New Right Theory Of Social Class Inequality

Question 1

What are the four explanations of class inequality?

Answer 1

1. Inequality must occur to encourage competition
2. If work is done to try and equalise society, individuals become morally complacent
3. There is no incentive to work hard without inequality in society due to the welfare state
4. Those from higher social class groups are part of the cognitive elite so do better than those from lower social classes

Question 2

Who said inequality must occur to encourage competition?

Answer 2

• Saunders

Question 3

Who said if work is done to try and equalise society, individuals become morally complacent?

Answer 3

• Murray

Question 4

Who said there is no incentive to work hard without inequality in society due to the welfare state?

Answer 4

• Marsland

Question 5

Who said those from higher social class groups are part of the cognitive elite so do better than those from lower social classes?

Answer 5

• Herrnstein and Murray

Question 6

What did Saunders say?

Answer 6

• agrees with legal equality and equality of opportunity
• disagrees with equality of outcome- people should compete for unequal rewards

Question 7

What did Murray say?

Answer 7

• criticises how government policies encourages underclass to become dependant on welfare state as it causes laziness
• critical of educational policy change (education reform act)

Question 8

What did Marsland say?

Answer 8

• dependency culture refers to the idea that long term welfare recipients develop a mindset where they become reliant on state benefits rather than striving for independence through work and personal effort eroding traditional values like responsibility and creating a cycle of dependency
• leads to decline in moral standards, weakens family structure and contributes to social problems such as crime so advocates for reducing welfare benefits and encouraging people to take personal responsibility for their own life

Question 9

What did Herrnstein and Murray say?

Answer 9

• higher intelligence is more common among those in upper socioeconomic classes but they do not claim that all individuals in the upper class inherently have higher IQs
• Instead argue that intelligence can influence educational and job opportunities which can lead to better socioeconomic status