Introduction to Social Inequality

Introduction

Chapter – 1

Harshit Sharma

Political Science (BHU)

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Rationale

Socio-economic inequality has been widening globally, with the U.S. showing significant disparities since the 1980s.
In 2000, 3% of U.S. households earned less than $5,000 annually, while over 13% earned $100,000 or more.
The net wealth of black households in 1991 was $4,604, compared to Bill Gates’ $54 billion in 2001.
The U.S. has the highest income inequality among major industrial nations, a gap that has grown since the 1970s.
Western European countries, particularly Britain in the 1980s and 1990s, also experienced increased income inequality.
In Britain, the richest tenth saw a 60% increase in median income from 1979 to 1996/97, while the poorest tenth saw only an 11% rise or a 13% decline after housing costs.
Poverty in Britain rose from 7.1 million (13% of the population) in 1979 to 12.5 million (22%) in 2001/02.
Statistical evidence alone does not capture the social impact of inequality or the daily struggles of those with limited means.
Qualitative research methods, including interviews and participant observation, provide deeper insights into the lives of the working poor.
Books by journalists who have worked with the ‘working poor’ in Britain and the U.S. offer valuable perspectives.
Despite ample evidence on inequality, social class is no longer central to academic sociology, with some arguing it is irrelevant.
Critics argue that contemporary society values consumption and spatial relations more than traditional class divisions.
Ray Pahl, once a proponent of class analysis, later argued that class as a concept was becoming obsolete.
This book challenges Pahl’s view and aims to demonstrate the continued relevance of class analysis in understanding social inequality.
Post-war British sociology focused heavily on class and stratification, producing influential works that remain relevant.
Major developments in the social sciences over the past 30 years include new theoretical approaches, the cultural turn, and increased focus on gender, ethnicity, age, space, and globalization.
Class analysis has become a specialized sub-discipline, with increased academic specialization leading to potential disconnects from practical experiences.
Some sociology students from disadvantaged backgrounds find that established class analysis approaches do not resonate with their personal experiences.
The book aims to explore debates and issues related to social inequality, especially class inequality, in an accessible manner.
It seeks to connect private troubles with public issues and stimulate students’ sociological imaginations.
The book focuses on social class but also acknowledges other aspects of inequality, such as ethnicity, age, and gender.
It does not claim to be comprehensive and highlights its boundaries and biases.
Traditional sociology focused on trinities: social theory, social structure, and methods, and the synthesis between structure and action.
The book notes the shift from these traditional trinities to a more synthetic approach influenced by theorists like Pierre Bourdieu.
It avoids offering a specific theoretical approach or a comprehensive overview of class analysis, referring readers to works by Erik Olin Wright, Crompton, and Savage.
The book is not centered on the methodology of operationalizing social class in survey research, such as the employment aggregate approach.
The Registrar General’s (RG) social class scheme has been criticized and replaced by the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) in 2001.
The NS-SEC is a modified neo-Weberian scheme, focusing on employment relations and class rewards.
The book discusses the debates between neo-Marxists and neo-Weberians and the ‘women and class’ debate.
Crompton suggests case studies as a methodological alternative to the employment aggregate approach, focusing on class formation and intersection with other axes of inequality.
Case studies can use both qualitative and quantitative data, and the book employs them to illustrate dynamic class processes and spatial contexts.
The primary reference for the book is Britain, but it includes material from North American and European contexts to engage with globalized social inequality.
The book acknowledges that while similar inequality-generating mechanisms exist globally, their effects vary by nation-state and welfare regimes.
The book maintains that class remains important in understanding socio-economic inequalities, agreeing with Harriet Bradley’s view on the intersection of various inequalities.
It supports a synthetic approach to class analysis but recognizes that achieving full comprehensiveness is beyond the scope of the book.

Structure of the book

The book addresses two main themes: the transformation from industrial to post-industrial society and the shift from social processes to socio-spatial dynamics.
The first theme examines the transition from an old industrial society to a new post-industrial, information-led economy, which is ongoing.
The second theme explores how social processes are now socio-spatial, where place cannot be solely derived from social changes.
Chapter 2 reviews intellectual frameworks such as postmodernity and globalization that challenge traditional class analysis.
Chapter 3 discusses the ‘collar line’ in class differentiation, focusing on changes in occupation and urban-suburban shifts.
Chapter 4 analyzes how Marxist and Weberian scholars addressed intra-class divisions and the metaphor of the inner city amid socio-economic crises.
Chapter 5 explores new spatial and social divisions, including global cities, gentrification, and the urban underclass.
Chapter 6 examines persistent poverty and social exclusion in advanced capitalist societies and debates on welfare state organization.
Chapter 7 looks at class formation among post-industrial service workers and the impact of new work created by economic restructuring.
Chapter 8 suggests an emerging sociology of stratification influenced by Pierre Bourdieu and other methodologies, emphasizing choice and belonging in new economic and occupational divisions.