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Theories of Inequalities Flashcards

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1
Q

Social class inequality is inevitable and necessary

A

Parsons - value consensus, ranking, KAPPA, kinship, achievement, possessions, personal qualities, authority

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2
Q

Social class inequality creates social order

A

Durkheim - specialised divison of labour, legitimacy of stratification

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3
Q

Social class inequality is functional for society

A

Davis and Moore - role allocation, meritocracy, functional importance, functional uniqueness

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4
Q

Social class inequalities reflect anomic conditions

A

Durkheim - Durkheim’s term applied, anomie

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5
Q

Gender inequalities are the result of biological differences

A

Murdock - men + stronger = manual labour/breadwinner, women + weaker = bear children/stay at home

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6
Q

Gender inequalities are the result of socialised roles which are necessary for society

A

Parsons - instrumental, expressive

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7
Q

Womens expressive role is crucial for primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities

A

Parsons and Bales - primary socialisation, personality stabilisation of adults

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8
Q

Gender inequalities are inevitable in the workplace

A

Rastogi - human capital

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9
Q

Ethnic inequalities are temporary and a result of failing to assimilate

A

Patterson - host immigrant model, accommodation, integration, assimilation

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10
Q

Successful assimilation has resulted in excellent outcomes for minorities in the US

A

Parsons and Clark - integration led to successful outcomes, inequalities encourage to assimilate

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11
Q

Ethnic inequalities are due to historical and cultural factors

A

Roberts - ingrained in some cultures, east afric Sikhs - spirit of enterprise, asian - entrepreneurial, history of slavery impacted African-caribbean outcomes

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12
Q

It is normal for ethnic minorities to be at the bottom of the economic ladder

A

Modood - 3/5 bangladeshi 1/2 pakistani women don’t speak english, link to Davis and Moore or Rastogi

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13
Q

Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow younger generations to take control of the family

A

Parsons - disengagement theory

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14
Q

Age inequality for the elderly has to occur to allow younger generations to be productive at work

A

Cummings and Henry - social disengagement

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15
Q

Age inequality for the young has to occur to allow young people to be able to cope with problems of adult life

A

Eisenstadt - asribed to achieve status, forum for frustrations

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16
Q

Age inequalities are the result of anomie

A

Durkheim - anomie

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17
Q

Inequality must occur to encourage competition

A

Saunders - legal equality/equality of opportunity/equality of outcome, inequality is functional for motivation and competition, middle class children = more intelligent

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18
Q

If work is done to try and equalise society, individuals become morally complacent

A

Murray - neo-conservatism, underclass has a dependency culture, lone-parent family provides poor socialisation, welfare state, law of unintended rewards, welfare state = symptom of decline in morals

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19
Q

There is no incentive to work hard without inequality in society due to the welfare state

A

Marsland - welfare state causes social problems, benefits create cycle of dependency, incentivises reliance on state support - prevents social mobility, errosion of traditional values

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20
Q

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

A

Herrnstein and Murray - the bell curve, intelligence impacts education, income and social status, society is divided on intelligence, higher intelligence more common among upper classes

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21
Q

Single mothers are unable to socialise their children into shared values

A

Murray - underclass irresponsible single mothers, women adopt caring role - need men in authoritarian role to discipline (roles based on innate and biological differences), leads to poor socialisation - crime/youth unemployment

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22
Q

Matriarchal households encourage criminal behaviour

A

Dennis and Endros - undermine traditional family values, fatherlessness negatively impacts boys development, leads to social problems: mens marginalisation/negative impact on children (education and behaviour)/social and moral decline

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23
Q

Women are genetically designed to be caregivers and should feel privileged to have this role

A

Schlafly - biological differences, role of women = housewife and mother, if it takes on work - will experience inequality (2 jobs), “flight from home is the flight from self… from the nature of women”

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24
Q

A woman’s role in the family is vital to a smooth running society

A

Supported by Thatcher’s government - Thatcher supported and inspired by the new right, emphasis on traditional family values/family importance, supports traditional domestic roles, focus on personal responsibility impacted working class mothers, no gender based reforms

