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Social Class Answers Needed For General Studies!!!
Can anybody please answer the following questions concerning Social Classes?
Is the concept of social class still relevant?
How much social Mobility is there?
How does it operate?
Do we base social distinctions on anything other than class membership?
If you can't answer these questions can you please give me a link to a site which will?
Is the concept of social class still relevant?
How much social Mobility is there?
How does it operate?
Do we base social distinctions on anything other than class membership?
If you can't answer these questions can you please give me a link to a site which will?
I don't do GS, and have no idea about the definitive answers to any of your questions, but since replies do not seem to be particularly forthcoming I'll post some vaguely relevant sociological ramblings.
1) Not sure that there is (/can be) definitive agreement either way. For Marxist's, class will continue be a relevant concept as long as capitalism lasts (ie. until a classless communist society is established). However, for perhaps...a postmodernist, it becomes entirely irrelevant (along with most other forms of "categorisation") as people need to be taken on a more individualist basic and not assigned to rigid categories, etc.
I suppose it will also link with your answer to question 2: if there is no social mobility, then class is hugely important - the class into which you're born determines all your 'life-chances' (Weber??), etc. However, if there is a huge potential for social mobility then class becomes less relevant as a concept, since people's class can change and therefore it cannot be used so accurately / usefully in social and political analyses.
2) How on earth is one supposed to answer this? "Yes, we have...er...26% mobility over here...how's America doing?". Ridiculous thing to try to measure (though I'm sure someone has). Maybe you could look at the opportunities for social mobility: how can one change one's class (presumably for the better)? Education leading to good jobs money and status (though it may take a couple of generations), or other options...marrying into upper-class families, etc. Do things like the National Lottery increase social mobility? People winning that amount of money all at once have the potential to drastically alter their lifestyle (but is class more than lifestyle? - attitudes, "new money", etc.).
3) Damn. See above.
4) How are you defining class? Education, income, job status, attitudes, lifestyle, etc? Some of the above, if not counted under "class", could be alternatives. If we're talking on an individual level, everyone uses different differential criteria; if we're talking on a meta-narrative theorising level, look at alternatives to Marxism (feminism: sex not class, etc.).
Not sure I really understood the questions but nvm!
ZarathustraX
1) Not sure that there is (/can be) definitive agreement either way. For Marxist's, class will continue be a relevant concept as long as capitalism lasts (ie. until a classless communist society is established). However, for perhaps...a postmodernist, it becomes entirely irrelevant (along with most other forms of "categorisation") as people need to be taken on a more individualist basic and not assigned to rigid categories, etc.
I suppose it will also link with your answer to question 2: if there is no social mobility, then class is hugely important - the class into which you're born determines all your 'life-chances' (Weber??), etc. However, if there is a huge potential for social mobility then class becomes less relevant as a concept, since people's class can change and therefore it cannot be used so accurately / usefully in social and political analyses.
2) How on earth is one supposed to answer this? "Yes, we have...er...26% mobility over here...how's America doing?". Ridiculous thing to try to measure (though I'm sure someone has). Maybe you could look at the opportunities for social mobility: how can one change one's class (presumably for the better)? Education leading to good jobs money and status (though it may take a couple of generations), or other options...marrying into upper-class families, etc. Do things like the National Lottery increase social mobility? People winning that amount of money all at once have the potential to drastically alter their lifestyle (but is class more than lifestyle? - attitudes, "new money", etc.).
3) Damn. See above.
4) How are you defining class? Education, income, job status, attitudes, lifestyle, etc? Some of the above, if not counted under "class", could be alternatives. If we're talking on an individual level, everyone uses different differential criteria; if we're talking on a meta-narrative theorising level, look at alternatives to Marxism (feminism: sex not class, etc.).
Not sure I really understood the questions but nvm!
ZarathustraX
marshall333
Can anybody please answer the following questions concerning Social Classes?
Is the concept of social class still relevant?
How much social Mobility is there?
How does it operate?
Do we base social distinctions on anything other than class membership?
If you can't answer these questions can you please give me a link to a site which will?
Is the concept of social class still relevant?
How much social Mobility is there?
How does it operate?
Do we base social distinctions on anything other than class membership?
If you can't answer these questions can you please give me a link to a site which will?
1) i'd say not so much as it used to be, at least people like to think it doesnt matter and that there are equal opportunities regardless of background. but the way in which its defined is very ambiguous, often on employment rather than how much money is earnt and defining standards of living is very hard to be objective about, so the concept of different classes sounds easy but in fact is kind of irrelevant. I think differences within each "class" will be so great that no its not actually relevant in everyday life but is more relevant in terms of giving an ideal to the "working classes" that they can aspire to, it also seems to be used a lot to label other groups or even someones own group and can even seem to be used as an excuse to the situation they are in.
2) not so much as people like to think there is- but more so than there used to be. generally if your born into a lower social class you are far more likely to stay there and if you daddy's rich then its more than likely you will also be, but there is some room for maneouvre between classes. The admission of people into unis etc mainly on academic ability is meaning there can be more mobility up social classes although the top unis are mainly full of middle classes, and it also seems quite fashionable to more down a social class by choice, to get out of the rat race that is our society. But generally the opportunity of mobility is there- its just something that people have to work for.
not really sure what i would put for the other 2, something along the same lines just waffle a lot!
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