Stratification and Elements

The Upper class

Peter Saunders put forward a New Right view of the upper class. He agrees with Westergaarld and
Reslers Marxist view of the upper class as having a concentration of wealth. However he sees this
group as an influential economic elite rather than a ruling class. Saunders believes that class
divisions have weakened as power have become decentralized, thus the ruling class doesnt exists
anymore. He argues that most of the wealth is not owned privately but held in various schemes.

John Scott thinks of Britain as having and retaining a upper class. His views draw inspiration form
Marxism and Max Weber. He believes that the ownership of property for use has become
widespread however the ownership of property for power remains highly concentrated. And this
comprises of 0.1% of the adult population who are directors, CEOs and managers of big
corporations making the important decisions. this is also due to the advent of joint stock companies
which are controlled less by stock holders due to their fragmented power which gives mangers and
CEOs a much greater role. Scott sees this as a manifest fact that a capitalist class exists. This power is
not challenged by the government and instead all the policies made are strongly influenced by the
interests of the capitalist class. The government cant go against the class without risking grave
economic consequences.

Leslie argues that globalization has produced a transnational capitalist class which controls major
transnational corporations. Owners of such powerful corporations are not loyal to a particular
country but instead see their interests.

The Middle Class

Marx argued that the classes would become increasingly polarized between bourgeoisie and the
proletariat. This means those in the middle would either sink down a class such as self-employed or
small businesses and vice versa. Marx also recognized the growing number of white collar workers.
However Critics of Marx argue that there is a growing middle class. Max thought of middle class as
having superior life chances and market situation than the working class. He sees middle class as
having in demand and a higher skill set than the working class. He distinguishes between the both
classes by associating middle class as having a non-manual jobs description while the working class
as having a manual one. However this association can be highly criticized as it has little theoretical
basis and non-manual work can overlap into other classes.

The Upper Middle Class

This class is usually associated with professionals who are employed both in private businesses and
government sectors. This group can further be divided into higher professions such as doctors,
lawyers, accountants and lower professions such as teachers, social workers and nurses. Savage
considers higher professionals as having a greater job security and more fringe benefits than others.

Functionalists such as Bernard see professionals as having distinctive attributes such as having
specialist knowledge, control of behavior through a code of ethics, and high rewards and prestige
reflecting their contribution to society. Perry and Perry sees professionals through a Weberian
perspective according to their market situation. They argue that professions serve their own
interests rather than the communitys. They restrict entry to the profession thus maintaining their
high wages, professional associations ensure that their members have a monopoly thus protecting
their interests, higher professions get paid more than lower professions simply because they have
achieved monopoly status. Macdonald believes that groups of workers organize to get their work
accepted as professional using techniques such as social closure by establishing their own
jurisdiction and attaining respectability. A neo-Marxist view points out that the professional-
managerial class making up 20 % of the population. This class carrys out a vital functions for
capitalism such as organizing production, controlling working class, promoting ruling class ideology
and most specifically developing a consumer goods market. He sees a conflict between the
professional-managerial class and the working class due to their oppressor and oppressed
relationship.

The Lower Middle Class

Marxists see this class as proletarianized. These include clerical workers, secretaries and salesmen
i.e. people who have been deskilled and have gone from a semi-managerial role to doing very
routine work. Marxists draw little to no distinction between lower middle class and working class.
How the Webrian perspective sees this class as distinct from the working. They believe this is due to
their better market situation tan the working class with higher wages, job security and prospects of
promotion. They also have a better work situation as they tend to work closely with managers and
their work is not heavily dictated and supervised. Lastly Weberians see this class as having a more
prestigious work description rather than having a low level manual work. However even though they
have better promotion prospects, a study of large firms by Stewart shows that most male clerical
workers remain middle class because their jobs are stepping stones to junior management positions.
Marshall in their survey of 1770 British people found no evidence of deskilling or loss of autonomy at
work among clerical workers.

Anthony Giddens uses a Weberian perspective claiming that middle class form a single giant group
having educational qualifications and the ability to sell their mental labor power. Goldthorpe
however believes in class divisions and distinguishes between a service class (professionals
managers and employers) and an intermediate class (clerical workers, small proprietors, technicians
etc.). The service class forms a higher class of employees who get increments on their salary and
have pension rights and promotion prospects. In his later works Gold divided the middle class into
whether they are employed, employers or self-employed. Golds view about big employers totally
contradicts Marxists views on them constituting as ruling class. Savage believes that middle class can
possess three different types of assets. These are property assets owned by petty bourgeoisie,
organizational assets held by mangers and cultural assets deriving form educational attainment and
credentials usually concentrated amongst professionals. Members of middle class use their different
types of assets to help their children gain middle class positions. Different types of assets and their
use can lead to different results and divisions in the middle class. For example a new type of division
has opened up between public sector professionals and better rewarded private ones. Due to this
inter class division different life styles are adopted within the middle class. For example private
sector professionals have a more extravagant life style than those in the public sector. Wynne
believes that differences in leisure activity reflect differences in class, background etc. he also gives
regard to differences in consumption patterns as an increasingly important factor in shaping class.
However his research does indicate that class background remains the biggest factor in creating class
differences.
The Working Class

