Evidence of social class inequalities- Middle/ Upper class advantage

Page 1

Income and Wealth

The High Pay Centre- the total pay of chief executives of the 100 largest companies had risen by 19% compared with the average increase of less than 3% for their employees

Marxist - view that senior managers and company directors are able to determine their own salaries

Daily Mirror (2014)- In 2013 the Queen's earnings were 1,000 times higher than the average worker in the UK

Page 2

Social Mobility

Waldfgoal and Washbrook - children from higher income backgrounds do significantly better on a range of early years outcome

Saunders - Ability is inherited achievement is based on ability not opportunities

Scott- Social closure of the upper class ensures concentration of wealth

Page 3

Employment

Social mobility and child poverty commission 2014 -71% of senior judges, 62% of senior armed forces officers, 55% of top civil servants and 36% of the cabinet were privately educated

Milburn - 'Cosy club' UK's top jobs remain " disproportionately held by people from a narrow range of backgrounds"

Weber - More privileged workers tend to be in more skilled and high status occupations that can command higher levels of pay and other rewards

Page 4

Educaction

Becker- the ideal pupil for teachers is middle class

Scott - public/ private schools and Oxbridge socialise children into a culture of privilege

Bourdieu - cultural capital

Page 5

Crime

Gordon - capitalism causes greed, a 'culture of envy' can lead to crimes such as tax evasion or fraud (white collar crime)

Graham and Bowling- middle class children are just as likely to commit crime it is just hidden crime

Messerschmidt- middle class males may commit different types of crimes as they try to demonstrate their masculinity in different ways

Page 6

Health

Le Grand - Working class are 20% less likely to get hip replacement despite being 30% more likely to need one. Middle class can work the system better

Parmenter et al - middle class people were better informed about health so tended to lead better life styles in terms of nutrition, leisure activities, smoking and drinking

Bottero - the higher your social position the lower of your risk of low birth weight, infections, cancer, heart disease, strokes and mental illness