Component 3 Section A: social class as a form of differentiation, including how class is defined and measured, the debate over the changing class structure (the underclass, the death of class), and the impact of class on life chances.

What this dot point is asking

This statement is about social class as a form of differentiation: how class is defined and measured, the debate over the changing class structure (the underclass, the "death of class"), and the continuing impact of class on life chances. The central skill is distinguishing class identity (which may have weakened) from class as a determinant of life chances (which remains powerful).

The answer

Defining and measuring class

Class is defined differently by the perspectives: Marxists by the ownership of the means of production (owners versus workers), Weberians by market position (skills and qualifications). It is measured in official statistics chiefly by occupation, using scales such as the NS-SEC (National Statistics Socio-economic Classification), which groups jobs into classes. Occupation is used because it correlates with income, education and lifestyle, though it misses the very wealthy (who may not work) and the non-employed.

The changing class structure debate

Sociologists debate whether class is declining or changing:

• Embourgeoisement: the claim that affluent manual workers were becoming middle class. The Affluent Worker study (Goldthorpe and Lockwood) found they remained distinct, with an instrumental (money-focused) attitude to work rather than middle-class values, so the thesis was largely rejected.
• The underclass: the New Right and Murray argue a welfare-dependent underclass has formed at the bottom, cut off from work and mainstream values. Critics argue this blames the victim and the "underclass" simply reflects structural poverty.
• The death of class: postmodernists and others argue class identity has fragmented, and consumption, lifestyle and identity now matter more than class position in shaping how people see themselves.

Class and life chances

Despite these debates, class still strongly shapes life chances:

• Health and mortality: lower-class groups have shorter life expectancy and worse health.
• Education: attainment is strongly patterned by class (the class topic in the Education option).
• Income, wealth and housing: all track class closely.

The crucial distinction is between class identity (a sense of belonging to a class, which may have weakened) and class as a structural determinant of life chances (which remains central). Most sociologists conclude the death of class is exaggerated: class still powerfully predicts outcomes even if fewer people identify strongly with a class.

Examples in context

A strong answer separates class identity from class as a determinant of life chances, evaluates the embourgeoisement, underclass and death of class theses, and uses life-chances evidence to show class still matters.

Try this

Q1. Explain what the 'embourgeoisement' thesis claimed and why it was challenged. [6 marks]

• What the marker wants. A definition and evaluation (AO1 and AO2): embourgeoisement claimed affluent manual workers were becoming middle class, but the Affluent Worker study found they remained distinct with an instrumental attitude to work, so the thesis was largely rejected.

Q2. Analyse two ways in which social class affects life chances. [12 marks]

• Cue. Two developed points chosen from health and mortality (lower-class groups have shorter life expectancy), educational attainment (strongly patterned by class), and income, wealth and housing, each explained and linked to the idea that class shapes a person's chances of obtaining valued things.