Functionalism — inequality justification?
Necessary for role allocation and social stability.
Davis & Moore — role?
Argued stratification ensures the most qualified fill important roles.
Meritocracy — definition?
System rewarding talent and effort, promoting social mobility.
Stratification — purpose?
Hierarchical arrangement motivating individuals and maintaining order.
Sacrifice for training — role?
Encourages effort to attain higher-status roles.
New Right — key concept?
Welfare dependency creates underclass; emphasizes individual responsibility.
Underclass — effect?
Cycle of poverty due to welfare reliance, per Murray.
Free market efficiency — advocate?
Friedman; markets maximize resource allocation.
Cycle of poverty — cause?
Welfare dependency and limited social mobility.
Marxist — bourgeoisie?
Owners of production who exploit workers.
Proletariat — definition?
Working class selling labor for wages.
Surplus value — meaning?
Value produced beyond wages, exploited by capitalists.
Ideological State Apparatus — role?
Reproduces class inequality via education/media.
Hegemony — concept?
Ruling ideas accepted as common sense.
Weberian class — basis?
Economic market position affecting life chances.
Status — influence?
Social honor and prestige, often separate from class.
Party — role?
Political power influencing social position.
Gender — functionalist view?
Roles stabilize society; men as breadwinners, women as caregivers.
Warm bath theory — purpose?
Family provides emotional support, stabilizing male workers.
Human capital theory — explanation?
Women choose lower-paid jobs due to childcare responsibilities.
Radical feminism — focus?
Dismantling patriarchy to achieve equality.
Intersectionality — concept?
Multiple inequalities (gender, race, class) intersecting.
Weberian gender — segregation?
Horizontal: job types; Vertical: hierarchy barriers like glass ceiling.
Age — Parsons’ view?
Transition stage preparing for adult roles.
Test your knowledge with 12 questions on Understanding Social Inequality and Gender Roles.
1. What is a primary cause of inequality according to functionalist theory?
2. What is the primary function of the New Right's view on inequality?
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