Theories of inequality and stratification

• stratification is beneficial to social order
• modern societies are characterised by the specialised devision of labour, some jobs are more useful than others and are more highly rewarded
• if the system is fair, people are relatively contented with their lot
• can cause conflict in closed societies, sudden shifts can destabilise the system

issues

• ignore structural issues such as social closure
• assumes meritocracy exists
• assumption of shared goals and values (consensus)

• achievement and skills are the most highly valued qualities in contemporary western societies
• stratification is therefore the outcome of general agreement

issues

• ignores ascribed status and structural issues as above

• economic growth has raised the standard of living for all members of society
• social inequality is a small price to pay

issues

• inequality can lead to deviance, disaffection and order

• mode of production: the means of production, relations of production- always exploitative in capitalism
• capitalism is characterised by the relentless pursuit of profit, wages are kept low, workers are replaced by technology wherever possible and owners pocket the 'surplus value'
• workers fail to see thier own exploitation via ideological apparatuses such as education and the media and thus suffer from false class consciousness
• marx believed increasing polarisation would lead to radical social change

issues

• communist regimes collapsed in the 1990s
• economic determinism/reductionism
• underestimating the importance of the middle class
• the class identity of the working class people today is not overtly political, they are aware of inequality however
• living standards have risen and we have democracy and workers rights

• have focused on the relationship between the infrastructure and the superstructure (all the major social institutions)
• the function of the superstructure is the reproduction and legitimation of class identity (ideology)
• education important, transits false identity of meritocracy
• academic and hidden curriculum are the product of bourgeoise values
• the cultural capital of middle and ruling class children is significant, yet working class children are taught to blame themselves
• media- the Frankfurt school, popular culture diverts attention towards consumerism, celebrity culture and trivia (opium of the masses)
• people are now less knowledgeable about society and the working class are less united than ever
• reiner- 'the class war has been won to devastating effect'

issues

• dismissive of what working class people say and think, are they really victioms of 'collective brain damage'

• class is only one form of inequality
• class and status are seperate but related sources of power
• working class not likely to unite because of status defferences amongst them
• prefered 'status groups' to classes, 'party' as a further dimension (political interest), includes membership of formal and informal associations (old boys network, golf club)
• he saw classes as economic categories but wanted to include occuptional skill because this created different life chances amongst those who do not own the means of production
• status can derive from gender, race and religion too.

issues

• marxists argued he ignored the basic split between capitalists and workers
• social closure
• Bottero: Weber has a case but if society is build around conflict, why is our society relatively stable and orderly

• individuals create structural forces by enaging in particular actions
• ageed with consensus about occupational status which creates stratification
• noted the importance of consumption in identity
• decided social class is less important now
• major division is now between the employed and the unemployed

issues

• individuals can create structural forces but so do social groups
• social class is still a source of identity
• do we really have consensus about occupational status?

• reject grand narratives in favour of identity and difference
• increasing diversity and plurality of life has broken up social classes
• gender and ethnicity identity has been eroded by subjective individual identity
• waters- social class in terminal decline, consumption is how we organise our daily lives
• globalisation, mass media culture

issues

• social class, gender and ethnic identities still important, consumption directly related to social class
• featherstone- impact of globalisation has been exaggerated

• we actively make choices about different aspects of our identity

issues

• Bottero- interactionists ignore constraints on peoples behaviour caused by structured social inequalities