Functionalist theory: Meritocracy - talent and hard work is rewarded, Men and women are biologically pre-disposed to certain roles, Ethnic inequality encourages assimilation, It is mutally beneficial for the old to retire...provides jobs for the next generation, young people don't have enough experience yet, Marxist theory: women as housewives benefits capitalism because they can look after the worker and have lots of children (the next generation of workers), Racism keeps the workers divided so they don't unite, The young and the old don't contribute to Capitalism as much and it helps to keep them as a reserve army of labour, If you have money, you have more opportunities, Weberian theory: Women are seen to have lower social honour due to lack of strength, and some argue intelligence, Ethnic minorities are less likely to be involved in politics, and may have English as a second language etc, The old are not respected in our society - in some others they don't experience inequality, Working class people have lack of money but also don't have cultural capital and respect associated with this, Feminist theory: Women are controlled by men and unequal in all walks of life, Ethnic minority women are even more unequal than white women, Older and younger women have more inequality than older and younger men, There is an intersection of class and gender which leads to inequality, New Right theory: There are more single parent families in ethnic minorities and they are more likely to claim benefits, The nuclear family is the best form of family - so there should be gender inequality to promote this type of family, The underclass are lazy due to the nanny state - they have chosen to be unequal, In the nuclear family there are age approproate roles, the young and the old should be unequal due to their roles,

Perspectives on inequality

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