10: social studies

Social studies

Here are your study notes rewritten in a clear, structured, and slightly expanded way—not too condensed, but still easy to study from:

Study Notes: Social Inequality

1. Social Inequality – Historical Context

Diet and Health in the 18th & 19th Centuries

  • During the 1700s and 1800s in Britain and Ireland, many people experienced chronic under-nourishment.

  • Poor diet meant people were weaker, less healthy, and far more vulnerable to infectious diseases.

  • As a result, life expectancy was lower and living conditions were harsh, especially among the working classes.

Improvements in the 20th Century

  • The overall quality of the national diet improved significantly across the 1900s.

  • However, economic inequality remained, meaning:

    • People with less money often still have poorer-quality diets.

    • Wealthier groups generally have better access to nutritious food.

2. What Is Social Inequality?

Definition

Social inequality arises when people have unequal life chances—that is, unequal opportunities to access:

  • Education

  • Employment and income

  • Housing

  • Healthcare

  • Social status or security

Natural vs. Social Inequalities

Some differences between people are natural or biological, such as:

  • Gender

  • Skin colour

  • Physique

  • Intelligence
    These can lead to social inequalities when society values or disadvantages certain traits.

3. Economic Inequality: Poverty and Wealth

Distribution of Resources

  • Human societies tend to be unequal in how economic resources are divided.

  • Inequality appears in two main areas:

    • Income

    • Wealth (assets)

Income

Includes:

  • Wages

  • Business profits

  • Returns on investments

  • Income “in kind”: e.g., subsidised housing, company car

Before-tax and after-tax income differ because higher earners often pay more tax (progressive tax).

Wealth

Wealth comes from:

  • Assets (property, shares, savings)

  • Past earnings

  • Inheritance

  • Choices about saving, investing, and spending

Wealth also accounts for debts.

Wealth tends to be far more unevenly distributed than income.

4. Wealth Inequality in Ireland

(According to The Distribution of Wealth in Ireland, TASC 2015)

  • Top 20% hold 72.7% of net wealth
    (Euro Area average: 67.6%)

  • Bottom 50% hold only 4.9% of wealth

Further breakdown:

  • Top 10%: 53.8% of wealth

  • Top 5%: 37.7%

  • Top 1%: 14.8%

This shows a strong concentration of wealth among a very small group.

5. Measuring Poverty: Alternative Approaches

Irish SILC (Survey on Income and Living Conditions)

“At risk of poverty” means:

  • A person’s equivalised income is below 60% of the national median income.

  • This does not always mean absolute poverty, but indicates risk of financial hardship and limited access to essentials.

6. How Poverty Affects Health

Poverty has strong, well-documented links to poorer health.

Examples:

Before and During Birth

  • Low birth weight, premature births, and over-term births are more common among:

    • Manual workers vs. professional/managerial workers

  • Infant mortality rates are higher in disadvantaged groups.

Health Problems Throughout Life

  • Chronic conditions are more common among lower-income groups:

    • Cardiovascular disease

    • Bronchitis

    • Tuberculosis (historically and in some modern contexts)

Poor Housing Conditions

  • The poor are more likely to live in:

    • Cold, damp housing

    • Overcrowded homes

    • Buildings in poor repair
      These conditions directly contribute to respiratory illnesses, infections, and stress.

Impact on Children

  • Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of poor nutrition and poor housing.

  • Childhood poverty can have long-term effects on:

    • Physical health

    • Cognitive development

    • Nutrition and eating habits

7. Addressing Inequality: Social Welfare in Ireland

Types of Social Welfare Payments

  1. Social Insurance Payments
    Based on previous PRSI contributions.

  2. Means-Tested Payments
    Based on income and financial need.

  3. Universal Payments
    Provided to everyone regardless of income (e.g., Child Benefit).

Benchmarking Welfare

  • Payments are compared to a proportion of average national earnings (around 27.5%).

  • However: welfare rates do not always increase as wages rise.

  • This can increase the number of people living in poverty if wages grow faster than welfare supports.

Conclusion

  • Different demographic factors—like class, wealth, and living conditions—influence diet, nutrition, and health.

  • Economic resources are not shared equally across society, leading to long-term inequalities.

  • Poverty is strongly linked to poorer health and nutrition.

  • It can be difficult to separate the effects of money from other factors because many disadvantages cluster together (e.g., low income + poor housing + limited education).

If you want, I can turn these into flashcards, a shorter revision sheet, or a mind map-style summary!