Section A Social Inequality Terminology

Question 1

Egalitarian

Answer 1

In an egalitarian society, all are considered equal, regardless of gender, race, religion, or age. There is not a class system in an egalitarian society but relatively equal access to income and wealth.

Question 2

Power

Answer 2

The capacity to influence, lead, dominate, or otherwise have an impact on the life and actions of others in society.

Question 3

Prestige

Answer 3

Prestige refers to the reputation or esteem associated with one’s position in society. A person can earn prestige by their own achievements, which is known as achieved status, or they can be placed in the stratification system by their inherited position, which is called ascribed status.

Question 4

Wealth

Answer 4

Wealth is a critical concept that refers to the accumulation of assets, financial resources, and material possessions that an individual, family, or group owns. It is distinct from income, which is the money earned from wages, salaries, or investments.

Question 5

Social inequality

Answer 5

Social inequality refers to the unequal distribution of power, privilege, and resources among individuals and groups in a society. Often characterized by differences in social class, status, and political influence.

Question 6

Social stratification

Answer 6

Social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers.

Question 7

Hierarchy of social groups

Answer 7

The ranking of members in social groups based on the power, influence, or dominance they exhibit, whereby some members are superior or subordinate to others.

Question 8

Social mobility

Answer 8

Social mobility refers to the shift in an individual’s social status from one status to another. The shift can either be higher, lower, intergenerational, or intra-generational.

Question 9

Ascribed status

Answer 9

The social status of a person that is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life.

Question 10

Achieved status

Answer 10

An achieved status is a position in a social group that one earns based on merit or one’s choices.

Question 11

Functional prerequisites

Answer 11

Functional prerequisites are the basic needs that an individual requires to live above the poverty line.

Question 12

Value consensus

Answer 12

Parsons’ coined the phrase: the ‘value consensus’ to describe the need for societies to have a common set of beliefs and principles to work with and towards, a consensus meaning a general agreement or sharing of ideas.

Question 13

Reciprocity

Answer 13

The giving of benefits to another in return for benefits received, is one of the defining features of social exchange and, more broadly, of social life.

Question 14

Collective goals

Answer 14

It involves the participants’ intention to achieve the goal, requiring collective activity.

Question 15

Effective role allocation and performance

Answer 15

Parsons believed in effective role allocation, which meant that all individuals in society get roles that were best suited to their abilities, work ethic and qualifications.

Question 16

Functionally important

Answer 16

Roles that provide essential services and ensure society’s long-term survival are often seen as the most important.

Question 17

Functional necessity

Answer 17

Moore (1945) argues that the most difficult jobs in any society have the highest incomes in order to motivate individuals to fill the roles needed by the division of labour.

Question 18

Liberalism

Answer 18

Liberalism is a political and economic doctrine that emphasizes individual autonomy, equality of opportunity, and the protection of individual rights.

Question 19

Free market

Answer 19

A free market is a system of buying and selling goods and services that is not under the control of the government, and most companies and property are not owned by the state.

Question 20

Market forces

Answer 20

The forces that decide price levels in an economy or trading system whose activities are not influenced or limited by government

Question 21

Individual liberty

Answer 21

The liberty of an individual to exercise freely those rights generally accepted as being outside of governmental control.

Question 22

Social status

Answer 22

The relative rank that an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based upon honour or prestige.

Question 23

Dysfunctional societies

Answer 23

Any action or behavior that has negative consequences for a group or society.

Question 24

Ruling class

Answer 24

The ‘Ruling Class’ refers to the economically and politically dominant group in society who hold power and influence over the legal system, ensuring that their interests are promoted and maintained through mechanisms such as socialisation and professionalisation.

Question 25

Subject class

Question 26

Means of production

Answer 26

The means of production are the resources and tools that make it possible for products and services to get created.

Question 27

Feudal nobility

Answer 27

Nobles in the feudal system were members of the aristocracy who formed relationships amongst each other.

Question 28

Bourgeoise

Answer 28

The bourgeoisie is the ruling class in Marx's theory of class struggle under capitalism.

Question 29

Proletariat

Answer 29

Marx defined the proletariat as the social class having no significant ownership of the means of production and whose only means of subsistence is to sell their labour power for a wage or salary.

Question 30

Primitive communism

Answer 30

Primitive communism is a term used to describe the socio-economic structures of early human societies, characterized by communal ownership and egalitarian principles.

Question 31

Capitalism

Answer 31

Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production, with labor solely paid wages.

Question 32

Socioeconomic groups

Answer 32

A way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job.

Question 33

Ruling-class ideology

Answer 33

As used in Marxist theory, an ideology is a coherent act of ideas, which are not necessarily accurate, but which serve to advance or defend the social position of a particular group, in this case the ruling class.

Question 34

False class consciousness

Answer 34

The idea that people in a capitalist society unknowingly participate in a system that promotes inequality.

Question 35

Class struggle

Answer 35

Conflict between different classes in a community resulting from different social or economic positions and reflecting opposed interests. Also called class war.

Question 36

Class in itself

Answer 36

A social group whose members share the same relationship to the means of production.

Question 37

Class consciousness

Answer 37

The awareness that the members of a class (generally the working class) have of their 'objective' class interests and aspirations.

Question 38

Class solidarity

Answer 38

Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes.

Question 39

Collective struggle

Question 40

Polarisation

Answer 40

The splitting of a society into two distinct groups that are different ends of a spectrum.

Question 41

Homogeneous working class

Answer 41

Homogeneous society refers to a social setting where the majority of its members share common cultural, ethnic, religious, and linguistic backgrounds.

Question 42

Pauperisation

Answer 42

The process of individuals or groups becoming extremely poor, or the condition of extreme poverty.

Question 43

Petty bourgeoisie

Answer 43

A social class between the working class and the middle class, often including small business owners

Question 44

Market situation

Answer 44

Market situation refers to what price an individual can achieve when 'selling' their skills.

Question 45

Status situation

Answer 45

A status that exists only as long as an individual is in a particular situation and performing the role associated with it.

Question 46

Status group

Answer 46

Status groups are aggregates of persons arranged in a hierarchical social system. Such groups differ from social classes in being based on considerations of honour and prestige, rather than on economic status or power.

Question 47

Social closure

Answer 47

Closure refers to processes of drawing boundaries, constructing identities, and building communities in order to monopolize scarce resources for one's own group, thereby excluding others from using them.

Question 48

Intersectionality

Answer 48

It is the study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.