...Consumerism and the Impact of Social Class “People in a consumer society consume to improve their quality of life; there are costs associated with this practice (financial, time, ecological, societal and human) for the individual and the collective” (McGregor). Associated in this piece is the concentration in the belief of consumerism’s affect on the societal structure in terms of the social class standards, between lower, middle, and upper class sections. The dependent variable is consumerism; the rise in spending and its involvement and impact in the economy and social standards of today’s society. Independent variable is the focus of socioeconomic status and social class; concerning the idea that wealth allows greater amounts of consuming, however the lower class strives for similar status in the material and nonmaterial goods. Factors that provide consumerism in society and the economy are the buying of consumer goods, which has expanded in recent decades to national and global lengths. Consumerism is said to be the reason that the U.S. had turned citizens into shoppers, making Americans less free to the economy and the market. Globalization; the process of goods and services over national boundaries, is a rising factor, due to the buying, selling and networking of products globally. Countries like the U.S. China have benefitted by the globalization, but also have impacted their society and culture, from the influence of cultural differences, negatively and positively...
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...Outline and assess the view that in school factors have the main influence on the educational achievement of different social classes (50 Marks) INSIDE - The Curriculum What is taught in schools disadvantages working class pupils. The knowledge taught in school is different to the cultural experiences of working class pupils. For example, History deals with the ruling class such as kings, queens and politicians, rather than the majority of ordinary people. Cultural Bias of the hidden curriculum favours middle class pupils. This may lead the underachievement and truancy of those from working class backgrounds. Ramsay argues that knowledge is used as a form of social control and that there is a hidden curriculum behind the subjects of Maths and English to keep the working class in their place. Ramsay argues that truancy is a protest against this pressure. - Teacher Labelling Interactionists study the interactions between teacher & student and student & student. Their explanations are based on a “labelling theory”. Teachers judge students not by their ability or intelligence, but by characteristics such as class. Keddie – “Classroom Knowledge” Keddie studied classroom interactions in a large, socially mixed comprehensive school in London. She had found that teachers categorised and evaluated classroom knowledge. The knowledge that teachers gave pupils was based on their assessment of the pupil’s ability to cope with the knowledge. Pupils that were categorized as “bright”...
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...concepts and relate them to fictional and possible real-life situations. We decided to analyze the film, Lucky Number Slevin to determine how class and power, race and ethnicity, and gender and sexual orientation are displayed in a Hollywood movie. The main goal for the paper is to be able to get a better understanding of the main concepts of sociology, and how they can easily be related to a major Hollywood picture. The film is set in New York City where there are two major crime bosses that rule the criminal world. These two men are The Boss, and The Rabbi. They are former partners that had a massive falling out 20 years prior that caused them to go into seclusion for their safety from one another. Slevin seems to be a man that is in the wrong place at the wrong time, ending up doing dirty work for The Boss and repaying another man’s debt to the Rabbi. In the end Slevin was working with Mr. Goodkat to overthrow the two crime bosses and get revenge for his father’s death. By looking at Lucky Number Slevin, we analyze each concept separately and operationalize each. The breakdown of the paper was set so that Alexandra Polak worked on the topics of Gender and Sexual Orientation, Ahmed El Najmi analyzed the concepts of Race and Ethnicity, then Ian Ladouceur looked at the ideas of Class and Power. First item looked at was Class and Power, then Race and Ethnicity, and concluded with Gender and Sexual Orientation....
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...the dress of its people. From the fashionable silhouettes of the 1920’s to the colorful 60’s, hip-hop look of 90’s up to the modern twist of today, social change and change in fashion has, in theory and practice, been linked. According to ask.com, Fashion can be defined as a prevalent style by a particular group at a particular time, and, therefore, may be linked to a specific cultural and historical context in which there is general acceptance of a given style or look Change in fashion was a direct result of class struggle or that it resulted from the need for the elite to maintain their distinction from and superiority over the masses. This, then, produced a “trickle-down” effect (Kaiser, the Social Psychology of Clothing) whereby the elite were constantly adopting new styles in order to maintain their distinction once the lower classes began to imitate them. In the past, it was rare for the poor to have new clothing, making it a most valued possession if they have one. Cloth even became a product of such great value that it became its own form of currency and was used as payment for services. There was also a tendency for social classes to imitate those directly above them in order to move up the social ladder and to be accepted. Throughout history the tensions and societal relationships that exist between different social groups has been reflected in their dress. Even today, fashion continues to impact the society's views on status through the clothes and adornments that...
