- Define social class
- Explain how class affects life chances
- Compare Marxist and Weberian views
Social Class
In many countries, a child born in the poorest area can expect to die nearly a decade earlier than one born in the richest. That gap has a name: class.
Life chances (Weber) are the opportunities people have to achieve valued outcomes — health, education, income, longevity. Class position systematically shapes them from birth.
Key points
- Marx: class = relationship to the means of production (bourgeoisie vs proletariat).
- Weber: class + status (prestige) + party (power).
- Modern measures: occupation, income, education — and Bourdieu’s cultural/social capital.
- Class affects health, education, crime victimisation and political influence.
In England, men in the most deprived areas live about 10 years less than those in the least deprived. Same country, same healthcare system — different class, different lifespan.
Practice
Marx: class is purely economic — ownership of the means of production. Weber: class (market position) plus status (prestige) and party (power).
The tastes, language and confidence valued by institutions; middle-class children arrive already fluent in the school’s culture.
- Class systematically shapes life chances.
- Marx saw economic class; Weber added status and power.
- Cultural and social capital transmit advantage invisibly.
- Health and longevity gaps reveal class in the body.