Flashcards · 8192 · Topic 6

Social stratification flashcards

28 cards on Topic 6, subtopics 3.6.1 to 3.6.6. Pick a subtopic or study them all.

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What did Davis and Moore (1945) argue about stratification?: Stratification is a "universal necessity": unequal rewards attract the most able people into the functionally most important positions, so roles are filled and performed well.
Functionally important roles: Positions that need rare skills or carry high responsibility (Davis and Moore).
Give two criticisms of Davis and Moore: Lower-paid jobs such as nursing are also vital, and pay differences may reflect power rather than importance. There is no agreed way to measure talent.
Meritocracy: A system where rewards depend on ability and effort, not background.

Means of production: Land, capital, labour power, buildings and machinery (Marx).
Bourgeoisie vs proletariat: The bourgeoisie own the means of production. The proletariat are workers who sell their labour.
False class consciousness: Workers accepting a system that exploits them, because of ruling class ideology.
Marx vs Weber on class: Marx: two main classes defined by ownership, which polarise. Weber: non-owners are divided by market situation, the middle class expands, and status and party are separate dimensions.
Market situation: A person's position in the market for skills and pay (Weber).

Life chances: Chances of good outcomes such as health, education, work and housing.
Which factors affect life chances in the specification?: Social class, gender, race and ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability, and religion and belief.
What did Devine (1992) find in Affluent Workers Revisited?: Interviewing Vauxhall workers in Luton and their wives in the late 1980s, she found no clear evidence of privatised instrumentalism, and workers still resented inherited wealth.
Embourgeoisement: The idea that affluent workers become middle class in lifestyle and values.
Glass ceiling: An invisible barrier that stops women reaching top jobs.

Relative deprivation (Townsend): Lacking the resources for the diet, activities and living conditions widely available in society.
What did Townsend find about poverty in 1968–69?: Using a deprivation index from questionnaires to over 2,000 households, more than 22% of the population were in poverty on his measure, against just over 6% on the state standard.
What did Murray (1984) argue about the underclass?: A New Right view: welfare benefits create dependency and an underclass, shown by rising illegitimacy, crime and unwillingness to work. Critics say he ignores economic causes.
Poverty trap: Earning more leads to losing benefits, so people gain little from work.
Culture of poverty vs material deprivation: Culture of poverty: values passed on that keep people poor. Material deprivation: lack of money and resources.

What are Weber's three types of authority?: Traditional (custom and inherited status), charismatic (devotion to a leader with exceptional qualities) and rational-legal (acceptance of shared impersonal rules).
Formal vs informal sources of power: Formal: official position or law, e.g. a judge. Informal: personal influence, peer pressure or money.
Pluralism: The view that power is spread among competing groups.
What is a party in Weber's sense?: A group concerned with gaining political or social power, including pressure and interest groups as well as political parties.

What are Walby's (1990) six structures of patriarchy?: Paid work, patriarchal relations of production (in the home), patriarchal culture, sexuality, male violence towards women, and the state.
Private vs public patriarchy: Private: direct control of women by fathers and husbands. Public: women have access to public life but are segregated into low-paid, low-status work (Walby).
Which factors affect power relationships in the specification?: Social class, gender, sexuality, race, age, disability, and religion and beliefs.
Ageism: Prejudice or discrimination on the grounds of age.
Institutional racism: Racism built into the routines and rules of an organisation.