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...goods (machinery) to produce consumer goods Overvalued exchange rate made commodity exports artificially expensive and therefore less competitive in the international market - agricultural production and its social consequencs: agricultural production stagnated rural wages declined –migration to the cities migrants resided in urban slums increase in the size of the informal sector Exhaustion of the first stage - limited dynamism 1st stage: production stage : substitution industrialization light industries- the easy phase required little technologies most financed by domestic business 2nd stage: deepening of industrialization required more sophisticated technology and know-how domestic business (main loser) could not finance the second stage multinational corporations were invited to invest in Latin American tensions within populist multi-class coalition Inflation Erodes the purchasing power of currency Affects the poor, who can’t store their wealth in assets that do not lose their value (property) A highly organized and politically mobilized working class demands wage increase forcing the government to print more money -> bottlenecks Indebtedness FOREIGN DEBT ISI required massive state spending (subsidies for business, wages&social welfare for works Severe imbalances in balance of payments Demands for increasing wages Balance of payments difficulties Export revenues could not finance the capital needed for imports of machinery Export...
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...refs.html >> Version of Record - Feb 13, 2007 What is This? Downloaded from tre.sagepub.com at Templeman Lib/The Librarian on January 28, 2013 . . TRE Individual choice and unequal participation in higher education k ri st i n vo i g t Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, UK a b s t rac t Does the unequal participation of non-traditional students in higher education indicate social injustice, even if it can be traced back to individuals’ choices? Drawing on luck egalitarian approaches, this article suggests that an answer to this question must take into account the effects of unequal brute luck on educational choices. I use a framework based on expected utility theory to analyse qualitative studies on educational choice.This reveals a variety of mechanisms through which differences in background conditions make non-traditional students less likely to apply to university and/or particular institutions; the unequal participation of nontraditional students in higher education remains a problem of social justice. k e y w o r d s choice, egalitarianism, equality, higher education 1 introduction It is an important...
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...AUSTEN’S PERSUASION Abstract This essay analyzes how issues related to money and social class are presented in Jane Austen’s Persuasion . The method used will be a close reading as well as aspects of Marxist literary criticism, a theory that will be presented in the second chapter. Background information about the author and her time will then be given in the third chapter. In chapter four, the character of Sir Walter Elliot will be analyzed, in chapter five Elizabeth Elliot, and in chapter six William Elliot. Some of the other characters will be analyzed, more briefly, in the seventh chapter. Conclusions will then be drawn in the eighth and final chapter. 1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 2. Theory and method .............................................................................. 2.1 Close reading ............................................................................................ 2.2 Marxist literary criticism ................................................................................ 3. Background .......................................................................................... 3.1 Jane Austen and her time ......................................................................... 3.1.1 Titles and ranks .......................................................................................... 3.2 Class in Jane Austen’s novels ......................................................
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...Högskolan i Halmstad Sektionen för Humaniora Engelska 61-90 The Importance of Class and Money A Marxist Analysis of Jane Austen’s Persuasion Therese Andersson C-essay Tutor Kristina Hildebrand Abstract This essay analyzes how issues related to money and social class are presented in Jane Austen’s Persuasion. The method used will be a close reading as well as aspects of Marxist literary criticism, a theory that will be presented in the second chapter. Background information about the author and her time will then be given in the third chapter. In chapter four, the character of Sir Walter Elliot will be analyzed, in chapter five Elizabeth Elliot, and in chapter six William Elliot. Some of the other characters will be analyzed, more briefly, in the seventh chapter. Conclusions will then be drawn in the eighth and final chapter. 2 Table of contents Abstract.....................................................................................................2 Table of contents.......................................................................................3 1. Introduction.........................................................................................4 2. Theory and method..............................................................................5 2.1 Close reading............................................................................................5 2.2 Marxist literary criticism................................................
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...The American Class System Class system is a universal phenomenon. It is prevalent in all modern and complex social systems. A social class is essentially a status group. Class is also related to status dimension. Status groups are composed of persons having the same life style and in joining similar social honor. Thus, status consciousness separates the individuals both physically and psychologically. Society has developed the concept of social class to group people into a set hierarchical social categories based on economic, political, and socio-economic status. America is a place where all people are supposed to be equal, but social class has created divisions in our society. Unfortunately social class has become the backbone of American society and everyone is considered to belong to either the upper, middle, or lower class. First, we'll start at the top of the hierarchy. Individuals who are considered to be members of the upper class are the owners of the means of production and most of the country's private wealth. Many are important government officials, large business owners, or top executives that have a great deal of income and/or wealth. It is important to know the difference between income and wealth, as they are two distinct concepts. They are also a big part of determining social status. Income is salary and/or other money that is regularly received, where wealth is the total value of all assets, minus outstanding debts. In other words, income is what...
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...are related to the social and gregarious nature of humans and the need for companionship. Cognitive Dissonance: A lack of consistency or harmony among an individual’s various cognitions, or attitudes and beliefs, after a decision has been made—that is, the individual has doubts and second thoughts about the choice made. Esteem needs: These needs consist of both the need for the self-awareness of importance to others (self-esteem) and actual esteem from others. Experiential Sources: Experiential sources refer to handling, examining, and perhaps trying the product while shopping. Family Life Cycle: It has been recognized that the needs, income, assets, debts, and expenditure patterns change over the course of what is called the family life cycle. Group Sources: A common source of information for purchase decisions comes from communication with other people, such as family, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Internal Sources: In most cases the individual has had some previous experience in dealing with a particular need. Limited Decision: Limited decision-making involves some time and effort searching for and comparing alternatives. Lower Americans: Lower Americans comprise 16 percent of the population and are as diverse in values and consumption goals as are other social levels. Some members of this group are prone to every form of instant gratification known to humankind when the money is available. Middle Class: The middle class comprises 34 percent...
