Social Inequality essay plans for Part b) 30 mark question
Evaluate the usefulness of sociological explanations of ethnic inequalities.(30)
Evaluate the view that society is institutionally racist (30)
Adapt according to question given
Introduction
Ethnic inequalities are still significant in the UK – give a few examples. Suggest some
explanations e.g Racism, Institutional racism, social class of ethnic minorities (Marxism),
welfare dependency (New Right). This essay will identify and assess these explanations.
AO1 Define types of Racism e.g Barker and new racism, institutional racism – McPhearson
report on murder of stephen lawrence – racism in met police. Jenkins suggests recruitment
to jobs is more word of mouth and disadvantages ethnic minorities. Modood 1994 28% of
african caribbean people surveyed said they felt they had been refused a job on grounds of
race.
AO2 There are many government acts such as Race relations acts which should prevent
discrimination
AO2 However because racism is implicit (hidden) now it can be difficult to prove in court.
AO1 Marxists such as Westergaard and Resler argue that race is a distraction from the real
issue which is social class. It is capitalism which disadvantages certain groups and ethnic
minorities are more likely to be in lower classes.
AO2 However this ignores the existence of racism in society e.g in education where black
boys have the highest exclusion rates in school.
AO1 Another marxist explanation by Castles and Kosack is that ethnic divisions in society
ensure that there is never enough solidarity for the proletariat to form a revolution – this is
termed divide and rule principle.
Ao2 However Britain is multicultural society and ethnic minorities are becoming more
integrated in every walk of like, many are middle class.
AO1 Castles and Kosack also argue that ethnic minorities make up a reserve army of labour
which can be hired and fired in times of boom and recession.
AO2 This supports the divide and rule principle because ethnic minorities are often
scapegoated in hard times as the cause of unemployment and suffer the most hardship.
AO2 However the reserve army of labour argument has also been used for working class low
wages and by feminists to explain gender inequalities in the workplace and so is not a strong
argument for explaining ethnic inqualities alone.
AO2 Also this argument does not account for ehtnic minorities e.g Obama who are very
successful.
AO1 Weberian arguments would suggest that ethnic inequality is related to market situation
and status differences. Barron and Norris suggested that there is a dual labour market
consisting of primary and secondary sectors. The Primary sector is well paid and secure
employment and secondary sector is insecure and low paid. The low status of ethnic
minorities lead to them being found in the secondary sector more often. Rex and Tomlinson
suggest this perpetuates disavantage through generations leading to a ‘black underclass’.
AO2 The problem with this argument is it could be a cause or a consequence of ethnic
inequality, this is not well enough explained.
Ao2 Also looking at broad categories of occupations such as primary and secondary ignores
the fact that ethnic minorities are often found in the most unpleasant work environments
regardless of pay.
AO2 Furthermore there are many types of people in the secondary sector including working
class white and women.
Ao1 The New Right and writers such as Saunders and Murray would argue that the welfare
state has led to a culture of dependency amongst ethnic minorities and that this is
evidenced by ethnic minorities being more likely to receive benefits.
AO2 However Oppenheim (1993) researched this and found that benefit claims were much
more likely to be due to genuine poverty than a reluctance to work. In fact Many ethnic
minorities do not cliam benefits they are entitled to because of the stigma.
Conclusion
Explanations of ethnic inequality vary a great deal. Marxist explanations tend to focus on
the wrkings of capitalism and how this will disadvantage ethnic minorities, although their
arguments cannot be used to explain ethnic inequalities alone. Weberian explanations
focus on status which does go some way towards acknowledging that ethnic minorities may
be treated unfairly in society. The new right focus on culture but there is little evidence to
support such claims which also totally ignore racism in all its forms. The most useful
explanation is that racism in society still exists in an implicit way in school, the police and in
the workplace and this leads to the inequalities we see today.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in ethnicty, for each area give
evidence to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inqualities in ethnicity give two pieces of evidence
for each area which support the idea that inequalitiy is significant (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in age, for each area give evidence to
support your answer (20)
Evaluate the usefulness of feminist explanations of gender inequalities (30)
Critically assess the view that gender inequalities are still significant in the uk (30)
Adapt to specific question
Introduction
Firestone (1970) states that gender inequalities are still the most significant form of
stratification in society. Give examples. Suggest some explanations e.g Radical , Marxist and
Liberal Feminism. This essay will explain and assess these explanations.