The working class tends to be the lowest of all classes (however some believe otherwise). They
receive lower wages, have the least job security and receive fewer fringe benefits. Not only that but
working class individuals have lower life chances, longer working hours and lower life expectancy.
There is debate about whether working class share a distinctive lifestyle. David Lockwood identified
a group he called proletarian traditionalists who work and live in close knit communities. They
exemplified a working class culture with features such as loyalty to workmates, spending of leisure
time with workmates, a drive of full filling goals collectively rather than individually, a common belief
that life chances depend on luck, a present time orientation with the emphasis on enjoying now and
segregated conjugal roles with men as main breadwinners. These characteristics are in opposition to
middle class characteristics such as that of individualism, an image of society as a status hierarchy
with opportunities for individuals and joint conjugal roles. Marx had predicted the rise and
expansion of an increasingly homogenous and class conscious working class however some
sociologists disagree and think otherwise that the class has become smaller and more fragmented
and less class conscious. This sentiment is because since 1945 manual work has fallen, the expansion
of non-manual jobs has created opportunities for social mobility and the standard of living has
increased as a whole for the population.

Embourgeoisement

This theory was first floated by Bernard and Kerr suggesting that well paid affluent workers were
becoming middle class in terms of attitudes and lifestyles. This undermines Marxs theory of an
increasingly united and class conscious working class. Goldthorpe and Lockwood investigated the
theory and found that although affluent workers earned as much as routine white collar workers
they had inferior conditions of work and a poorer market situation. They found out that
instrumental collectivism had replaced solidaristic collectivism i.e. collective action for goals rather
than based on strong loyalty. Goldthorpe concluded that affluent workers made a new working class
of privatized instrumentalists located between traditional working class and the middle class. Savage
concluded that workers had basic working class orientation on the principle that they worked for a
living while the upper class didnt. Devine found that workers still continued to support the unions
but remained instrumental collectivists, still continued to choose largely working class friends and
retained fairly left wing political views. Devine concluded that they had retained many of the
significant features of the traditional working class attitude.

Dahrendorf argued that the working class was increasingly divided up by skill level, with workers
anxious to maintain higher wages and status. Penn studied cotton and engineering industries in
Rochdale and found that skill divisions had long existed and there was no evidence that they were
becoming more significant. Crewe on the other hand claims that there is an increasing division
between the growing new working class and the shrinking old working class. He characterized the
growing new working class as being more likely to vote conservative, own a home, work in private
industry and not a union member. These he believes are characteristics opposite to that of the
traditional working class.

Though Marx predicted growing class consciousness however evidence being presented suggest
otherwise. Goldthorpe study on affluent workers showed that proletarians traditionalists were
already in decline. Robert on the other hand suggests that workers still see themselves as working
class but that its quite disorganized, disempowered and devalued. Devine found out that the
working class, conscious of their inequality, still looked up to unions and the Labor party to resolve
such issues but personally had little faith that they could achieve much. The most interesting findings
are that of Blackburn and Mann. They argue that the working class shows contradictions and
inconsistencies in their views. The subordination and exploitation they suffer encourages class
consciousness but the mass media and ideology of the dominant class undermines class
consciousness. Marshal also had similar findings and found that the working class was doubtful
about taking action but the criticized the Labor Party for failing to mobilize and this sense of
dissatisfaction.

The lower strata

Some sociologists believe that there is a class underneath the working class often referred to as the
underclass. Charles Murray puts forward a cultural view of the underclass. They consist of mostly
single parents who are unemployed or dont want to work and make a living through petty crime. In
America a large portion of the underclass is the black population. Members of the underclass reject
values such as honesty and hard work. Welfare payments make being a single parent sustainable
and the lack of adult values such as hard work lead to perpetuating underclass. Giddens proposes a
more economic theory of the underclass. He believes that it is made up of workers who work in the
secondary labor market where there is low pay and less job security along with fewer prospects.
Women and ethnic minorities are more susceptible to such employment due to discrimination and
prejudice. However Mann argues that there is no clear distinction between primary and secondary
labor markets and he criticizes Giddens for failing to explain why ethnic minorities and women are
susceptible to it. Gallie argues that the underclass is too heterogeneous to be considered a class.
This is due to the fact that there are differences in employment situations between women and
ethnic minorities. There is also a trend of people going in and out of unemployment regularly. Gallie
believes that the underclass also consists of various age groups with different goals and ideologies
which makes it impossible for a shared class consciousness to develop. According to him there is no
substantial evidence of a political split between the working and under class. Roberts thinks
otherwise and argues that the underclass is distinctive due to their deprivation by society. He
however agrees that the underclass do consist of a very diverse group. Runciman sees underclass as
a group of people who rely upon the benefits and have little to no chance of being able to
participate in paid employment. However relying on benefits does make the idea of an underclass
unstable. Dean believes that there is a stigma against the underclass who are blamed by society for
being disadvantaged due to their own deeds and problems.