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...Learning Objective 8.1-8.5 8.1 There are three components of social class. First there is our property which is what we own such as real estate, land, cars, stocks, bonds, businesses, and bank accounts. Second, there is power which is when a person has the ability to have things done their way even though others may not agree. It allows one to make big decisions in society. Third, there is prestige where regard or respect is given to what they do as a career, and what they accomplish in life. Wealth is what you are worth which includes everything you own after paying off debts, and income is what you make from various sources such as income from one’s wages, and interest from bank accounts. Property and income are distributed the same way,...
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...‘According to Forestier, women are “the quickest way to succeed.” Do you agree?’ By Jackson Green: Throughout “Bel Ami,” women are presented as the quickest route to gaining access to the upper class. Duroy is depicted most commonly utilizing the high profile positions of upper-class Parisian women in order to climb in social status. Furthermore, Forestier is living proof that women can act as directs route to higher social and professional positions. This is compounded further by women’s deep desire for passionate love, as this desire weakens their ability to resist the manipulative charms employed by men, which make it easier for them to cultivate relationships and climb the social ladder. However, while women can aid a man’s venture up the Parisian hierarchy, they can also act as hindrances that limit a man’s ability to progress in wealth and stature. Initially, Duroy approached his goal of rising in social stature ethically, trying to work through the journalistic ranks at La Vie Francais, yet once informed of the social benefits of utilizing women, he is quickly depicted rising in social stature. Initially, Duroy is depicted feeling imprisoned in his, “cramped partly job as a reporter,” which are compounded by his growing fears of being, “without a possibility of escape.” Likewise, Duroy comes to realize that he his journalistically incompetent, which will limit his ability to progress in French society. These factors combine to leave Duroy, imprisoned in his mundane...
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...member of the elite class, blames the mistake of destiny for her place in society. She longs to live a life of leisure and luxury, but this urge to appear wealthy ultimately makes her and her husband worse of financially than they were before. With the use of irony, Maupassant illustrates how excessive pride can mangle and deteriorate the lives of people who obsess over wealth and physical appearances. Guy de Maupassant uses symbolism to describe a deeper meaning behind the fake necklace, which would be the division between appearance and reality. In “The Necklace,” it is clear to the readers that Mathilde cannot come to terms with her place in the middle class. She’s the wife to a clerk, who can provide her with a modest lifestyle. Although she is aware that she cannot escape this position, she refuses to accept it. The first instance of irony is when Mathilde begins to daydream and fanaticize. She is a “pretty and charming” girl who thinks that she is “born for all the delicacies and all the luxuries.” Destiny however placed her in the middle class, where she cannot afford these materialistic items. The only way she can be a part of a more elite class was through her own imagination. She dreams of “the silent antechambers hung with Oriental tapestry, lit by tall bronze candelabra” (Maupassant 554) and of “long salons fitted up with ancient silk.” (Maupassant 554) However, Mathilde fails to recognize that her thoughts make her more displeased with her current social status in real...
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...I would consider my family to be a middle-class. My parents have both worked very hard throughout their twenty-four-year marriage to get to where they are now. I would consider us to be middle class based on the household income plus how much debt my family owes. Although my parent’s income raises us in social class, if there was to be a loss in income due to job loss, it would be a devastating blow to our “lifestyle”. This is due to the use of credit cards and loans to keep our status at where we think it should be. We have used these credit conveniences to keep us from being inconvenienced by not having the items we have become accustomed to having. The political side of our family is a house divided. My mother and sister lean to the left...
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...issues that this inequality creates in society. The essay will then give an overview of my current position in society and the market and I will then discuss some issues and future implications of income inequality and how they will shape the consumption of work, goods and services by my family and myself. This section will also consider how the psychological aspects of consumption could be affected by income inequality and deal with the social ramifications of this inequality and look at any possible changes to our consumption from a cultural sense. This essay will argue that income inequality can have significant potential to change the future consumption of work, goods and services by myself and my family. The concept of income inequality is not new it has been discussed by politicians and economists for a number of years if not centuries, as the old adage says ‘the rich get richer the poor get poorer’. The ministry of social development defines it as, “The extent of disparity between high income and low income households” (Ministry of Social Development, 2010) and it essentially deals with the fact that the majority of the wealth in New Zealand resides with a minority of the people. In recent years there has been a large amount of press about this issue, “Anger over income inequality has already sparked popular backlash in the form of Occupy Wall Street and other similar demonstrations.” (Gore, 2013, para. 3). This garnered a lot of press because every country has a large...
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