Preview

The Influence of Social Class on Communication

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2101 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Influence of Social Class on Communication
EXPLAIN THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS ON COMMUNICATION
Ways of Determining Social Class
The determination of social class is a topic which has been the subject of several studies:-

Karl Marx (1818-1883) believed that in all stratified societies, there are two major social groups, a ruling class and a subject class, the bourgeoisies and the proletariat.
These relations involve exploitation and domination of one class over another
(Haralambos 2000 pg 37)
Marx argued that the structure of society was based around ongoing conflict, the more antagonistic the better and he was convinced that Capitalists would collapse under the weight of their own contradiction and would be replaced by Feudalism and Communism. Marxists still believe that we live in a two class society.

Auguste Comte (1798-1857) was a French Philosopher who believed that society had progressed through a number of evolutionary stages and feared the social integration of pre industrial society was breaking down and wanted to make sure the Capitalist Class remained dominant.
(http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Philosophy/Comte.htm)
Max Weber (1864-1920) saw class in economic terms between those who own the means of production and those who don't and that social stratification results from a struggle for scarce resources in society, not only economic resources but prestige and political power as well.
Weber distinguished that there were four class groupings in a capitalist society.
1. The propertied upper class
2. The property less white collared class
3. The petty bourgeoisie [e.g. shopkeepers]
4. Manuel working class
(Haralambos 2000 pg 37)
Weber also observed that there were different status groups within a class:
Weber's Tripartite Model
Class: economic struggles over interests in the market
Status: groups efforts at closure, exclusion or usurpation, to maximise their prestige or social standing
Party: Political



Bibliography: Bernstein B Sociology Themes and Perspectives Haralambos and Holborn Student Handbook Accompanies the 6th Edition 2004 Collins 6th Edition Pg158 Comte Auguste http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Philosophy/Comte.htm) Gaine and George (1999) Haralambos and Holborn Student Handbook Accompanies the 6th Edition 2004 Collins 6th Edition Pg158 Marx K Sociology Themes and Perspectives Haralambos and Holborn 2000 Collins 5th Edition Pg33 Newspaper Marketing Agency www.nmuak.co.uk The Registers General A-E Classification Sweeney/Etherington/Lewis et al (2003) Sociology and Scotland: Introduction Unity Publications. Young and Rubican (The Guardian 21/09/1998) Weber M Sociology Themes and Perspectives Haralambos and Holborn 2000 Collins 5th Edition Pg37

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Today in society as many people know there are many ways to categorize people into different “social classes.” There has been many people who have tried and had labels for people in each “social class.” However, Karl Marx and Max Weber are well known in sociology classes for having certain criteria to classify people into their classes. We see that Both Marx and Weber has offered theoretical descriptions of how people are stratified into “social classes.”…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marx then goes into the first part of the body of his manifesto entitled "Bourgeois and Proletarians." In this part, he goes into how society started communal but then became more unequal as time went on. Systems such as Feudalism, Mercantilism, and Capitalism benefited from the use of exploitation. He first introduces the idea that economic concerns of a nation drive history, and that the struggle between the rich bourgeoisie and the hard working proletariat would eventually lead to Communism. He goes on and on about how the bourgeois have always got what they wanted. Marx reflected more on the negatives committed by the bourgeois than the positives. He states the bourgeoisie "has agglomerated population, centralized means of production, and has concentrated property in a few hands." (Marx, p.8) He then describes the proletarians, or the labor class, and how they were formed, how they have suffered, and how they must overcome their struggles. Marx declares that this “dangerous class,” the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution." (Marx, p.15) This began an inevitable revolution where the proletariats take over and dethrone the bourgeoisie.…

    • 1048 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Alex De Tocqueville Analysis

    • 2702 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Karl Marx and Frederick Engels are well known for their contributions to socio-economics which was displayed in their writing of The Communist Manifesto. Marx and Engels wanted society to establish a classless system in which the proletariat would rise up over the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie represented the ruling class which had been established as a result of the failed system of feudalism in the 1800s. Marx believed that the bourgeoisie could rule only so long as it best represented the economically productive forces of society and that when it ceased to do so it would be destroyed and replaced and eventually this cycle would continue until there was a virtually classless society. In his writing Marx argues that the proletariat needs to overtake the bourgeoisie by means of a social revolution. He believes that due to Industrialism the proletariats have learned how to work together and will thus untie to overthrow the bourgeoisie. The proletariats had become the productive class, even though they…

