5.1.4

Socio-Economic Class 2

Test yourself on Socio-Economic Class 2

Test your knowledge with free interactive questions on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

Weber and Social Class

Socio-economic status is the social standing or class of an individual or group and is often measured as a combination of education, income and occupation.

The labour market

The labour market

  • Max Weber argued that classes are formed in the labour market, where one class of people hires labour and another sells their labour.
  • The process of hiring labour and rewards (or life chances) from this hiring and selling of labour are crucial in explaining class.
Defining class

Defining class

  • According to Weber, a class is a group of people who have similar life chances, such as being successful in life and opportunities in education, health, and other areas.
Four social classes

Four social classes

  • Weber identified four main social classes:
    • Property owners.
    • Professionals.
    • The petite bourgeoisie (such as shopkeepers.)
    • The working class.
Life chances

Life chances

  • Different classes have different market situations or life chances in the labour (job) market.
  • Working class people share similar life chances in the labour market but have different life chances from property owners.
Economic resources

Economic resources

  • Weber agreed with Marx that class is based on the distribution of economic resources such as wealth.
  • He also stressed the importance of non-economic factors like status and power (political influence) in determining life chances.
Non-economic factors

Non-economic factors

  • Different groups are identified by the prestige attached to their lifestyle and each of the four classes had a different amount of status, wealth and power.
  • A person’s status may differ from their class, or economic, position – even members of the aristocracy may not be wealthy landowners but their title (such as Lord or Lady) give them status.

Social Class in Contemporary Britain

In Britain today, social class is more often referred to as socio-economic status and it is seen as the main form of stratification.

Social class

Social class

  • In Britain today, social class is more often referred to as socio-economic status and it is seen as the main form of stratification.
  • Social class in Britain is based in economic factors (e.g. occupation).
Occupation

Occupation

  • Occupation is used to measure class because it is linked to levels of pay, working conditions and status.
Subjective class

Subjective class

  • Subjective class refers to how people see themselves in class terms.
Social class in Britain

Social class in Britain

  • There are three social classes in Britain:
    • The working class.
    • Middle class.
    • Upper class.
  • Although some New Right thinkers argue that Britain also has an underclass.
Sources of inequality

Sources of inequality

  • In class-based societies, gender, ethnicity and age are all sources of inequality.
    • E.g. middle-class men and women may have different life chances in relation to pay and promotion at work.
Jump to other topics
1

The Sociological Approach

1.1

Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?1.1.2Culture & Socialisation
1.2

Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism1.2.2Marxism 21.2.3Functionalism1.2.4Feminism
1.3

The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach
2

Families

2.1

Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family2.1.2Marxist Views on Family2.1.3Feminist Views on Family
2.2

Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?2.2.2Nuclear Family2.2.3Families in a Global Context2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms
2.3

Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles
2.4

Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline2.4.2Domestic Abuse2.4.3Symmetrical Family
2.5

Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families2.5.2Marxist Views of Families2.5.3Feminist Views of Families2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families
2.6

Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate2.6.2Consequences of Divorce2.6.3Functionalist Views2.6.4Marxist Views2.6.5Feminist Views2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce
3

Education

3.1

Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives3.1.3Types of School3.1.4Alternative Education3.1.5State & Private Schools
3.2

Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes3.2.2External Processes
3.3

Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success3.3.2Social Class & Education3.3.3Social Class & External Factors3.3.4Gender & Education3.3.5Ethnicity & Education3.3.6Parental Choice3.3.7History of UK Education Policy3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education
4

Crime & Deviance

4.1

The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime
4.2

Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control4.2.2Formal Social Control4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime
4.3

Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime4.3.2Social Class & Crime4.3.3Gender & Crime4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime4.3.5Age & Crime4.3.6Criminal Responsibility4.3.7The Prison System4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime
4.4

Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour
5

Social Stratification

5.1

Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?5.1.2Functionalism5.1.3Socio-Economic Class5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 25.1.5Life Chances5.1.6The Affluent Worker5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion
5.2

Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty5.2.3Explanations of Poverty5.2.4Impact of Globalisation5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue
5.3

Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber5.3.2Sociological Perspectives5.3.3Power Relationships5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority
6

Sociological Research Methods

6.1

Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design6.1.2The Scientific Method6.1.3Other Considerations6.1.4Primary Sources6.1.5Secondary Sources6.1.6Surveys6.1.7Sampling6.1.8Questionnaires6.1.9Interviews6.1.10Observation6.1.11Statistics6.1.12Case Studies6.1.13Longitudinal Studies6.1.14Ethnography6.1.15Experiments6.1.16Small Scale Research6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

Practice questions on Socio-Economic Class 2

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Weber's four main social classes: Fill in the list
  2. 2
    Reasons occupation is used to measure class:Fill in the list
Answer all questions on Socio-Economic Class 2

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium

Socio-Economic Class

Life Chances