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25
Cultural differences contribute to ethnic inequalities
Modood et al - language barriers reduce employment, women: 3/5 bangladeshi, 1/2 pakistani men: 1/5 bangladeshi and pakistani - don't speak english
26
Inequalities faced by ethnic minorities are due to rising rates of unemployment
Murray - underclass black single mothers and youths less likely to gain employment/rely on welfare state, dependency culture leads to poor socialisation, youths = ill-schooled/ill-behaved = juvenile delinquents
27
Lone parenting results in ethnic minority children becoming more likely to partake in criminal activities
Sewell - 57% of black families with depedant children were lone parent, lack father figure, hypermasculinity taught from role models and encouraged by peer pressure, reject authority figures - leads to criminal behaviour and don't value education
28
Inequalities are not a result of structural racism but rather the result of cultural values, personal responsibility, and economic freedom
Sowell - individual responsibility, cultural factors affect social, areas that cause inequality: cultural factors/government intervention/inaccurate comparisons of different ethnic groups successes, fostering a victimhood mentality
29
Women reproduce the next generation of workers and socialise them
Feeley - 'passivity not rebellion' - family teaches, obedient docile workers
30
Women's domestic work is unpaid
Benston - renew men, reproduce next generation of workers, family paid one wage, dependance on men's salaries
31
Women soothe the stresses and frustrations of the proletariat
Ansley - 'safety valve', 'takers of shit', sponge to aid false class consciousness, support with Zaretsky
32
Women's roles also support the capitalist ideology
Breugel - reserve army of labour, hired and fired, prepared to work for less money
33
Sexual harassment in the workplace is the cause of gender inequality
Adkins - vertical segregation - useful sexual attraction, horizontal segregation - female employees faces sexual harassment, being sexually attractive is part of a woman's role
34
Violence that is a result of patriarchal traditions of men's right to control 'their' women
Johnson - patriarchal terrorism, support with WHO - 2013 - 30% women globally experienced physical or sexual abuse from partner
35
Socialisation into gender roles creates gender inequality
Oakley - manipulation, canalisation, verbal appellations, domestic/different activities, link to inequality
36
Discrimination prevents women from having equal opportunities
McRobbie - bedroom culture, cult of femininity, false consciousness
37
Not all women share the same experience of inequality - Patriarchy has shifted from private to public
Walby - triple systems of oppression, private/public patriarchy, employment, household, state, cultural institutions, sexuality, violence
38
Black women face a multiple forms of disadvantage
Abbott et al - doubly disadvantaged, ehtnocentric, white feminists speaking on behalf of black women, lack of centrality/focus
39
Class, race and gender combine to create multiple sources of inequality
Brewer - triple systems, patriarchy, racism, capitalism, example
40
Black women are portrayed and perceived as passive victims
Mirza - push back against stereotype, adovcate against racism in schools, injustice of police
41
Colonialism has caused gender inequality
Connell - colonial rule reinforced by patriarchal structures, embedded in ideas that persisted long after colonial rule, e.g. restricting women's access to education
42
Women face a double standard when ageing
Itzin - status linked to reproductive cycle, cosmeticisation, when men get older they are seen as wise and don't face the same pressure
43
Gender differences within the structure of the family leads to inequality
Brannen - bean pole family, dual burden, pivot generation, placed on middle age women
44
Older women are excluded from the media as they age
Sontag - double standards of ageing, older women seen as irrelevant, unsexy, marginalised, older men - wise and experiences
45
Women and children suffer similar inequality due to a mutual dependence
Oakley - women care for children - restricts them, for children; not hear, don't have the same rights as adults, issues ignored, society = adult centered, children are expected to conform to adults
46
Society has historically faced divisions of power
Marx - infrastructure, forces/relations of production, exploitation, subsistence wage levels, capitalism
47
The ruling class uses ideological control to maintain their superior position
Marx - ideological superstructure, ruling class ideology, name and explain 1/2 institutions, false class consciousness
48
Class inequality is justified through hegemony
Gramsci - exploitation, hegemony, consent, dual consciousness, prevent revolution
49
Power is becoming more concentrated in society
Westergaard - bourgeoisie concentration, polarisation, ONS - richest 20% hold 43% of all wealth
50
Women must be submissive wives to ensure a pure bloodline
Engles - bourgeoisie, biological, legitimate offspring, monogamous relationship, pass on wealth
51
Men need to exercise control in the home when they don't have control of other areas of their lives
Zaretsky - powerlessness and frustration, proletariat exploited at work, need to feel like the 'king of the castle', prevents from walking away from jobs
52
Women do unpaid labour in the home which is essential for the smooth running of capitalism
Benston - renew men, reporduce next generation of workers, family paid one wage, family dependent on men
53
Women act as a cheap and disposable part of the workforce which benefits a capitalist system
Brugel - reserve army of labour, hired and fired, prepared to work for less
54
There is a direct relationship between capitalism and racism