Class Identity and Culture

Bourdien see cultural aspects of class to be as important as the economic aspects. He believes that
aspects such as cultural, economic, and lifestyle interact to shape a persons life chances. He thinks
that capital doesnt only symbolize economic capital but various other forms too. Economic capital
consist of wealth and income, cultural capital includes educational qualifications and knowledge of
the arts, social capital consists of social connections while symbolic capital concerns reputation and
status.

The value of culture capital is socially constructed. Cultural capital also relates to lifestyle and
consumption. Legitimate culture belongs to the dominant class, Middlebrow culture belongs to the
middle class while the popular culture belongs to the lower classes. Different types of capital can be
used to achieve upwards mobility and some other form of capital. For example economic capital can
be used to pay for education which gains cultural capital. Some see this theory as being in direct
conflict to and underestimating personal/individual choice.
Simon Charles worth studied the working class and concluded that life as being a struggle, without
having a symbolic and cultural capital, creates a culture of necessity. Skeggs studied working class
women. They lacked economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital so they sought to dis identify
themselves from the working class by trying to show that they were more respectable and
responsible and also desirable to maximize their value in marriage market. Savage studied the class
identities near Manchester he found that few thought that Britain as becoming classless. The
majority were defensive and saw themselves as individuals in control of their lives but recognizing
the existence of class. The studies suggest that class continue to exert a strong influence on peoples
lifestyles and life chances.

Social mobility

Social mobility is the movement from one stratum of society to another. In pre industrial societies
the status was largely ascribed based on which part of society you were born. In industrial societies
status is largely achieved on what you do. Peoples status is based on their merit, talent, ambition
and hard work. This is why rates of social mobility are higher in industrial societies due to its basis on
a greater degree of merit. Social mobility shows to the degree of equal opportunity in a society.
Intra-generational mobility refers to mobility within one generation while inter-generational mobility
refers to mobility between generations and is compared with occupational statuses of children and
parents. The oxford mobility study found higher long range mobility and higher rates of absolute
mobility. This is due to the fact that there has been an considerable increase in the service class
which has created room at the top of the stratification. However relative mobility chances remain
unchanged. Goldthrope and Payne study showed that the relative mobility chances stayed the same
despite the increase/growth in service class. At the very top elite self-recruitment takes place. Men
are more socially mobile than women. Heath found that women from service class are more likely to
be downwardly mobile than working class women compared to their counterparts. Overall this
disadvantages women more than men. Breen studied mobility in 18 European countries and found
that men achieved more upward mobility than women. However upward mobility for women had
increased in general. Blanden found a strengthening link between parental income and educational
success. This is why Blanden argues that equality of opportunity is decreasing in Britain.

Gender and Social Class

Parkin believes that the life chances of women is largely determined by the position of the male
breadwinner. Britten and Heath disagree and point out that an increasing number of women in cross
class families have a better paid and higher status jobs. Goldthrope agrees with Parkin arguing that
the family is a unit of class analysis.

Ethnic inequalities

Ethnicity is an important form of stratification in society. There is a clear distinction between

different ethnic groups in Britain and the US. A Cabinet Office Report showed big differences in
earnings between various ethnic groups. In 2005 statistics showed that 5% of white British men were
unemployed compared to 14% of black men, 13% of Bangladeshi men and 11% of Pakistani men.
Social Trends show that in 2004 25% of white British women were economically inactive compared
to 70% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women. Pilkington believes that ethnic minorities are
disadvantaged in their housing as they live in the deprived areas of the city. Even when education
qualifications were taken into account ethnic minorities were still less likely to find employment.
Pilkington sees racial discrimination as a severe disadvantage to the position of ethnic minorities in
the labor market. Brown and Grays study of racial discrimination by employers found evidence that
more than a quarter employers discriminated against ethnic minority applicants by denying them job
interviews. Some sociologists have seen minorities as constituting an underclass. For example
Charles Murray argued that in USA there was a growing black underclass which depended heavily on
welfare. He believes that welfare payments made single parenthood possible and encouraged
dependency on benefits rather than earned income. Wilson also sees blacks and Hispanics as
constituting an underclass but because of disadvantages rather than because of cultural stereotypes.
A combination of racism and lack of skills had held these groups back and their lack of economic
success has reinforced racial stereotypes. Those that become successful have moved out of the inner
cities leaving the least successful. Giddens also recognized the presence of an underclass as a result
of structural problems, low skills and discrimination. Rex and Tomlinsons study discovered the
presence of ethnic minority underclass. They found that blacks and Asians were concentrated in
secondary labor market jobs where they had little prospects and job security.

