Theory The main sociological explanations of social inequality

Theory The main sociological explanations of social inequality and difference: • Functionalism • New Right • Marxism • Feminism • Weberianism Which MUST include names, studies, key terms, key arguments

Marxism – Summary Bourgeoisie Own and control the means of production Employs workers for wages Increasing Division of Labour Workers experience Alienation Surplus value = profit Capitalism Conflict Class Relations Workers are Exploited Workers produce more goods than is required Proletariat The ability/capacity to produce goods and services A reserve army of labour is needed for capitalism to create competition and continue the legitimisation of exploitation.

Marxism- overview • Would look at the relationship between racism and ethnic inequality and how this benefits capitalism. • Racial inequality and discrimination are useful and inherent in a capitalist system. • They help legitimise low pay, divide workers and create scapegoats for social problems

Cox- 1948 Oliver Cox (1948) There is a distinct relationship between capitalism and racism. Racism would not have developed if capitalism did not exist. ‘If capitalism had not developed then the world may never have experienced racial prejudice. ’ Slavery justified racism and was key to the growth of capitalism Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Castles and Kosack (1973) Studied immigrant workers in Europe. These groups were concentrated in low paid and low status work. Discrimination in British society meant that there was an inability for ethnic minorities to get good jobs. Ethnic minority workers formed a reserve army of labour Ethnic minorities are the most disadvantaged group in the working class and do not form a separate underclass. Racism was fostered and encouraged to divide the proletariat and weaken their power. 3 ideological reasons for this are To legitimise To divide and rule To scapegoat Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Marxism- Overview • Explore the relationship between social class and age and identify which age groups suffer the most exploitation. • The inadequate state pension leads to some elderly people being dependant on benefits • Young people without skills and retired people form a reserve army of labour. Both groups have little power and it is easy to hire and fire them- links to contemporary eg of zero contract hours • The elderly have less disposable income

Bond (1993) Bond et al (1993) ‘The Political Economy of Old Age’ • Those from lower social classes are more likely to suffer poverty in old age because during their working lives their incomes are too low to save for retirement and they are less likely to have private pensions. • Government state pensions are inadequate and therefore those who are elderly and from lower social classes are discriminated against. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Vincent (2006) argues that age is another aspect of stratification • One that all members of society will pass through in life course. Disadvantage is tied up with the needs of the economy. 1. Inequality is specifically suffered by the elderly- Working class women in particular suffer discrimination. The young and the old are more vulnerable to being part of the Reserve army of Labour. 2. In Western society age divisions are often blamed on biological ageing – they argue many people over 65 are not capable of working. 3. The state greatly over estimates ‘the problem’ of an ageing population – if the state effectively redistributed income from the wealthy and businesses it could easily pay for the elderly. Ageism exacerbates the problems for the elderly Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Mc. Donald and Marsh 2005 Found that young people in deprived areas lacked power and status Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Don’t Forget You Must Evaluate! Ø ‘Economic Reductionism’ - It is ‘one dimensional’ as it tries to explain all inequality in terms of economic differences. Ø The failure of the proletarian revolution to take place and the emergence in most industrial societies of a growing middle class who appear unlikely to challenge the most privileged in society. Ø Reserve army of labour can be from any ethnicity, gender or age group. Ø Postmodernists suggest the differences between the class, gender, ethnicity and age groups are breaking down. Ø Feminists believe gender inequality is the key to understanding other forms of inequality. Overlooks how patriarchy can be influential in its own right and once capitalism is abolished then gender inequality will disappear too.

Functionalism- Summary • Society requires co-operation and togetherness. • Structuralist, consensus theory that uses a macro approach. • Society is a based on meritocracy • All parts of society are interdependant on each other, like the human body - organic analogy. • Members of society have shared values - Value Consensus, that keep society together - Social Solidarity. • All the institutions in society function to socialise people into the norms and values of society.