    • 2702 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marx believed that all humans were radical and that this directly influenced their organization of government. Similarly, to Locke, Marx classified society into two groups; The Bourgeois and The Proletarians. Marx believed that a ruling class was inevitable, “we find almost everywhere a complicated arrangement of society into various orders, a manifold of gradation of social ranks,” (Marx 9). All though, Marx sees no way to exist without social ranks, he also believes that in this case the bourgeois will join the proletarians in living a good life, “a portion of the bourgeoisie goes over to the proletariat, and in particular, a portion of the bourgeoisie ideologists,” (Marx…

    • 1623 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Founded by Karl Marx, Marxism is a school of thought which explores the relationship between the upper and lower classes of society. It was taught through Marxism that the main cause for historical change was disputes between social classes. This social warfare stemmed from the belief that the state, or government, for as long as it has existed, has used its authority to oppress the working masses for the benefit of the wealthy few. The relationship between the proletariats, the working class, and the bourgeoisie, the rich, was posited as one of opposition and conflict. Marx believed that a successful capitalist-run society was impossible and doomed to fail.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social classes based upon a person’s “social position in culture” remain relevant (Social Class, New World Encyclopedia). The upper-class continues to encompass those with an “accumulation of wealth, high income, and education,” while the lower-class remains “at the bottom of the societal status ladder” containing those who have little income and education. The middle class still includes those with “average income and moderate levels of education” (Farooq, 1). Despite about one hundred years, accumulation of wealth still is the chief principle that determines social status.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Instead they argue that social stratification benefits some at the expense of others. Two theorists, Karl Marx and Max Weber, are the primary contributors to this perception. Karl Marx was a German philosopher, sociologist, economist, and revolutionary socialist (Biography). He based his theory on the idea that society has two classes of people: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the holders of the means of manufacturing, like factories and mills, while the proletariat are the workers. Marx argued that the bourgeoisie give proletariats just enough pay to survive, but ultimately the workers are exploited (Plummer).…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Inequality In Australia

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Class is a significant force in all societies, understanding class is crucial if we are to see how groups of people within our society have different experiences. Social stratification refers to the way society is organised within hierarchical layers (Furze,…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    -Robert Van Krieken, Daphne Habibis, Philip Smith, Brett Hutchins, Greg Martin, Karl Martin. (2013) Sociology, 5th edition. Pearson Australia, Frenchs Forest, NSW.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Karl Marx focuses his theory around the two different social classes within a society; the capitalists (who hold majority of the wealth) and the proletarians (the working class). The social conflict theory though can easily be applied to numerous cases including the differential between male in correspondence to female and the differential in white man to minorities. The conflict theory primarily focuses on how certain social patterns benefit certain people (capitalists) while hindering others (proletarians). Karl Marx exerted the idea that revolution was the only way to reform the social structure; that the proletarians needed to realize their position of weakness and revolt against the…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marx believed class struggles had existed throughout history and concluded that because of industrialization, society had dwindled down to two classes: the proletariat (laborers) and the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production). He viewed class struggles and industry as harmful to humanity because they allowed the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletariat.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Karl characterized two main conflicts between class, the capitalist (upper class) who owned the means of production and proletariat (working class) who work but does not owns the means of production but sell their labour power to bourgeoisie (middle class) in return for wages.…

    • 1749 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sociology: Did Class Die?

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Some commentators claim that Britain is becoming a classless society, one where the stamp of class leaves only a faint impression on people’s lives. Before checking whether this statement is true or not, the definition of “class” should be fathomed first. In a broad sense, social class is a collection of similarly placed individuals from a certain social group, who not only share common interests, but also similar lifestyle and cultural identities (Giddens, 2009: 458). Another key phrase supposed to be clear is the “faint impression”, which indicates that the class system now only has little influence on people’s lives. This essay will first introduce three basic theories of social class-Functionalism, Marxism and Weberianism. After examining the class changes in UK, it will discuss the significance of social classes from two opposite views. Finally, an evaluation of class will be conveyed, and question deriving from the first sentence will be answered.…

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Social Class Matters

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Social class, although somewhat illusive in meaning, is one of the most important conceptual discussions among sociologists. Developed in the mid-eighteenth century, originally class was a process to categorize animals, plants, and any natural event not promoted by humans, such as rain, or volcanic action (Nesbit, 2005). However, a French group of intellects called Encylopédistes developed a similar classification system in which they categorized people according to their social and economic positions (Nesbit, 2005). Even though social class can be ambiguous in definition and often demonstrate inequality and discrimination, it is an important subject for every individual because at some point he or she will hold a position in a socially stratified class in society.…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Karl Marx believed that society is based upon a conflict between Bourgeoisies (Ruling class, Upper class) and Proletariat (Working class). Marx believed that the ruling class were exploiting the working class.…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays