2. For each social group, list the way it used power or suffered powerlessness. The upper and ruling class used power to make them superior to theses who they thought were beneath them, who were the middle class but note specifically the poor. They made they poor and middle class pay taxes to them which in turn made the upper class wealthy. The poor suffered powerlessness because they were poor, therefore they were placed at the bottom of the social ladder.
It is believed that society is made up of many parts to work together to make it function as a whole. Emile Durkheim believed that each person in society as a whole had their own part to contribute to make society function. Furthermore it was deteremined that when everyone did their part society functioned “normal” versus “abnormal” when certain parts were not in synch with the whole. Conflict Theory is the belief that society consists of groups that are competing for resources that are scarce. In this theory, there is almost always a struggle for power with the wealthy usually winning while the poor loose and therefore have less resources.
Wilkinson and Pickett explore two of the most common assumptions about the social gradient that shows people at the bottom of social hierarchies suffer more problems- circumstances and individual tendencies. The authors, in critiquing the material explanation to societal problems, argue that richer nations should do better than poorer ones. This is a flawed argument, as national wealth does not indicate its distribution. A generally wealthy nation may have poorer diets, less educational opportunities, or worse housing in comparison to a less wealthy nation. Wilkinson and Pickett also give reason as to why everyone in a society should be concerned about inequality, not merely those vulnerable to the problems with which it coincides.
Prejudice is when an individual is judged by aspects which do not relate to them at all. Prejudice is the main trouble of social inequality, in society when a family gains wealth, another will be made poor. And when a group gains power, another group is made below that power. The link between prejudice and stereotype is very similar, when prejudice occurs, stereotyping maybe also becomes a result of it and then this becomes discrimination. When it comes to prejudice many situations are caused by stereotypes.
Importance of Social Class in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations Social class played a major role in the society depicted in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Social class determined the manner in which a person was treated and their access to education. Yet, social class did not define the character of the individual. Many characters were treated differently because of their social class in Great Expectations. Seeing the contrast between how the poor and the rich were treated will give a clearer understanding of how much social class mattered.
Stratification is a division of a society’s resources that benefits some people and harms others. Social position reflects the way society divides resources. Unequal rewards only serve to divide society, creating “haves” and “have-nots.” There is widespread opposition to social inequality. Using a structural-functional approach to look at the demise of the middle class would point out that the middle class is sliding backwards due to a lack of personal talent and ability. Since
* * 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.
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. His approach was more individualistic and allowed for a more flexible and less rigid class structure. Using these theories the modern social group known as celebrities will be explored, showing that this group has not fully been adopted under Marx's rigid class structure, but has more in common with Weber's theory of a combination of income and status to determine class. Karl Marx argued there are two major social classes, the ruling class who own the means of production and the subject class, who don't own the means of production and are a diverse group of people controlled by and working for the ruling class. These two groups are better known as the bourgeoisie and proletariat.
In capitalist societies, workers are employed to produce goods which are sold by their employers at a profit. Only a bit of the profit ends up in the workers wage, most of its kept by the employer. Marx said that if workers were allowed to notice the unfairness of this, they’d revolt. So, to avoid revolution the capitalist system shapes the superstructure to make sure that the workers accept their lot in life. Institutions like the family, education and religion lead individuals into accepting the inequalities or capitalism.
Examining the relationship between identity and social class Social class is the way in which society categorizes itself into different forms of genre. Social class refers to the status in which a person is given in society. Strictly speaking it is measured by how much wealth you have. Being born into a wealthier family will mean you start life in a higher class. If you are born into a poorer family you would have to work your way up the classes through employment.