AO1 Radical feminism the term patriarchy – Kate Millet radical feminist defines relations
between males and females as both personal and political. Social control in the form of
socialisation (mind control) through education , media family etc, and coercion (force)
through threat of violence/rape. Walby described women as being victims of a ‘triple system
of oppression – work, home and culture
AO2 Patriarchy has been criticised for being deterministic and based on biological notions of
gender – male is stronger therefore has power of coercion. This fails to acknowledge
changes in gender that have taken place and legislation which protects women. Patriarchy
can be used as both a description of gender inequality and a cause.
AO1 Marxist feminists would argue that gender inequalities are consequence of capitalism.
Unpaid women in the home supports capitalist system at no cost. Sheila Rowtham argues
that in this way women are kept as a reserve army of labour to keep male wages low and
provide reserve in times of high demand e.g during the world wars.
AO2 However this view fails to acknowledge the most important social division which is
class, not gender.
AO2 However Black Feminists do consider the position of black women in society.
AO2 traditional Marxists would point out that class is more important since many middle
class women are more priveledged than working class males.
AO1 A Weberian view of gender inequalities would suggest that it is related to status
difference in gender. In the workplace employers give females characeristics such as
compliant, not ambitious, not greedy for high pay. Barron and Norris’s Dual Labour Market
theory would suggest that there is a primary and secondary sector and women are more
likely to be in the low paid, insecure secondary sector for these reasons.
AO2 The vertical segregation in the workplace does seem to support this idea. Also it could
be used to explain horizontal segregation in the same sectors of employment e.g women
being paid less in medical professions as women are less likely to be seen as main
breadwinners.
AO2 However radical feminists would argue that women’s jobs are often an extension of
unpaid work in the home i.e the four C’s cooking, cleaning, caring and check-outs, which are
low paid and that this is the extension of patriarchy in society.
AO1 Liberal Feminists would argue that gradual changes to gender inequalities are taking
place and that it should not be forgotten that many women choose to prioritise their home
life. Catherine Hakim’s Preference Theory suggests that only 20% of women choose a
career over and above taking part-time work to look after families.
AO2 This theory does account for the existing gender pay gap of around 20% but it does not
account for reasons why women who choose a career find it difficult to break through the
glass ceiling.
Conclusion
There are various explanations of why gender inequalities exist. Radical feminists focus on
patriarchy and the control of women through socialisation and force. Marxists feminists
focus on capitalism and how working class women are more disadvantaged whilst Weberian
explanations focus on status. Liberal feminists argue that inequalities are gradually reducing
and that we should consider the free choices of many women not to work. Many of the
explanations offered ignore the idea that there are class and ethnic divisions within genders
also and so black working class females are more disadvantaged in society than white
middles class females. It could be argued therefore that with many laws in place to protect
women explanations of gender inequality should also focus on ineqalities in wealth.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in gender, for each area give evidence
to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inqualities in gender give two pieces of evidence
for each area which support the idea that inequalitiy is significant (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in age, for each area give evidence to
support your answer (20)
Evaluate Weberian views of social inequality (30)
Evaluate critical theories of social inequality (30)
Introduction
Outline Weber’s view of science in Sociology and Verstehen. We must seek to understand
the complexisties of individuals which make up society. Explain Weber’s view of inequality
based upon class (wealth), power (party) and status. Being different from Marx’s
dichotomous view of bourgeoisie and proletariat.
AO1 Weber’s key point which differs to Marxism is that classes will become fragmented
according to occupation groups with more or less status. Weber predicted that social
classes would become ever more fragmented and diverse since people will negotiate their
place in the world with different interpretations (interpretivist approach) i.e working classes
looking after their interests with trade unions, status of some groups of workers may be
shifting e.g bureacracy and affluent workers (White collar intelligensia) divided from manual
workers and bourgeoisie divided into land owners etc and petty bourgeoisie (small business
owners). Class will depend upon life chances and also life styles more and more e.g
dependent upon accents rather than wealth for example.
