theoretical perspectives on class inequalities

functionalists

• Parsons: meritocracy

  • m/c 7x more likely to get into uni than w/c

  • Crompton: social closure

• goldthorpe and lockwood: embourgeoisement

  • rise in credit cards

  • savage: Class identity is strong for w/c- community, class isn’t just money

• davis and moore: role allocation

  • Doctors can do nurses’ jobs

  • tumin: Highly paid jobs exist that don’t contribute to society

new right

• Sewell: lone parent families

  • black caribbean boys more likely to be excluded

  • Bourdieu: due to a lack of capitals

• Murray: underclass

  • ¼ of w/c boys get m/c jobs

  • bourdieu: due to lack of capitals

• Saunders: Inequalities are functional

  • goldthorpe: structural barriers

marxists

• marx: class conflict- bourgeoisie exploit proletariat

  • Pakulski and Waters: Class is dead

• Marx: social reproduction

  • Parsons: meritocracy

• Engels: inheritance

  • ¾ of inherited wealth is given to 20% of the population

  • savage: class in fractioned

neo-marxist

• Althusser: ideological state apparatus

• Bourdieu: capitals

• gramsci: ruling class ideology imposed onto society

webarianism

• Weber: status groups

  • trade unions

  • Marx: class conflict

• crompton: social closure

  • 7% of population attend private schools, 52% attended oxford/cambridge were from private schools

• savage: class fractions

  • davis and moore: role allocation