1. Social class structure and theories on class
Learning objective: Most to be able to describe the social classes in Britain and why the class hierarchy has changed in the last 100 years.
What is social class?
How has the class structure changed in the UK over the last 100 years and why?
What are the sociological theories on class?

2. Starter
Work in pairs.
For each group of people in the pictures on the next slide decide:
What social class are they?
Why?
Sum up your decisions into your book in 1-2 sentences for each group of people.

3. 2 1 4 3 5

4. 1
Underclass – homeless, ‘outside’ the society – not contributing to it or getting anything from it. 4
Working class – low paid, manual job that requires little or no qualifications. 2
Upper class – this is Prince Michael of Kent, the Queen’s cousin, and his family.
Impossible to classify – they’re wealthy, but have no qualifications and both come from working class backgrounds. 5 3
Middle class – mum and dad are both professionals.

5. Social class
Social class refers to a person’s position in society and it is determined by their level of education, type of occupation, income and lifestyle.
Groups that share the same social class position will also have similar life chances.
Classifying individuals into social class is a form of stratification which is used in Britain.

6. Social class structure in the UK up to the 20th century
Task 1
Social class structure in the UK up to the 20th century
On the worksheet, draw a line from the statement to the correct part of the social hierarchy, e.g.
Inherited wealth – land, houses, art.

7. Social class structure in the UK up to the 20th century
They have some inheritance, but their wealth comes from their high income
Factory work, plumbers, refuse collectors, etc
Middle class
Working class
Underclass
They have nothing
Teacher, lawyer, accountant, doctor
Don’t have to work
Landed aristocracy
Inherited wealth – land, houses, art.
Homeless, long term unemployed and on benefits, drug addicts, alcoholics
This slide can be printed as a worksheet.
Unskilled, low paid, manual work

8. Social class structure in the UK up to the 20th century
They have some inheritance, but their wealth comes from their high income
Factory work, plumbers, refuse collectors, etc
Middle class
Working class
Underclass
They have nothing
Teacher, lawyer, accountant, doctor
Don’t have to work
Landed aristocracy
Inherited wealth – land, houses, art.
Homeless, long term unemployed and on benefits, drug addicts, alcoholics
This slide can be printed as a worksheet.
Unskilled, low paid, manual work

9. Class structure in the UK today
However, the class structure has changed considerably in the last 20 years.
Extension: Can you think of 2-3 reasons why the class structure has changed? Write them into your book.

10. Solution Entrepreneurs Upper class Upper middle class
Inherited wealth – houses, land, art,
Solution
Landed aristocracy
Don’t have to work
Owners of very large companies
Branson, Sugar, etc.
Entrepreneurs
Upper class
Footballers, pop stars, film stars
Work in the entertainment
Pop ‘aristocracy’
Teachers, lawyers, accountants, doctors
Service class – professional occupations
Have some inheritance, but most of their wealth comes from their high incomes
Upper middle class
Own their own small business
Shop owner, hair salon owner, etc
Intermediate class – skilled, non-manual work, e.g. receptionist
Petty bourgeoisie
Lower middle class
‘New’ working class – both partners work, may own their home, skilled manual work
Have the income from their work, but are in more secure jobs
Plumbers, electricians, beauticians
Upper working class
‘Traditional’ working class – non-skilled, manual work in manufacturing industries
Bus drivers, factory workers, cleaners
Lower working class
Underclass
Homeless, long term unemployed and on benefits, drug addicts, alcoholics

11. Why has the class structure changed?
More opportunities in education which makes people upwardly socially mobile.
Changes to the economy – decline in traditional jobs in factories and increase in office based skilled, non-manual occupations.
More women are working and contributing to family’s income which makes them better off.

12. Theories on class
Functionalism – has a positive view of society. They say it is meritocratic and that a person’s class position is based on their ability and effort. Therefore, any inequalities that exist in society are fair.
Marxism – has a negative view of society. They say that the ruling class control everything which helps them stay wealthy and they pass their wealth to their children through inheritance. The working class have nothing so they can’t leave any inheritance to their children. Therefore, society is unequal as the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.
Weber – society is unequal, but it is now more complicated than just being based on conflict between the ruling and working class, e.g. lower middle class and higher middle class have little in common even though they are both middle class. Also, class position in society is not just based on wealth, it is also based on status, income, power and knowledge.

13. Task 2 Sociological theories on class
Draw a grid like this one onto a new portrait page.
Cut out the cards.
Sort them into the correct column.
You can work in pairs to help each other.
Functionalist theory
Marxist theory
Weber’s theory

14. Extension Functionalist theory Marxist theory Weberian theory
Is stratification of people into a class system good or bad for society and why?
What are the causes of social stratification?
Is social mobility possible?
How can we criticise the theory?