AO2 The Uk has become a very diverse country and in some ways this supports Weber’s
view. However inequality has been increasing since the 1980’s (Thatcher years) and
therefore it could be argued that society is polarising into a larger group of proletariat and
small number of very wealthy at the top as predicted by Karl Marx.
AO2 Social inequalities can be measured by the extent of social mobility taking place and
the Oxford Mobility study in 1997 found 57% of sons stayed in working class positions.
AO1 Weber introduced the important concept of life chances and market situation. For
example David Lockwood argues without inherited wealth indiviudals can only offer skills
and that scarcity of certain skills will improve market situation of some.The security and
good conditions that come with being able to offer such skills improves status and increases
chances of good opportuntities in education, employment, health etc being passed on to
next generation. Those who are less skilled have low status, low wages etc.
AO2 This is supported by Barron and Norris’s idea of a dual labour market whereby those in
the secondary sector characterised by poor pay, status and conditions will find themselves
with fewer life chances.
AO2 However Marxists would argue it fails to recognise inequalities in wealth caused by
capitalist system e.g that the welfare state fails to provided equal distribution of wealth and
therefore disadvantages some (Smith, Smith and Wright 1997).
AO1 Another argument that seems to support a Weberian view is that embourgeoisiement
is taking place as some workers are able to sell their labour for more money because their
skills benefit capitalism e.g white collar office workers. Kerr et al argued that attitudes and
lifestyles are gradually becoming more middle class.
AO2 This contradicts the Marxist view that classes will polarise. For example Neo Marxists
Braverman and Wright found evidence of proletarianisation amongst occupations where
automony has been reduced and deskilling has taken place e.g in call centres where staff are
told what to say to customers. This resulted in skills being less valuable in the market place
leading to lower wages.
AO2 However this argument fails to recognise that many low paid jobs in contemporary
times are not unskilled and there seems to be evidence of ‘upskilling’ e.g in use of IT.
AO2 Furthermore traditional marxists would argue that social inequality benefits capitalist
societies because working class people form a reserve army of labour (Castles and Kosack).
AO1 Functionalists would agree that inequalities are based upon market situation and
status, but would argue that these differences are inevitable and functional. Davis and
Moore would argue that society is meritocratic provides a ladder of opportuntity for the
best people who are willing to work hard.
AO2 However Goldthorpe found evidence of ‘elite self-recruitment’ amongst the middle and
upper classes suggesting society is not meritocratic
AO2 This supports a Marxist view that certain institutions in society such as education
perpetuate inequalities and influence life chances.
Conclusion
Whereas other more traditional perspectives such as Functionalism and Marxism have been
criticised for ignoring other forms of inequality such as gender and ethnicity, Weberian
sociology does acknowledge status differences within society which might explain these
other inequalities. It is therefore useful from this point of view. However whilst Marxist
theories have failed to address the lack of a revolution and the end of capitalism, Weberian
explanations have failed to recognise increasing gap between the richest and poorest in the
country focussing instead of the fragmentation of classes.
** If the question asks about ‘critical theories’ you will need to replace some of this with
some points on Feminism and Post Modernism
See essay plans on those two for ideas.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in social class for each area give
evidence to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in wealth for each area give evidence
to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inqualities in age give two pieces of evidence for
each area which support the idea that inequalitiy is significant (20)
Evaluate Marxist explanations of social inequality (30)
Evaluate the view that social inequalities are mainly about social class (30)
(adapt answers for specific question)
Introduction
Outline main Marxist views of dichotomous society (two-way split) between bourgeoisie
and proletariat/ formal and informal control of the masses/ false class consciousness.
AO2 race and gender blind
AO2 Functionalists argue inequality is inevitable and functional/ Davis and Moore
meritocracy and role allocation.
AO1 Antonio Gramsci – Idea of Hegemony – ruling class ideology becomes everyday
ideology adding to false class consciousness e.g religion teaches us to seek reward in heaven
not equality on earth. (Marx – religion is the opium of the masses).
Ao2 Functionalists would argue that shared norms and values are crucial for social harmony.
AO2 However functionalists also argue that notion of American Dream may lead to feelings
of status frustration and relative deprivation.
AO1 Louis Althusser – Ideological/repressive state apparatus add to control of masses
through education, media, family, religion etc.
AO2 Teachers are socialist often, riots and protests show people do not always accept
control.
