Social Differentiation

Revision Session

Social Differentiation - what is it?

It is way people are put into different categories or social groups. This can be based on a number of factors:
Age Gender Ethnic origin Disability Caste

Stratification what is it?

Stratification= The way that different groups of people are placed at different levels of society. Hierarchy= The structure of power in society Social Mobility= Moving up (or down) the hierarchy

J KKKKK LLLLLLLL

Stratification in Modern Britain

In Britain today, people tend to be stratified according to their social class. Middle Class At the top is the Upper Class (those with titles or the very Working Class rich) The largest group are the Middle Class (a very diverse group, professionals, business Remember: owners and business owners etc) There will be very different At the bottom is the Working Class (those who work in experiences manual or unskilled jobs) of life within the classes.
Upper Class

The Underclass?

Some Sociologists argue that at the bottom of the hierarchy is an Underclass a group with a distinct set of values the long term unemployed who have become reliant on state benefits. Others disagree and say there is no evidence for the existence of an underclass.

Capitalism
The reason why people in Britain today are stratified by their social class is because Britain is a Capitalist society. A capitalist society is one that runs on the basis of the free market economy where any one can set up a business and make a private profit. This means that anyone should be allowed to move up the hierarchy (be socially mobile), though in practice this is not always true.

Social Mobility
Britain is an open society this means that people can move up or down the hierarchy. Meritocracy: Where the position you achieve in a society reflects your work and ability. However some sociologists argue that while Social Mobility is possible in Britain, most of the people at the top of the hierarchy had been born their Self Recruitment.

Societies where social mobility is very difficult or just not possible are caused closed societies.

Types of Social Mobility

Intra-Generational Mobility: When people change classes over the course of their career.

Inter-generational Mobility: When people are in a different social class to their parents

Is class still important?

I want Britain to be a classless society.
Class is less important than it was 100 years ago when there were three distinct classes with very different values and lifestyles Britain is an open society so it is possible to change classes There is now some overlap between the values and lifestyles of the three classes and the edges between the classes has become very blurred (fragmented).

Ex Prime-Minister John Major

However
Social Class still has a massive impact on our life chances.
Health Education Family Life Leisure Housing Crime Mobility Life Expectancy

Changing class structure

In modern Britain, there have been a lot of changes to the occupational structure. The traditional working class occupations have gone into decline while there is now a lot more Service sector work. Some sociologists say that Embourgeoisement has occurred the majority of people have been absorbed into the middle class and now share the same values and lifestyle as the middle class. Others disagree and say that there is still a marked difference between the working conditions and life chances of the middle and working classes.

Marxist view of Class

Two main groups
Bourgeoisie

at the top the bourgeoisie (ruling class) they control the means of production Everyone else is the Proletariat (the Working class) who have to work for a living for the bourgeoisie

Proletariat

The bourgeoisie will get rich from exploiting the proletariat These groups are in conflict

Webers view of class

Weber agreed with Marx that the classes were in conflict. However, he felt that Marxs view was too simplistic it is not possible to say that there are just two classes. Instead, Weber said that there are many different groups, all in competition with each other. The class you are in depends on three factors:
Economic factors (income and wealth) Status Power

This means that Webers view of class is very flexible

Functionalist view of class

Functionalists are a Consensus approach. They say that for the good of society, the important jobs need to be given more money and prestige than other in order to attract the best people. This is why a surgeon should be paid more than a secretary. Critics say that this approach justifies inequality and also how are the most important jobs decided?

Measuring Class
Sociologists disagree on what the best way to measure a persons class is. The most commonly used measure is occupational scales such as the Registrar Generals. Problems with these methods are that no provision is made for
Women Unemployed Retired Students Army

Wealth and Income

Wealth = the ownership of financial savings and of things that can be sold to make money. Income = the amount of money that comes into a household The gap between the rich and poor is still growing!

To what extent would sociologists say that class inequality is most important form of inequality?
This is a common exam question. You need to be able to compare class with other factors to show how it affects life chances. Yes it does
All ways that peoples class affects their life chances Barriers to social mobility

No it does not
Social Mobility Changes to class system Other factors (CAGE)