The middle class is the class in between the wealthy upper class, and the poorer working class. There are four main types of middle class identities. These are Professionals, Managers, self employees and White-collar/clerical workers. Savage did research into these different identities. Professionals are described by Savage as having an intellectual identity, this is from a successful education.
It focuses on how people come together to create society. It focuses on whether actions are good for the equilibrium of society, these are called functions. It also focuses on things that undermine the equilibrium, these are called dysfunctions. For example functionalist Conflict theory do not see society as whole coming together well for one purpose. It focuses on class conflict.
In terms of social stratification, this suggests that there are various classes of people necessary to balance society (Giddens, 1990). Some will be laborers others managers or leaders. Some will be at the lower levels of society while others will achieve the highest levels of middle levels of in society. Consider the most prevalent reason why minority students need to complete their higher education. The lack of realization of any roadblock that hinders the success of students in graduating or gaining a proper education can create an imbalance in the productivity and advancement of society.
The concept of stratification and class will be defined, followed by a discussion of the various ways in which ones social class impacts their life. Thereafter the theories of social stratification, namely the functionalism and conflict theory will be looked at and conclude with a brief analysis of social class within the South African context. Social stratification occurs in all societies and can be described as a system whereby social groups are divided and piled on top of each other, like the layers of rock (Gabler, 2010). Social class is one of the ways in which society is divided or stratified. It has been defined by Draper et al.
Karl Marx and Max Weber Karl Marx and Max Weber have different views upon social class in contemporary societies. In Karl Marx's perspective, social class has a two-class system whereas Max Weber argued that social class has three dimensions of stratification: class, status and party. In this essay, I will explain and analyse why Weber carried out this theory that these three dimensions are distinct entities and cannot be resolved under the single concept of class. Marx argued that class was determined by income and the relationship a group had to the means of production, which created a distinction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. While Weber argued that class was created according to an individual's own abilities and skills and through this they would be rewarded by their income and status.
* * Karl Marx divided people into two distinctive groups, which are bourgeoisie and proletariat and he believed that social classes are distinguished according to the means of production (Joyse, 1995). That is bourgeoisies are those who buy working forces, while proletarians are those who sell in order to survive. Each class acts in the way to benefit themselves and their own interests, thereby resulting in conflict, which in turn, lead to limited social mobility. Therefore, Marx argues that social mobility is exceedingly limited and depends on luck or chance (Crompton, 1993). In other words, dominant social groups oppress or control lower ones, and it is extremely problematic to change social class and status.
It affects everything we do and who we are. Social class influences how people orientate themselves in society, as they are socialized into class identities from quite an early age, through living with and encountering in their communities people in the same social class as themsleves, who are like them, who share similar lifestyles,attitudes and value, and with whom they feel comfortable in their everyday lives. It is proven that 90 % of 'failing schools' are located in deprived areas. Some people who are not brought up in low-income families may act like social class doesn't affect your life chances that much and if someone wants to achieve something really badly they can work for it and everything else they take as an excuse. Perhaps anyone can achieve anything they set their minds to ,but social class and how they are brought up affects them so much from such an early age.
Institutions like the family, education and religion lead individuals into accepting the inequalities or capitalism. In other words, Marxists think that people are socialised into a culture based on their social class. They think people’s identity depends on their class position in the capitalist system. Criticism Not everyone agrees with the Marx’s views. The other 3 theories have different opinions on what culture
Examine sociological explanations of the ways in which social class may shape social identity: • Identity is concerned with how individuals see and define themselves and how other people see and define them. • The identities that people adopt are formed within the cultures and subcultures to which they belong. One of the factors that have traditionally had major effect on people’s identity is their social class and the class subcultures into which they are socialised. • Ken brown breaks society up into different social classes, which all have the same norms and values. Which are: working class, middle class and upper class.
Family issues are also one of the important factors for students to drop out. Sometime student have no choice to go to school, because they need to take care of their family members, especially if they have senior members or younger member in the family. In this case, eighty percent students will be more likely to drop out from school. Financial problem is also a big issue for student. The huge gap between rich and poor in this