Postmodernist views on social inequality:
Intro:
Postmodernists reject Marxism and Functionalism, who claim
inequality exists because of the way society is organised -
Postmodernists are critical of “meta-narratives,” ideas that aim to
explain everything
They argue that postmodern society is fragmented and inequality
has individual meaning
Postmodernists describe the conditions that create a
fragmented/divided society where conditions conspire to create
poverty and unemployment, despite believing that inequality does
not exist except in people’s minds
Point 1: Zombie Category
Pakulski and Waters claimed that the idea of class has no meaning
because there are no social groups who share economic, political
and social characteristics
Few people experience class in the way that sociologists describe it,
and it is not a source of identity
Globalisation means that people do not feel restricted by class
They feel that Marxist and neo-Marxist concerns with class distract
thinkers away from more serious inequalities
Point 2: Bradley’s view
Bradley argued that inequality is one of the most serious issues of
contemporary society
Globalisation, austerity programmes and economic recession mean
that many people are affected by more than one form of inequality
(intersectionality)
Society is becoming fractured and divided with a super-rich social
class at one end of the spectrum and grinding poverty associated
with job insecurity at the other
Deskilling of skilled workers means that class identity is losing its
significance
Intro:
Postmodernists reject Marxism and Functionalism, who claim
inequality exists because of the way society is organised -
Postmodernists are critical of “meta-narratives,” ideas that aim to
explain everything
They argue that postmodern society is fragmented and inequality
has individual meaning
Postmodernists describe the conditions that create a
fragmented/divided society where conditions conspire to create
poverty and unemployment, despite believing that inequality does
not exist except in people’s minds
Point 1: Zombie Category
Pakulski and Waters claimed that the idea of class has no meaning
because there are no social groups who share economic, political
and social characteristics
Few people experience class in the way that sociologists describe it,
and it is not a source of identity
Globalisation means that people do not feel restricted by class
They feel that Marxist and neo-Marxist concerns with class distract
thinkers away from more serious inequalities
Point 2: Bradley’s view
Bradley argued that inequality is one of the most serious issues of
contemporary society
Globalisation, austerity programmes and economic recession mean
that many people are affected by more than one form of inequality
(intersectionality)
Society is becoming fractured and divided with a super-rich social
class at one end of the spectrum and grinding poverty associated
with job insecurity at the other
Deskilling of skilled workers means that class identity is losing its
significance