A different perspective is put forward by Marxists such as Castles and Kosack. They studied
immigrant groups in European countries and found out that they are indeed concentrated in low
paid and low status work. In Britain this is due to discrimination while in other countries such as
France and Switzerland this is due to migrants lacking citizenship which in turn prevents them from
finding better work and have to resort to underprivileged work to just survive. Most immigrant
workers have to work part time. Castles and Koscaks see migrants workers as a reserve army of
labor, readily available, desperate for work and who can easily be hired and fired but who are
needed to cope with the booms and slumps of capitalist economies. They see them as the most
disadvantaged group of the working class. Pilkington questions all the above theories about ethnic
minorities as forming an underprivileged stratum below the working class. He points out that a
majority of ethnic minorities do actually have non manual jobs for example African Americans are
more likely to in high status employment than white men in Britain. Although ethnic minorities do
have lower pay and lower status jobs, there is a great deal of overlap and no hard evidence of ethnic
minorities as a whole forming an underprivileged class. In British society Bangladeshis and Pakistanis
remain the most disadvantaged of all.

Age

For Vincent age is an important factor and form of stratification in society. It creates barriers to
opportunities for status, power and income. The significance of age depends and varies from society
to society. Other factors include social class, ethnicity and gender. In rural economies age was
irrelevant but in capitalist society and economy, age became associated with legal rights,
entitlements and restrictions. For example compulsory education and work became basis of status
and income. Vincent make three types of age classifications. Age strata or age class refers to a group
of people of the same age who share the same life chances and social rights. Generation refers to
position in the family while Cohort refers to groups of people born at the same time who experience
the same historical events which influence their outlook of a particular topic or the world in general.
Vincent shows how old women especially belonging to a working class are more likely to be poor
than any other age group. As old age pensions have declined in value since 1979 and entitlements to
old age pensions for part time or underprivileged jobs have declined as well, this leaves old aged
women to be heavily disadvantaged than any other group. At the same time women live longer than
men and so in turn have to endure more years of dependency. Vincent believes that there is a
growing divide between the elderly and the working class. This problem, Vincent believes is a socially
constructed one. Feminist perspective links inequalities of age with those of gender. Oakley believes
that women and children are minority groups locked together in patriarchal oppression. Ganon
believes that women are materially disadvantaged because they tend to be paid less and to have
caring responsibilities. Interactionists see old age as socially constructed rather than a biological one
or natural. Hockey and James argue that childhood and old age are linked; the elderly are treated
just as children are treated as dependent, passive and powerless. This is for example seen in old
homes where elderly are not allowed access to their own money or choices about their food.
Disabled people may similarly be marginalized. Post modernist suggest that the differences in the
stages of the life course are breaking down. Pilcher argues that in the modern world the life course is
strongly influenced by the labor market. Exclusions from the workforce has extended powerlessness
and dependency in old age whilst the extension of education has prolonged childhood and youth. As
modernity breaks down the borders between different stages of life become blurred. Featherson
and Hepworth argue that even after retirement middle class people continue to contribute to their
community for example through voluntary work and may even often retain considerable economic,
cultural and social capital. Blakie argues that stereotypes of ageing have broken down. He notes
positive ageing role models such as Cliff Richards and Joan Collins and argues that people are no
longer restricted by age but class, gender and ethnicity continue to shape the experience of old age.

Laslett believes in a distinction between the third age when people retire and have fewer
responsibilities and the fourth age when physical and mental decline limits activities. Arber notes tah
ageism and sexism combine to make the lives of older women very difficult. Women are more likely
to live longer than men and have more likely to have caring responsibilities but are less likely to be
cared for by a partner. Thats why they are more likely to experience poverty. Nazroo argues that
ethnic minorities have poorer health in old age and this is linked to income inequality but have more
family contacts, stronger social networks and more opportunities to take part in the community than
the white people. Functionalists see old age as a time of disengagement from society. Henry and
Cummings argue that the marginalization of the elderly is good for society because they become less
able to do the work and they block opportunities for the young. Gradual disengagement allows both
society and the individual to adapt to their ultimate disengagement. Hunt criticizes this as being a
waste of resources and some may not even wish to disengage. Vincent believes that elderly are
disadvantaged because of social structure and not because of biological decline.