Patterns & Trends in Social Class Inequality

Social Class & Employment

• Weberian Sociologists-privileged workers tend to be in more skilled/high status occupations that can choose higher pay and other rewards. Less skilled do not have this bargain power.
• Marxist sociologists believe that inequalities come from employers who keep wages down and profits up. They say there is inequalities  not only in pay but also in:
• Financial rewards (bonuses and paid holidays for managers)
• Power and control (different uniforms for managers, different use of facilities)
• Opportunity (managers controlling working hours, closely supervising them and how they perform)
• Job satisfaction (skilled workers earn more and make bigger decisions, while workers beneath them have repetitive routines)

Social Class & Wealth

• Wealth='stock' concept: it measures resources and posessions such as housing, land, assets, money in bank accounts, savings, investments and pension wealth
• It is difficult to measure wealth
• The poorest 50% of the population have only 10% of wealth between them (average of £1.3 million)
• The poorest 10% have virtually no wealth at all (less than £28,000)
• Some people accumulate wealth as they get older, such as homes and pensions
• Atkinson 2013-lot of income now comes from inherited wealth. This suggests that inequalities in wealth do not just come from the different skills people have, but also from what they recieve/inherit from family members and parents, which links to class

Social Class & Income

• A persons income affects food, housing, transport (e.g. car ownership), consumer goods (e.g. iPhone, iPad) and leisure activities (eating out, holidays)
• Information on income is often from: Family Resources Survey (FRS), The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and British Household Panel Survey
• Britain is one of the most unequal societies in Europe in terms of income and has got worse in the past 30 years (Goverment cut income tax for the very rich and cut the link for state benefits)
• Poorest fifth of the population paid 37.4% tax and the rich paid 35.1%
• Debate amongst sociologists-some say rich have got richer in the last 50 years, but…