Class and Inequality

1
Class and Inequality

• -Income Inequality
• -Marxs definition of class
• -Contemporary thinking about class and social
  structure

2
Income Inequality in US

• What do we mean by income inequality?
• Should we be concerned about it?
• What are the causes of income inequality?
• Decline in manufacturing (see map)
• Decline in unionization
• technological advances- need for new skills
• racial inequality
• rising stock prices stock options

3
Policy Solutions

• Equal Pay
• Reduce social spending-encourage work
• Wealth tax
• training and education
• make stock options available to all workers
• Increase minimum wage
• encourage unionization
• anti-globalization/anti-free trade policies

4
The Concept of Class and Class Analysis

• Simple Gradation-Descriptive- Material Conditions
• Marx and Weber- Relational- Links to other social
  classes
• Class is a relationship between people and
  economic resources
• Marx Relation to Means of Production-
  Exploitation- inherently antagonistic
• Weber Market capabilities-Life Chances

5
Class cntd.

• Class as a social structure
• Marx Changing Class Structure requires
  structural change over control of means of
  production
• Weber Changing class structure requires
  redistribution of material resources
• Lets go back to policy options now-
• Which are Marxist and Weberian?