Cox - race is a human creation, racism is justified exploitation, capitalism went hand in hand with colonialsim - empire, e.g.
55
Immigrants act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society
Castles and Kosack - reserve army of labour, hired and fired, capitalist economies inherently unstable
56
The ruling class divide the working class for ideological purposes
Castles and Kosack - divide and rule, legitimise, scapegoat, distract from inequalities of capitalism
57
The ruling class use the media to detract attention away from capitalist failings
Hall - policing the crisis, moral panic, black criminality, divert attention from economic crisis/failings of capitalism
58
The young and elderly act as a reserve army of labour in a capitalist society
Phillipson - secondary source of labour, zero hour contract, hired and fired
59
Individuals are kept in a false consciousness about their exploited position
Gramsci - hegemony, consent, false class consciousness, concessions they get, dependency
60
The elderly are forced to become dependant to create space in the labour market for young productive workers
Phillipson and Townsend - elderly = burden on economy, capitalism needs to renew workforce, institutional marginalisation/dependency
61
The capitalist class manipulates the elderly into retiring and uses them as a scapegoat for societal issues
Vincent - pensions create disadvantage, retirement age constructed by capitalism to control surplus labour
62
A person's societal position is based on class, status and party - class is now more fragmented
Weber - economic factors are sources of conflict, moved away from Marx's two class model, now 4 different social classes with similar life chances: propertied upper class, property-less white collar workers, petty bourgeoisie, manual workers
63
Social class and inequality is complex, there are a range of social class categories based on occupations
Hope-Goldthorpe - Hope-goldthorpe scale - measure of general desirability of occupation, 24 different categories, highest included doctors, lawyers, lowest includes street vendors, this does not just divide into 3 classes
64
A person's experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect (status) they receive from others
Weber/Parkin - status = social honour - Weber, negatively privileged status group/social closure - Parkin
65
A person's power or party can influence how much influence they have within society
Weber/Beck - power/party - Weber, power separate from class, new political identities - Beck
66
Women are more liekly to face lower class positions than males due to social closure
Weber - social closure, men dominate top jobs and exclude women, glass ceiling, link to Adkins vertical segregation
67
Women are more likely to hold lower positions within the marketplace
Barron and Norris - dual labour market, men in primary - high pay/status/security/benefits, women in secondary - low pay/status/security/benefits, due to stereotypes/maternity leave/family responsibility
68
Women held less status within the labour market and therefore face a range of inequalities
Equal Opportunities Commission - horizontal segregation - human capital/career choices/barriers/discrimination, vertical segregation - glass ceiling/gender stereotypes/rarity of men in some occupation
69
Women are less likely than men to be in a position to exercise political power
Electoral Commission - women engage less politically, political activism gap, women passively involved in politics - petitions, men more active, women - less likely to be involved in trade unions/elections - exerting less power
70
A disproportionate amount of the black and minority ethnic community can be found at the bottom of the stratification pyramid
Rex and Tomlinson - black underclass - marginalised under capitalism, structural break between black and white working class, don't have the same standard of living
71
Black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to hold lower positions within the marketplace
Barron and Norris - white people in primary labour market - high pay/status/security/benefits, ethnic minorities are in secondary labour market - low pay/status/security/benefits, concrete ceiling and barriers due to racist beliefs and discrimination
72
A person's experience of inequality is influenced by the level of respect they receive from others
Parkin - negatively privileged status group, social closure from top jobs and promotions
73
Political parties and trade unions don't reflect the interests of ethnic minorities
Weber - discusses party as groups that form to gain power, groups are dominated by white members which can lead to ethnic minority voices not being heard, 2024 - 87 ethnic minority MP's out of 650 - 13%
74
A person's societal position is based on class, status and party - age directly influences a person's class
Weber - class is market position who have similar life chances, young and elderly loose status due to age, pushed out of well paid jobs/only in lesser paid jobs - have less class compared to other ages
75
The young and some elderly groups are more likely to hold lower positions within the labour market
Barron and Norris - dual labour market, middle age in primary - high pay/status/security/benefits, elderly and young in secondary - low pay/status/security/benefits, link to Ritzer - McJobs
76
Some age groups face a lower status society due to their market position
Parkin/Johnson - negatively privileged status groups/social closure - Parkin, workplace is institutionally ageist - Johnson
77
Young and elderly lack status due to the lack of reciprocity that they provide others
Turner - exchange theory - give and take, young and elderly = low reciprocity - low status, middle age = high reciprocity - high status, society is based on consumption - we value wealth

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