To what extent has social mobility become more common in Britain during the last fifty years?

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Kathrina Crystallis 10J

To what extent has social mobility become more common in Britain during the last fifty years?

        Some sociologists have argued that social mobility has become more mobile over the last fifty years, and that there is a lot of movement up and down the class system.  However this view is not shared by all sociologists, as some would argue that Britain is more of a “closed” society than an “open” one.  Different sociologists have opposing views on social class.  All agree that it is an important aspect of society, but there is a disagreement as to the extent of how “open” or “closed” society has become.

         Social class has been defined in various ways by different groups of sociologists.  The Marxists argue that in a capitalist society people are divided into two social classes.  They believe that membership of these classes was determined by economic factors: the ownership or non-ownership of property.  Their two classes are the bourgeoisie the ruling class; they were the owners of wealth and property, and the proletariat; the working class who worked as labourers for the bourgeoisie. Critics argue that social class in modern society is more complex than Marx predicted; for example, the development of large middle class and opportunities challenge his ideas.  This suggests that social mobility has become more common since Marx first expressed his ideas in about the 1850s.  However modern Marxists still see the enormous differences between the two classes and think that it is extremely difficult for individuals to move up or down “the social ladder”.

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        Weber and his followers however, see that class is not only based on economic factors but also on status and power, so, for example an individual may be powerful but not very wealthy, for example, some politicians.  Weberians look at status and power divisions that are based on gender and ethnic background as well as economic wealth.

       

        The functionalists argue that an “open” social class system allows mobility between classes ensuring that the most talented individuals are given the opportunity to reach the top and ...

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