AO2 On the one hand Marx predicts rise of class consciousness and a revolution but on the
other hand says we are all controlled that we are unaware of exploitation, this is
contradictory and does not provide a useful explanation of contemporary society.
AO1 Another marxist explanation of inequalities in wealth is that the working classes make
up a reserve army of labour (Castles and Kosack) this explains why poverty and inequality is
persistent as it benefits the ruling class. Capitalism naturally has slumps and peeks and
when there is a slump workers in insecure jobs can be shed. Having a reserve army also
ensures that employees do not demand overly high wages as there are always those who
are unemployed willing to take the jobs.
AO2 However legislation has brought in minimum wage to prevent competition at the
bottom end of the market and trade unions protect the rights of workers.
AO2 Also writers of the New Right like Charles Murray would argue that some people
actively choose not to work because of a culture of dependency caused by the welfare
system.
AO2 However Dean and Taylor-Gooby argued that their research showed that unemployed
do want to work and that welfare fails to distribute wealth enough to give them sufficient
chances to improve themselves.
AO1 Neo marxists Braverman and Wright have gone some way to explaining current picture.
They argue that middle classes are advantaged in variety of ways in terms of education,
employment etc but that they are also in a contradictory position being both exploiters and
exploited.
AO2 This addresses the failure of Marxism to predict the rise of the middle classes and the
lack of a revolution as they argue that the proletariat are more divided than Marx stated.
AO2 Furthermore Neo Marxists argue that proletarianisation is occuring in many previously
middle class jobs leaving jobs deskilled due to technology and lacking in autonomy due to
the control of practices by employers (would you like fries with that !)
AO2 However all Marxists analyses of social inequality fail to recognise other forms of
inequality such as in gender or race.
AO1 In contrast Weberian sociology takes the view that inequality is more complex than a
simple divide between two classes. Explain Weber’s view of class, power and status. Weber
argues that classes are becoming increasingly fragmented and diverse and it is therefore
unlikely that there will be a proletarian revolution. Inequality is explained through the
concept of market situation. Barron and Norris talk of a dual labour market in which people
sell their labour according to the skills they have. Those skills more in demand will fetch
higher wages. They argue that with the rise of white collar work comes the affluent worker
with growing middle class attitudes.
AO2 However Goldthorpe et al looked for evidence of this in their study of Dagenham car
workers and found none. Instead they found a very divided manual working class and
managers with middle class attitudes.
AO2 Weberian explanations do explain why there are inequalities in gender and race since
they refer to differences in status as well as wealth.
AO2 However they fail to acknowledge the growing gap between the very poor and the very
rich in contemporary society.
Conclusion
Marxist explanations focus purely on social class and have therefore been criticised for
ignoring other inequalities. They argue that class is the main divide and that the masses or
proletariat are generally controlled through agents of social control leading to false class
consciousness (lack of awareness of exploitation)
AO2 However Marxist explanations can be contradictory as on the one hand they claim flase
class consciousness explains the continuance of inequality but on the other they say that
there will be a revolution when the proletariat become class conscious. How can this
happen if we are being so well controlled? The existence of trade unions and protests show
that there is class consciouness already but despite this no revolution has taken place.
Functionalists would argue that inequality is functional and will therefore always exist and
Feminists would argue that gender inequalities are ignored in these explanations. Weberian
sociology addresses these criticisms and is therefore a more useful theory.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in social class for each area give
evidence to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in wealth for each area give evidence
to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inqualities in age give two pieces of evidence for
each area which support the idea that inequalitiy is significant (20)
Evaluate the view that inequality is both inevitable and functional (30)
Evaluate Functionalist explanations of social inequality (30)
(Adapt answers for specific question)
Introduction
Outline Functinalism generally including Durkheim’s view of consensus to shared norms and
values and the organic analogy.
Functionalists argue that inequality is found in every society (universal) and is therefore
likely to be functional for society in some way. They aregue that inequality is inevitable
since a society which was perfectly equal would not be fair on individuals who have talent
and work hard.
Ao2 Marxists however would disagree as they say society is based more on conflict than on
consensus. They say that inequalities are caused by the capitalist system and that the
working classes (proletariat) are exploited by the Bourgeoisie.
