interests or unite over political situations that benefit some but not others.
Weber and Parkin
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A persons experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they receive from others.
Weber
says status is based on social honour and is initially linked to social class/occupation but lifestyle/gender/ethnicity/religion can influence social position. A high socioeconomic position gives high status but legal and and public authorities hold the same. People may have a low class but they can gain high status through sporting achievements/charity.
Parkin
middle class white men are the most powerful in the labour market. Others in negatively privileged status groups are kept out of certain positions by the bourgeoisie who use social closure to keep them from accessing the same privileges as them.
Weber and Beck
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A persons "power" or "party" can influence how much influence they have within society.
Weber
says party is the level of power or influence someone has over decision making in relation to legislative change and working conditions. People with party are those in trade unions/pressure groups/campaigns. If a person is affiliated with one of these then they likely hold more prestige and party than others.
Beck
says power is now separate from class position/economic wealth. The role of political parties/pressure groups/trade unions and new social movements has led to the emergence of new political identities that are separate from a persons social class background.
GENDER
Weber
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Women are more likely to face lower class positions than males due to social closure.
The labour market is dominated by men in top jobs/positions. Men reserve and protect these positions in society for themselves. They exclude women through social closure so women end up facing multiple forms of inequality e.g. glass ceiling, horizontal/vertical segregation.
Barron and Norris
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Women are more likely to hold lower positions within the marketplace.
Dual labour market can be used to explain women's employment patterns. Women are more likely to be in disadvantaged positions because of:
1.
gender stereotyping by employers
2.
disrupted career development due to maternity leave often caused by social pressures to have a family. Women then lack experience compared to men when they rejoin the marketplace
3.
legal and political framework supporting women's rights in the marketplace is weak and ineffective.
Equal Opportunities Commission
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Women hold less status within the workplace and therefore face a range of inequalities.
Men experience the glass elevator which means they rise higher and faster due to hidden advantages such as gender stereotypes, women being viewed as emotional, views around women’s childbearing and family obligations and the rarity of men in certain occupations making them stand out. These range of explanations identified all suggest that women are likely to hold lower market positions and therefore lower status within the workplace.
Electoral Commission
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Women are less likely than men to be in a position whereby they can exercise political power.
The political activism gap means women tend to participate less than men in groups that exert pressure and power within society. This can be explained by:
1.
Those in paid employment are more likely to be politically active
2.
women have less confidence that they can be involved in politics or make change
3.
ethnic minority women are less politically active than other women.
ETHNICITY
Rex and Tomlinson
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A disproportionate amount of the black and minority ethnic group population can be found at the bottom of the stratification pyramid.
The underclass are trapped at the bottom off the stratification pyramid. Material disadvantages experienced by ethnic minorities means they are cut off from working class groups. Due to racial inequality, black and ethnic minorities formed a separate underclass located below the white underclass. These groups face multiple forms of deprivation such as low pay, unemployment, poor housing etc. These disadvantages are worsened by hostility from the white society.
Barron and Norris
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Black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions within the marketplace.
They are less likely to obtain primary sector jobs than white people because:
1.
racist employers
2.
employers not responding to applications
3.
concrete ceiling
4.
legal and political frameworks supporting ethnic minorities is weak and ineffective
5.
white dominated trade unions.
Parkin
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A person's experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they receive from others.
Ethnic minorities are negatively privileged status groups. The ethnic majority uses social closure to keep ethnic minorities out of positions of authority and status. White middle class males are those with the most power. Status groups can be competitive meaning they try to monopolise privilege and exclude other groups from their positions of privilege making it difficult for ethnic minority groups to compete equally for things like housing.
Weber
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Political parties and trade unions do not reflect the interests of ethnic minority groups.
A party is a group formed in order to gain power and in doing so reflects and promotes their own interests (e.g. trade unions, professional bodies). These are often white dominated meaning ethnic minority voices are not heard. Black and ethnic minority groups are less likely to exercise any form of political power.
AGE
Weber and Barron and Norris
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The young and some elderly groups are more likely to hold lower positions within the marketplace.
Weber
says the young and elderly lose status because of their age. The young lack power to make political changes (lack party) and market position is often influenced by qualifications which the young may not have (low market position). The elderly may lack technological skills for employment in contemporary society.
Barron and Norris
say the dual labour market can be used to explain employment patterns of the young and elderly.
Parkin
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Some age groups face a lower status in society due to their market position.
The young and elderly are negatively privileged status groups. They can be seen as being kept out of privileged status groups by social segregation. The elderly are often socially segregated in media through invisibility from positive portrayals in employment, through retirement, through retirement and even in living arrangements, often in care homes.
Turner
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Young and elderly people lack status due to the lack of reciprocity that they can provide to others.
Exchange theory. The elderly and young are often stigmatised due to not having what it takes to gain high status. High status is given to those with material goods which the elderly and young are the least likely to have (=low status). Reciprocacy-maturation curve of ageing says if a group is dependant then they have low status. In a genotocracy (governed by elderly people), power and age are interlinked so elderly people have high status. Inequality is about economic capital and the values of society. Age may be a key factor in high or low status depending on the key values of society.
Weber and BBC News
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Young people are less politically active/likely to vote.
Weber
says to analyse youth political activity,!you examine their class background, social standing, and membership in organisation like youth wings or political parties or social clubs shape their political engagement and goals. The youths lack party.
BBC News
say that fewer than half of 18-24 year olds exercised their right to vote in the last election compared to three quarters of people ages 65 and above.