5.1.4

Socio-Economic Class 2

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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.

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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.
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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.
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Four social classes

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

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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).
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Occupation

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

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

1The Sociological Approach

1.1Introduction to Sociology

1.1.1What is Sociology?

1.1.2Culture & Socialisation

1.2Sociological Approaches

1.2.1Marxism

1.2.2Marxism 2

1.2.3Functionalism

1.2.4Feminism

1.3The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.1The Consensus vs. Conflict Debate

1.3.2End of Topic Test - The Sociological Approach

2Families

2.1Functions of Families

2.1.1Functionalist Views on Family

2.1.2Marxist Views on Family

2.1.3Feminist Views on Family

2.2Family Forms

2.2.1What is a Family?

2.2.2Nuclear Family

2.2.3Families in a Global Context

2.2.4The Rapoports & Family Diversity

2.2.5Causes of Family Diversity

2.2.6End of Topic Test - Family Forms

2.3Conjugal Role Relationships

2.3.1Conjugal Roles

2.4Changing Relationships Within Families

2.4.1Timeline

2.4.2Domestic Abuse

2.4.3Symmetrical Family

2.5Criticisms of Families

2.5.1Functionalist Views of Families

2.5.2Marxist Views of Families

2.5.3Feminist Views of Families

2.5.4Declining Marriage Rate

2.5.5End of Topic Test - Criticisms of Families

2.6Divorce

2.6.1Reasons For Rise in Divorce Rate

2.6.2Consequences of Divorce

2.6.3Functionalist Views

2.6.4Marxist Views

2.6.5Feminist Views

2.6.6End of Topic Test - Divorce

3Education

3.1Roles & Functions of Education

3.1.1The Functionalist Approach

3.1.2Evaluating Different Perspectives

3.1.3Types of School

3.1.4Alternative Education

3.1.5State & Private Schools

3.2Processes Within Schools

3.2.1Internal Processes

3.2.2External Processes

3.3Educational Achievement

3.3.1Measuring Educational Success

3.3.2Social Class & Education

3.3.3Social Class & External Factors

3.3.4Gender & Education

3.3.5Ethnicity & Education

3.3.6Parental Choice

3.3.7History of UK Education Policy

3.3.8Recent UK Education Policy

3.3.9End of Topic Test - Education

4Crime & Deviance

4.1The Social Construction of Crime

4.1.1Defining Crime & Deviance

4.1.2Sociological Explanations of Crime

4.1.3Interactionist Explanations of Crime

4.1.4Alternative Explanations of Crime

4.2Social Control

4.2.1Informal Social Control

4.2.2Formal Social Control

4.2.3End of Topic Test - Social Construction of Crime

4.3Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

4.3.1Explanations of Crime

4.3.2Social Class & Crime

4.3.3Gender & Crime

4.3.4Ethnicity & Crime

4.3.5Age & Crime

4.3.6Criminal Responsibility

4.3.7The Prison System

4.3.8Media Reporting of Crime

4.3.9Functionalist Explanations of Crime

4.4Data on Crime

4.4.1Measuring Crime

4.4.2End of Topic Test - Criminal & Deviant Behaviour

5Social Stratification

5.1Social Stratification

5.1.1What is Social Stratification?

5.1.2Functionalism

5.1.3Socio-Economic Class

5.1.4Socio-Economic Class 2

5.1.5Life Chances

5.1.6The Affluent Worker

5.1.7End of Topic Test - Social Stratifictaion

5.2Poverty as a Social Issue

5.2.1Defining Poverty

5.2.2Factors Affecting Poverty

5.2.3Explanations of Poverty

5.2.4Impact of Globalisation

5.2.5End of Topic Test - Poverty as a Social Issue

5.3Power & Authority

5.3.1Weber

5.3.2Sociological Perspectives

5.3.3Power Relationships

5.3.4End of Topic Test - Power & Authority

6Sociological Research Methods

6.1Research Methods

6.1.1Research Design

6.1.2The Scientific Method

6.1.3Other Considerations

6.1.4Primary Sources

6.1.5Secondary Sources

6.1.6Surveys

6.1.7Sampling

6.1.8Questionnaires

6.1.9Interviews

6.1.10Observation

6.1.11Statistics

6.1.12Case Studies

6.1.13Longitudinal Studies

6.1.14Ethnography

6.1.15Experiments

6.1.16Small Scale Research

6.1.17End of Topic Test - Research Methods

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Socio-Economic Class

Life Chances