AO2 However both these traditional perspectives are criticised for ignoring other
inequalities such as in gender or race.
Ao1 Functionalists argue that society is mostly meritocratic – equality of opportunity exists
and people are correctly allocated to roles according to their abilities (Davis and Moore
1945).
Ao2 However Goldthorpe (neo Marxist found evidence of ‘elite self-recruitment’ amongst
middle and upper class occupations suggesting it is not merit that gets the best jobs.
AO2 the Oxford mobility study of 1997 showed that working class sons are more likely to
end up in working class jobs than their middle class peers.
AO2 There are numerous examples of evidence of working class disadvantage in education
for example only 35% achieve 5 GCSEs compared to 80% of those from higher professional
backgrounds.
AO2 in particular Tumin criticses functionalist view of inequality as being a very politically
conservative view.
AO1 Functionalists have influenced the development of the New Right and writers such as
Saunders and Murray have used the concept of an underclass to explain why inequalities
persist. They argue that people make rational choices and therefore choose to be poor
because their culture is inferior.
AO2 This argument supports the functionalist view that inequality is functional as it provides
most with an incentive to work hard to avoid poverty.
AO2 However Murray argued that this incentive is taken away by over generous welfare
payments giving people a culture of dependency.
AO2 However Marxists would argue that this theory ignores bad behaviour and lack of
morals amongst the rich and large corporations.
AO1 Politics has been influenced by Functionalist and New Right ideas. For example during
conservative governments such as Margaret Thatcher’s, there have been cuts on taxes to
the rich with the claim that this wealth will benefit the economy and therefore everybody.
This is known as ‘trickle down theory’.
AO2 This is contradictory as on the one had functionalists claim that inequality is inevitable
and on the other says that cutting taxes will ‘fix’ the problem.
AO2 There is also little evidence that trickle down theory actually works as there are many
ways for wealthy people to ensure they keep their wealth through investments which do
not benefit lower classes.
AO1 Functionalists like Durkheim believed that shared values are very important in
maintaining social order and that an acceptance of social inequality is part of this.
AO2 However Marxists would argue it is only functional for the upper classes who benefit
the most by dysfunctinal for society as it leads to conflict. Evidenced by protests and riots.
AO1 Marxists would argue that inequality is inevitable whilst a capitalist system is in place
since the bourgeoisie control the masses through various means ( agents of social control,
formal and informal) and make it difficult for a revolution to take place and a communist
system to be achieved.
AO2 However communism in other countries has failed and not provided the equality it
promised
AO2 Also Marxism, like functionalism is still accused of ignoring other inqualities.
AO1 In contrast Weberian sociology takes the view that inequality is more complex than a
simple divide between two classes or the result of universal consensus. Explain Weber’s
view of class, power and status. Weber argues that classes are becoming increasingly
fragmented and diverse and it is therefore unlikely that there will be a proletarian
revolution. Inequality is explained through the concept of market situation. Barron and
Norris talk of a dual labour market in which people sell their labour according to the skills
they have. Those skills more in demand will fetch higher wages.
AO2 this argument seems to support the functionalist view that society is meritocratic.
AO2 However Weberian explanations do explain why there are inequalities in gender and
race since they refer to differences in status as well as wealth.
AO2 However they fail to acknowledge the growing gap between the very poor and the very
rich in contemporary society.
Conclusion
Functionalist explanations of inequality focus on the idea that inequality is inevitable, as an
equal society would not work, and functional because it provides social order and an
incentive for people to work hard. The New Right states that we do not need to solve the
problem of inequality since people have the opportunities but choose not to take them.
Political actions have been strongly influenced by these views leaving us with an increasingly
unequal society. Marxists on the other hand take the view that capitalism is the cause of
great unfairness and that inequality is dysfunctional as it causes conflict. Both traditional
perspectives have been criticsed for ignoring other inequalities such as gender and race
whereas critical theories such as Weberianism, post modernism and Feminism would
consider these as equally important.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in social class for each area give
evidence to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in wealth for each area give evidence
to support your answer (20)
Identify two areas of life where there are inqualities in age give two pieces of evidence for
each area which support the idea that inequalitiy is significant (20)
Evaluate cultural explanations of poverty (30)
Evaluate structural explanations of poverty (30)
This essay plan covers both questions just adapt accordingly
Introduction
Define types of poverty, difficulty with operationalisation and ways poverty has been
studied e.g Townsend, include newer notion of social exclusion. Poverty persists in the UK.
