Age Inequality Theories

• Focuses on how inequality can be the 'victims fault'
• The elderly and the young face inequality because they do not have the necessary skills that others have
• Example: young people are paid less as they do not have the work experience, therefore they deserve less money due to having fewer skills and less experience
• This view is spported by the New Right
• The New Right claim inequality is a result of cultural causes
• Example: blaming youth unemployment on a generation by calling them lazy and unskilled

• Cummings and Henry (1961) use this theory to explain that age inequality starts with the idea that all people die
• A person's abilities are likely to deteriorate as they age, so there is a mutual need (for society and the individual) for the individual to be relieved of some of their responsibilities and roles
• These roles must be fulfilled for social stability to be maintained
• A process of disengagement 
• Example: having a retirement age, allows a managed disengagement, allowing others to take on roles the elderly can no longer fulfil 

• Not all elderly people deteriorate at the same age, or at all
• These views are very optimistic and ignore the negative experience of ageing
• Not all elderly people can take on a new role and stay happy and fulfilled
• Not all youth will be successfully guided by the agents of socialisation
• They may not leave deviant behaviour behind

Reserve Army of Labour

• Secondary source of labour and can be the young and the elderly, as the groups can be used at boom times or for flexible labour 
  
• There is a growing market of zero-hour contracts where employees are only given work when it is available, but have to be free to work regardless
• This tends to be the unemployed youth or the elderly who need income after retirement, showing age inequality is a social construction which benefits the rich and powerful

Summary

• Focus on the need for capitalism
• The youth provide new skills and cheap labour 
• The elderly provide free childcare so parents can go out to work

Criticisms

• Ignore that ageing does not always happen at the same rate for everyone
• The studies take a macro approach, ignoring factors such as gender, nationality, disability and wealth 
• With an ageing population there has been a growth of the ‘grey pound’, with elderly becoming consumers and therefore being an asset to the economy and the rich, rather than a burden

Legitimation of Authority

• Neo-Marxist Gramsci (1971) states the rich (bourgeoisie) maintain authority
• He states 'false consciousness' explains that people do not realise their exploitation through the money they receive such as child benefits and pensions
• They create a form of dependency and the elderly and young do not question their exploitation but keep accepting things like zero hour contracts

Political Economy Theory

• Phillipson (1982) believes capitalism needs to continually renew its workforce to make sure there is great profit by using young workers who are more productive
• The elderly are made to retire so the needs of the economy are then met as younger employees take their place
• The elderly then become dependent on society as they are denied access to work which lowers their status and causes inequality faced by elderly because of capitalism

• Arber and Gin (1991) said that factors such as age affect a woman’s status and power
• They said that older women face inequalities that older men do not
• Men’s status is down to employment, while a woman’s seems to be linked to her reproductive cycle
• Women feel immense pressure to fight the signs of ageing, which is capitalised on by many cosmetic industries, while ageing men do not seem to feel the pressure
• Women are seen to have to comply with certain physical standards, but no expectations are placed on men

• Feminists blame inequality on patriarchy, meaning they can miss the true causes, such as poverty
• Not all women experience the same life chances as factors, such as wealth and social class, greatly impact on women
• Males are also going through pressure to look young
• Example: magazines such as FHM encouraging males to stay looking young and fight the ageing process

• Weber felt to understand the complex nature of inequality; you need to look at three parts of life: class, status and party
• Weber looked at the importance of someone’s market position, which could explain the low status of both the elderly and young
• If someone does not have the skills required in the marketplace, then they will suffer low status
• Example: elderly not having technology skills
• However, if someone is upper class and becomes elderly, this will explain why they will not suffer the same loss of status
• Their financial resources mean that they will not suffer the same loss of status as they can continue to live a comfortable life regardless of their skills
• Example: the Queen is elderly and female, yet the fact she hasn’t lost her status and power is related to her social position and wealth

• Parkin (1968) stated that ethnic minorities could be kept out of high-status privileged groups
• This is due to social segregation, leaving them to suffer
• The elderly are often socially segregated too
• Example: in the media, employment, retirement and even in living arrangements (care homes). 