Functionalism- overview • The inequalities experienced by the early immigrants were a result of their cultural difference and generally low level skills. • They argue ethnic inequalities decline as immigrants adopt the norms and values of the mainstream society

Parsons Ethnic inequalities are not the fault of the system. Discrimination is not the reason for inequalities. Refer to common value systems. Ethnic inequalities are temporary and are a result of cultural differences between immigrants and the host nation. They are temporary and will disappear over time as the immigrant groups adapt and adopt the host culture. Assimilation - When a minority group gives up it’s own culture and values and becomes absorbed into the host culture. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Sheila Patterson ‘Dark Strangers’(1965) Suggests that existing disadvantage will gradually ‘melt away’ as a mutual adjustment process between the immigrant and the host communities kicks in and the meritocratic principles of society start to take effect. Patterson says racism and disadvantage are therefore temporary phenomenon whilst the mutual adjustment process takes place. Eventually and inevitably the hosts accept the immigrants as permanent members of the community and the immigrants are assimilated Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Functionalism Overview • Functionalists see age inequality as useful to society. Important as it integrates people into society. The role sets of the different age groups allow a person to develop full functioning in society • Institutions in society such as the formal and informal agents of social control are set up to deal with any dysfunctions allowing for a more integrated society later. • The position of the elderly has improved with a statutory retirement age and state pension, but they lose power and status as their children leave home and they retire.

Parsons Argues age related differences contribute to overall functioning of the social system. Differences are key for smooth functioning of society. Age strata are functional for society – Childhood socialises – Adolescence is a stage for developing independence. – The elderly do have lower status/can be disengaged as they abandon some social roles and leave the younger generations to pick up roles. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Einstadt Argued that differential age groups enable individuals to learn and acquire new social roles and contribute to cohesion and solidarity. • Youths’ need to go from ascribed status of child to achieved status of individual adult. • Breaking away from the family home is difficult and emotionally stressful. Being part of a subculture provides a forum for the frustrations of this period and process. • Suggest youth culture is inherently binding, in that shared interests with peers creates a sense of community. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Disengagement theory • Functionalists believe older people need to ‘disengage’ from the workforce in order to make way for younger ones (Cumming and Henry 1961). This ensures society is continually being ‘refreshed’ (Disengagement theory) Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Don’t Forget You Must Evaluate! Functionalism is Relevant • Functionally important jobs require high academic abilities e. g. Doctors, solicitors, dentists. • Many leading MPs have been to Oxbridge. • Those who don’t work hard at school and don’t get many qualifications are more likely to be unemployed or in low paid jobs. • Pete Saunders (1990) Functionalism is not Relevant • Some of the most functionally important jobs in society are not highly rewarded e. g. Nurses. • There are idiots in high places! • Some groups could use economic or political power to increase their rewards. • There is an unequal distribution of income and wealth in the contemporary UK. • There are ‘dysfunctions’ of stratification e. g. Poverty is a huge problem and impacts mortality, health, education and family life. • Is meritocracy a myth? • Exaggerates the sacrifices involved in long periods of training

New Right- summary • New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. • Develop Functionalist ideas about meritocracy. • Connected to the British Conservative party in the 70 s and 80 s.

New Right- overview • We can apply studies from typical new right sociologists e. g. Murray

Hernstein and Murray (1994) • ‘The Bell Curve – Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life’ conclude that blacks are genetically less intelligent than whites, who in turn are less intelligent than Asians. Hernstein and Murray not only contend that this accounts for blacks’ lower levels of achievement but also their higher levels of criminality. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

New Right - Overview

Feminist Theory- overview • A movement that seeks social, economic and political equality between men and women. • Most prominent literature on gender inequalities is associated with second wave feminism. • First wave = women’s suffrage movement in the early twentieth century campaigned for the vote for women. • Second wave = associated with the 1960 s/1970 s when it had become obvious that securing the right to vote had not brought the necessary social, economic and political changes wanted.