15. Functionalist theory Marxist theory Weber’s theory
This theory argues that society is highly stratified into two classes based on ownership of property. The two classes are at conflict.
This theory agrees with Marx that classes are at conflict with each other.
This theory sees our society as unequal, but this is necessary. They also see it as fair as it is open and social mobility is possible through natural ability and hard work.
However, it adds to Marxist theory by saying that there is also conflict among the same classes. For example, within the middle class there is conflict between the upper and lower middle class because they have different levels of income and life chances.
Bourgeoisie – the ruling class. They are wealthy. Their aim is to make a profit. To do this they keep the workers’ wages low.
In society, some jobs are more important for the continuing well-being of the society. These jobs should be done by the most able people. In order to recruit the most able people for the most important jobs, these jobs need to be highly rewarded with high wages and prestige.
Proletariat – the working class. They own nothing so have to work for the ruling class in return for wages, which are low. Therefore, they are being exploited because they are not being paid the full value of their work.
Therefore, Weber said society is made up of small groups competing against each other.
When deciding a person’s social class position we should also take into account three factors:
Economic factors such as how much money they earn.
Status based on their education, style of dress. And importance of their occupation. For example, nurses have low incomes, but high status.
Power they have to influence others.
Therefore, a system of inequality is necessary in society in order to make the most talented people work hard to earn the high rewards that come with performing the most important roles. If everyone was rewarded the same, there would be no need to work hard. Therefore, the system may be unequal, but it is fair.
The working class think the system is fair because they are indoctrinated into this by social institutions such as the family, education, religion and the media.
However, the working class will gain class consciousness – they will realise the system is not fair and will start a revolution against the ruling class.
Finally, this theory also shows that stratification is more complex than Marx. For example, a person’s gender or ethnicity can affect how they are stratified, e.g. a black and white doctors may have different statuses because of their different ethnicities.
However, the criticism of this theory is that is ignores the jobs which are poorly rewarded (low paid), but which are also important to society, e.g. refuse collectors.
The criticism of this is that it ignores the improvements in the living standards of the workers and that through education working class children can today better themselves.

16. Theories on class
Functionalists argue that social class inequality is necessary and inevitable. This is because some jobs are more important than others in maintaining society and these jobs require specialist skills (such as being a doctor). However, not all people have the talent or the intellectual ability to be able to perform important jobs.
Therefore, the best (smartest) people who do have the talent for the most important jobs have to be motivated to train for those jobs. They are motivated with the prospect of high wages and status once they qualify.
Therefore, there must be a system of unequal pay and status in order to give the best people the motivation to work hard to get the best jobs.
However, the criticism of this theory is that is ignores the jobs which are poorly rewarded (low paid), but which are also important to society, e.g. refuse collectors. Also, some people choose a job because they want to help others, not because they want to earn a lot of money, e.g. nursing.

17. Theories on class
Marxism says our society is a capitalist society. This means its economy is based on production, sale and purchasing of material goods. It is a class society because it is made up of two classes; the ruling class (bourgeoisie) and the working class (proletariat).
The ruling class is a small group who own the means of production (factories, companies, land and offices) which gives them wealth and power.
The working class are the majority of the population who own nothing so they have to work in exchange for income.
The ruling class’ main aim is profit. To maximise profit, they keep the wages low. Therefore, the working class are exploited – used for their work, but badly paid in return for it.
For example, a developer who buys land to build a new shopping centre and them sell it for profit and construction workers who will actually be the ones to build the new shopping centre. It is out of their hard work for low wages that the developer will make a profit.
However, the working class do not realise how unfair society is. This is because the ruling class have the wealth and power to control our ideas through the media, education, etc.
However, Marxists believe that eventually the working class will realise society is unfair and will rise up against the ruling class through a revolution. As a result, wealth will be distributed among all people and inequality will disappear.
The criticism of Marxist theory is that it ignores the improvements in the living standards of the workers and that through compulsory free education working class children can today better themselves.

18. Theories on class
Weber defined class as a group of people with similar life chances which result from their position in the labour (employment) market.
Similarly to Marxists, Weber sees capitalism as being based on classes, some of which sell their labour (work) and those that buy the labour of the other classes.
However, he sees society as made up of several classes: property owners, petty bourgeoisie (small business owners), professionals and the working class.
Weber argued that a person’s class is decided by their economic resources such as wealth and income, but also by factors such as status and power (political influence). A person’s status is decided by the honour attached to their life by other members of society.

19. Review
Which Sociological theory on class do you agree with the most and why?
Marx
Durkheim
Weber