• Some interactionists believe that staying mentally and physically active will increase happiness
• If we maintain these social interactions, it reduces the negative experience of ageing
• Havinghurst (1961) published this theory in critique of disengagement theory
• He argued the inequality is more about social interaction than just age
• Statham’s (2011) research on grandparents providing childcare may mean that social interaction continues 
• This could potentially change the inequalities faced by some elderly who are isolated

• Turner (1989) argues age discrimination is actually best understood in terms of status
• In Western societies, both the elderly and the young become stigmatised due to not having what it takes to gain high status
• In a society based on consumption, high status is given to those who have material goods
• If the elderly and young are least likely to have material goods, they will have low status
• If they are dependant, they have low status
• However, in some societies where power and age are linked, the elderly will have high status
• This shows that status is relative to that society and age may be a factor that brings high or low status depending on the key values of a society

• All interactionists question the social construction of inequality
• Negative labelling and stigmatisation of both the elderly and the young by the media and other agents of social control and socialisation could be said to create a self-fulfilling prophecy
• If the elderly are labelled as useless, lonely and unable to learn, then perhaps those stereotypes become reality
• Could it be that people think the elderly are useless, so replaced them with the youth, which actually then makes the elderly become useless?
• Stan Cohen (1972) looked at moral panics
• This is relevant here to explain age inequality in the media

• They still fail to recognise the structural causes of inequality such as patriarchy and capitalism
• Activity theory is criticised for ignoring the institutional ageism 
• This is at the basis of many laws and practices within society

• Some postmodernists look at disparity of experience of the elderly
• Others say old age is a time of inequality
• Discussions of inequality suffered by youth often blame the media for the creation of ‘youth culture’
• They agree with Stan Cohen and his work on ‘folk devils’ (1972)
• As postmodernists study from a micro approach, there is no one single explanation for inequality
• There are just lots of micro studies

• A critique of social research on ageing is that it ignores many of the changes in society today
• When we look at consumer culture it shows a different picture of older people being isolated from society
• The ‘grey pound’ is very strong and advertisers focus on getting that money from older generations
• Laczko and Phillipson (1991) researched early retirement and found that the inequality faced by some elderly people was due to lack of wealth, not ageing itself
• This led to the idea that explanations of age inequality focus too much on imaginary boundaries of age
• Many people who are wealthy enough to retire early show that it can be a positive experience
• Blaikie (1999) states that the idea of ageing can be positive, with the idea of a fourth age filled with active but leisure-based pursuits

• J.B Priestly stated that for him, ageing was like someone had kidnapped him and made him old, yet behind his appearance he had the same thoughts as when he was younger
• These ideas have been seem as similar to wearing a mask: one thing on the outside, another on the inside
• This shows the inequalities faced by the elderly are more to do with labelling than ageing

• Not all people grow old gracefully
• Some fight it with the use of technology and cosmetic surgery
• Powell and Biggs (2000) wrote that this allows some to continually re-create themselves
• While this may mean that age discrimination against the elderly is just based on the ‘mask’, it is impossible to tell
• Those who can afford to re-create themselves may suffer less ageism due to other factors such as wealth

• Postmodernists recognise the importance of globalisation as a key cause of social change
• As Britain becomes more multicultural, ageism changes
• In some cultures, being old brings high status, which shows that age inequality rests largely on culture
• Similarly, in the UK children have high status due to families being child-centred, but in other cultures this may not be the case
• Some children are even expected to take on adult roles such as working or fighting in the army
• This shows that inequality could be caused by the norms and values within society, such as retirement age

• Some believe age can result in inequality that is undeserved and based on labelling
• Others believe that it is directly related to what someone has to offer to society
• What is clear is the idea that similar age groups, all given the same high or low status, ignore differences related to ethnicity, social class and gender