Feminism- overview • Black Feminism is the most useful theory here for Ethnicity and Feminsim • High profile campaigns such as women on bank notes, page 3 etc. do not reflect the needs for change for the majority nor ethnic minorities in particular thus Black Feminism has developed out of this dissatisfaction. • Problem they see is that the ‘white feminist’ campaigns get the focus and attention overshadowing other work. Intersectionality applies here as majority of women do not lives that are affected by sexism alone. • Argue that white feminists fail to acknowledge the experiences of black women and the fact that being female AND black may make them doubly disadvantaged

Davies (1983) Other feminist approaches are ethnocentric. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Abbott et al (2005) Other feminist approaches concentrate on ‘women’s experience derived from white perspectives and priorities’. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Brewer (1993) ‘A triple systems theory’ Class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of deprivation for inequality. Black women suffer from disadvantage: because they are black, because they are women and because they are working class. Each of these inequalities reinforces and multiplies the other inequalities. Black feminism studies the interplay of these three inequalities in shaping the lives and restricting the life chances of black women. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Aziz (1997) White feminists have been allowed to speak on behalf of black women but black feminists are not expected/allowed to speak on behalf of white women. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Feminism - Overview Feminist perspectives on age and life course emphasise the relationship between inequality and age.

(Gannon 1999) Older women are materially deprived compared to men as a result of time out of employment and the gender pay gap Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Arber and Ginn 1991 Unequal position of women overlapping with age inequalities –age affects a woman’s status and power Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Oakley argues there are similarities between the position of women and children in society. – Children are part of a minority group with fewer rights (women have fought against these in the past). – Women and children are both seen as not being capable of knowing what is good for them. – Society is adult centred and institutions are organised in terms of adult’s needs. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Weberian - Summary Max Weber (1864 -1920) • Agreed with Marx that the ownership of property and capital were important dimensions of privilege in society but he argued that social inequality is a product of – Class - marketability – Status – how society views you – Party – how much political power you possess Social groups compete for scarce resources of society such as education and housing and each group have different amounts of power in this competition.

Weberainsim- overview • Close to Neo-Marxists but focus more on ethnicity than economic factors. • Suggest that minority groups lack the power and status within society as this is held by the majority. This means that ethnic minorities struggle to achieve because they also face prejudice and discrimination. • Due to this position ethnic minorities have low status and much worse life chances than other workers • This theory is slightly better than Marxism as it pays closer attention to the effect of an individual’s ethnicity. • However it has a weakness in terms of failing to notice the power and status that some ethnic minority groups have compared to others. E. g. Indian individuals are less likely to be unemployed are better educated and heave higher authority positions than many other ethnicities particularly black africancarribean individuals.

Parkin (1968) ‘Negatively privileged status groups’. Argues that the ethnic majority use social closure to keep ethnic minorities out of positions of authority and status. They face a ‘concrete ceiling’ rather than a glass one Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Barron and Norris (1976) ‘Dual labour’ market theory focuses on ethnic inequalities in employment. There are two types of labour market: Primary labour market = high pay, high status, job security, good working conditions and favourable promotion prospects. Secondary labour market = lower paid jobs with less security, inferior working conditions and few opportunities for promotion. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Rex and Tomlinson (1979) Experiencing both class and status inequality can lead to poverty and therefore some ethnic minorities may be more likely to be found in the underclass. Believe that a black underclass has been created of people who feel marginalised, alienated and frustrated. Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study:

Weberianism Overview Similar to Marxist views as Weber saw social position as being defined by three key areas, one being class (the similarity with Marxism is here) then Weber also suggested status and party. Low status can be applied to both the young and the old- i. e. low skills= low status= more likely to experience inequalities

Exchange Theory Turner 1989 - status best explains age discrimination. Elderly and young both become stigmatised due to lack of skills leading to low status- not having what it takes to gain high status. Our society is based on consumption. High status is awarded to those who have material goods- the two groups above are the ones least likely to have those goods. ‘reciprocity-maturation’ -if a group is dependant they have low status ‘gerontocracy’ – power and age are interlinked therefore elderly can have high status as it isn’t just economic capital but the values of the society Age can bring both high and low status depending on the values of the given society Write below what your point would be in an exam question : Write below what your evaluation would be of this study: