Outline the evidence for social class inequality in the UK today (20)
Reasons for why there is social class inequality in the UK today are due to that there is material deprivation, mental health, poverty and education.
Working class people have more time off work, have more visits to the doctor and they are more likely to be chronically. This is because they cannot afford a good standard of living such as the buying of food which is fresh and contains lots of nutrients and healthy vitamins which prevent an individual from being ill. This is why the middle class do not take as much time off work and are less likely to become ill. Therefore, a reason for social class inequality is due to material deprivation; meaning that an individual has insufficient physical resources – food, shelter, and clothing – necessary to sustain life either in an absolute sense or relative to some prescribed standard.
Social inequality leads to stress and pressure for the individual as they are always trying to better themselves which then leads to mental health problems. Wilkinson found a correlation between the inequality within a country and mental health issues within individuals. This can be used in support for the working class as they are bottom end of social inequality receiving the worst of it and why so many of them become chronically ill.
Poverty is something which can be given for evidence for social class inequality. It has been said that overall of ‘breadline poor’ households has increased and that people are living below the poverty line. This can be backed up with statists showing that the amount of people living below the poverty has never been above 17% however, in 2001 statistics show that the number of those living below the poverty line increased and peaked up to 27%. In the UK, poverty increased as the cost of living increased due to inflation and polarisation;