Those in poverty are likely to be the young and very old, female, ethnic minorities, living in
inner cities and disabled. There are different explanations of why poverty exists and these
could be drawn into two broad categories – cultural and structural.
AO1 Cultural arguments are usually Functionalist or from the New Right perspectives in
sociology and state that poverty and inequality is caused by factors such as upbringing and
the deviant values of the working class leading to particular culture which affects life
chances. For example David Marsland argues that for most people low income results from
the generosity of the welfare state removing the incentive to work. He calls this a culture of
dependency.
AO2 However Marsland ignores some important evidence such as the fact that between
1977 and 1997 income inequality in the UK between rich and poor actually increased. The
top 10% increased their income by 62% whereas the income of the poorest 10% fell by 17%.
AO1 A structural view is taken by Marxists such as Castles and Kosack, who argue poverty
functions to provide a reserve army of labour that can be hired in times of economic boom
and fired in times of recession. This reserve army of labour, made up of the poor in the
form of women and ethnic minority workers, can be used to control ‘excessive’ wage
demands of the main workforce. It may even be used ideologically to divide and rule the
working class and prevent an overthrow of capitalism.
AO2 In this sense, some Marxists argue that capitalism has a vested interest in the
persistence of poverty. This is why no real attempt has been made to eradicate the
problem.
AO1 In support of cultural arguments recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
does indicate that poor children are taught to be poor and are consequently likely to be
poor when they become adults. This suggests that culture is partly to blame for persistent
poverty.
AO2 However research by Dean and Taylor-Gooby, Heath and Craine suggests that longterm benefit claimants do want to work, that people who claim income support share the
same values as people who work, and unemployed young people are ambitious for work.
AO1 In contrast structural theorists state that the provision of welfare to tackle poverty and
social exclusion has failed. Piachaud and Sutherland (2001) calculated that basic income
support levels are not high enough to lift people out of poverty.
AO2 However David Marsland uses an absolute definition of poverty and argues that
researchers such as Townsend who use relative definitions confuse poverty with inequality.
In recent years rising living standards for the majority have largely eradicated poverty.
AO1 Another cultural argument is that of Charles Murray who adopts a dim view of those in
poverty. For Murray, the underclass of society persists because of undesirable attitudes,
‘deplorable behaviour’, illegitimacy, crime and unemployment. Murray argues that the
benefits system needs to be changed to get rid of disincentives to marriage and to
discourage single-motherhood. In particular he advocates withdrawing or reducing welfare
benefits in order to force members of the underclass to take more responsibility for their
own lives.
AO2 For this reason Murray has been criticised for ‘victim-blaming.
AO2 Harvey and MacDonald’s research in Teeside in 2000 tested Murray’s claim that the
underclass have different attitudes and values to mainstream society. They found that the
majority of the underclass have conventional aspirations. They want jobs, happy marriages,
a belief that parents should be married, and a dislike of those who remain on benefits
indefinitely.
AO1 Barron and Norris’s Weberian-influenced dual labour market theory is a structural
argument which focuses on the organisation of the labour market. They argue that women
and ethnic minority groups are likely to experience poverty because they are part of a
secondary labour market characterised by long periods of unemployment, low pay and
insecure working conditions. They form part of this sector because of employer and trade
union discrimination based on patriarchal and racist stereotyping.
AO2 However Veronica Beechey argues that dual labour market theory fails to explain why
some workers, particularly women, in skilled jobs still receive low pay even though their
work is very similar to primary sector men’s jobs.
Conclusion
There is heavy criticism of cultural explanations of poverty as they tend to blame the poor
for their situation rather than looking at structures in society like the working of capitalism.
Frank Field sees the underclass as the victims of government policy rather than as a
dangerous group intent on subverting the norms of society. Overall whilst there seems to be
some sense in the idea that a culture of dependency on welfare can be passed through
generations there is also compelling evidence that structural factors prevent people from
escaping poverty.
Possible Part a) 20 Mark questions that may be linked to these questions
Identify two areas of life where there are inequalities in wealth for each area give evidence
to support your answer (20)