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production to another took place through a process Marx described as a dialectic. Each mode of production contained within it contradictions which would create conflict between social classes and cause its downfall. Consequently each successive stage of human history contained both a dominant class, and one that would overthrow it. In capitalist society Marx anticipated that the proletariat, or working class, would eventually overthrow the bourgeoisie, and initiate another system of productive relations, a fourth epoch of socialism. His grand, overarching evolutionary
classes. This view of history as class struggle (rather than as, for instance, a succession of dynasties, or as a gradual progress towards the attainment of national identity and sovereignty) regards it as ‘motored’ by the competition for economic, social, and political advantage. The exploitation of one social class by another is seen especially in modern industrial capitalism, particularly in its unrestricted nineteenth-century form. The result of this exploitation is alienation , which is the state that comes about when the worker is ‘de-skilled’ and made to perform
) held up the promise of globalising processes. From this perspective, intensified cross-border interactions and resource flows would as a corollary lessen the importance of nation-states. Some even said the nation would be no more. In its place, there was a focus on ways of enlarging the scope and capacity of supra-national institutions. Neoliberalisation expressed itself in other parallel ways. Social class but also gender and race seemed to be losing their importance as definitional categories. Old prejudices, which for some had been the building blocks or order
Source: Office for National Statistics. Social mobility and education The most effective means of moving ‘up’ in social class is through education, especially higher education. However, it is also true that education reflects social class: children from ‘lower’ social categories tend to do less well than those from higher strata, as Figure 4.1 illustrates. Private education Some 7% of children are educated privately in schools which are expensively equipped and staffed and so are able to offer generally good GCSE and A level results (see Box 4.1 , p. 26
’ experience. The voices heard in this book are from Chinese people from across the country, from across social classes and backgrounds. Of course, the views expressed cannot be taken as representative of all; they are anecdotes, views and opinions which may be shared by many or by a few, but they are voices of real people who call China home. They have witnessed perhaps the most extraordinary transformation of any country in modern time. It is through these views that we attempt to illustrate in this short book how political decisions and polices actually impact upon people
the Royal Society offered at that time (Knight, 2006 ). The design of the lecture theatre mirrored that of the broader London theatre scene, its upper levels allowing for the entrance of those deemed to occupy the lower social classes to be hidden from individuals at the forefront, who often included noble and royal patrons (Bensaude-Vincent and Blondel, 2008 ; Knight, 2006 ). As we will discuss later in this chapter, it is difficult to estimate how wide an audience was truly catered for, as rents alone for the central London location required good patronage from
personally experienced events consciously remembered from previously stored information (Coser, 1992 ; Tulving, 1983 ). However, autobiographical memories are influenced by wider social and cultural factors (Ross and Wang, 2010 ; Sangster, 1994 ). For example, experiences (and therefore memories) of dress are influenced by social class, economic circumstance, gender, geographical location and occupation in addition to individual preferences. Therefore, in research that relies upon autobiographical memory, the phenomenon of ‘collective memory’ must also be considered
seats. Voting and groups Table 17.4 shows how the different social classes and categories voted. Women voted for Blair by some margin, rather than for Howard, suggesting Labour’s child-care provision was thus paying a dividend. But class-based voting was by no means negligible: A, B and C1 voters heavily supported the Conservatives, while C2, D and E voters went for Labour by a significant margin. Labour still polled well among younger groups, while the Conservatives had the edge really only in the over-sixty-five category. Turn-out Only 37% of those aged
representative structures differ and how they interact with welfare policies, labour market conditions and broader social context issues (unemployment, benefits, skills, education, social class and ethnicity, among others). The key issue here is that work-related strategies and practices must be understood in terms of the broader regulatory and socio-economic context. These are illustrated in the central column of boxes in Figures 1.2 and 1.3 . The models are based on the notion that we need to extend our primary focus on the workplace unit and understand how worker
The case for replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber – or simply abolishing it ( Chapter 6 ) – derives from seeing the House as illegitimate. As one Labour MP put it: any self-respecting democrat has to argue that its existence is an affront and that it cannot be allowed to continue. The idea that some citizens should be able to influence legislation by accident of birth or by occupation is unacceptable. It reinforces social class divisions … It can thwart the intentions of a democratically elected government. (Garrett 1992 : 171