Introduction
A distinctive feature of modern society – its differences along national, social, demographic, class, gender, religious, material and many other lines – has given rise to social inequality. Earlier it was manifested in the form of violence against the individual, today it is not so manifest; nevertheless, the problem of social inequality takes place. Moreover, the forms that social inequality takes today cannot be completely eradicated. Of course, people differ in age, gender, race, intelligence, and many other ways. Differences between people that are caused by their physiological and mental characteristics are called natural differences.
Social differences, that is, those that are caused by social factors, such as way of life, social role in society, division of labor, lead to differences in income levels, in the possession of different amounts of property, power, prestige, education, achieving a better social status. It is the different levels of social development that become the basis for social inequality. This phenomenon exists today, it has taken place, only its forms are modified (Bice & Leavitt & Wisdom, 2019). Therefore, today it seems important to find out whether it is possible to solve this problem, how society and business can solve it, how politicians can influence the problem of social inequality and many others.
Class inequality inherently implies different opportunities and unequal access to available public and material goods. It is necessary to analyze such goods and how they affect the formation of inequality. The first and central aspect is income. In conclusion, this means the individual’s wages, which are paid for labor and resources expended. There is a direct link between the amount of income and the level in the hierarchy of society. As an example, the lower a person’s income, the lower the social class. Another aspect reveals education, which implies a mix of knowledge, abilities and skills, as well as a certain level of education (Bice & Leavitt & Wisdom, 2019). Using the example, it is understandable that a professor is assigned a higher social class than a schoolboy and a student based on their level of education. The next factor is power – the ability of an individual to impose his worldview, point of view on the wider population, regardless of their wishes (Bice & Leavitt & Wisdom, 2019). The level of power is measured by the number of people it extends to. The last aspect can be defined as prestige – it is the position in society and its assessment, which was formed on the basis of public opinion.
Functioning, the development of social relations are possible only under the condition of a division of labor. In this situation, each social group carries out the solution of tasks vital for the whole society. Some are engaged in the creation and production of material goods, while the activities of others are aimed at the creation of spiritual values (Bice & Leavitt & Wisdom, 2019). There also needs to be a governing layer, which will control the activities of the first two – hence the third.
The combination of all three of these human activities is simply necessary for the successful functioning of society. Some are the most important and some the least important. Thus, on the basis of hierarchies of functions, a hierarchy of classes and the strata that perform them emerges. It is based on observations of the actions, the behavior of specific individuals. Each person who occupies a certain place in society automatically acquires his status. Hence the view that social inequality is, first of all, inequality of status. It stems both from the ability of individuals to fulfill a certain role and from the opportunities that allow a person to achieve a certain position in society. In order for an individual to fulfill a particular social role, he or she must possess certain skills, abilities, and qualities. Possibilities that allow a person to achieve a certain position in society are, for example, ownership of property, capital, being from a well-known and wealthy family, belonging to a high class or political power.
It is worth mentioning the instability resulting from class inequality:
- Uncertainty about one’s future, as well as about the stability of the position in which the individual now finds himself;
- Suspension of production due to dissatisfaction on the part of various segments of the population, leading to a lack of production for others;
- The growth of social tensions, which can lead to such consequences as riots, social conflicts;
- Lack of real social elevators, which will allow to move up the social ladder both from the bottom to the top, and vice versa – from top to bottom;
- Psychological pressure due to the feeling of unpredictability of the future, the lack of clear predictions for further development (Gibbon & Hurst & Nurse, 2019).
Class inequality, in addition to the above manifestations of instability, entails the dependence of some classes on others. This applies most often to the lower and poorer classes, whose fortunes, jobs, and incomes depend on tycoons, employers, and politicians. For example, changes in personnel or financial policies directly affect the wages and therefore the quality of life of the middle class. From this analogy come consequences for the health, morbidity, and mental state of citizens (Gibbon & Hurst & Nurse, 2019). First, drugs cost a price, and the more complex the disease, the more expensive the drugs. For the upper class, the rich have access to all medicines and treatments because of their financial situation. Conversely, it is more difficult for the middle or poor class to afford quality treatment, even though their lifestyles tend to be more unhealthy (Gibbon & Hurst & Nurse, 2019). This can be explained by overwork, the amount of stress, unhealthy habits and the burden of work to double their needs. This leads to problems with the mental health of individuals, because when wages or opportunities are low, workers work harder, which leads to burnout, depression or a mid-life crisis (Gibbon & Hurst & Nurse, 2019). Thus, class inequality generates many negative consequences, especially for those who are not at the top of the social hierarchy.
Empirical Analysis
Social inequality and its study is the subject matter of sociology. It is directly related to the study of social structure and stratification. The most important criteria of social stratification are such factors as income and related factors as profession, education, participation in power, and social prestige. As a result, individuals and groups, occupying unequal positions, form a system of social inequality (Jarman & Lambert, 2018). In general terms, inequality consists in people’s unequal access to the scarce resources of society and their unequal distribution among different strata and groups. In science, there is a debate about the relationship between social structure and social stratification, and especially about the relationship between the vertical and horizontal sections of social stratification (Jarman & Lambert, 2018). Despite the ambiguous interpretation of these phenomena in domestic sociology, it should be noted that all these social phenomena are systems of social order, organized hierarchies, and, therefore, in one way or another, they always express inequality.
In one form or another, they always express inequality. Therefore, by characterizing historical types and different models of stratification, thereby reveal types of social inequality and the degree of their depth in a particular society (Lambert & Griffiths, 2018). Thus, in traditional society, the main type was considered class inequality. It was replaced by class inequality, which accumulates various factors and forms of manifestation, including material and property inequality. When comparing class and material inequalities, these two types of inequalities intersect and “interact,” with material differences being the most important class-forming feature (Lambert & Griffiths, 2018). These circumstances are taken into account by domestic sociologists in social inequality research methodology. In the modern era, the main types of social inequality are: national, gender, age discrimination, unequal access to education and material inequality, which has various manifestations, including class differences and economic exploitation (Lambert & Griffiths, 2018). Other manifestations of inequality in modern societies are also possible. It is distinguished mainly by the criterion of income, it characterizes not only the standard of living, but also the quality, way and style of life associated with it, as well as the scale of claims and the level of opportunities of citizens.
Thus, the empirical analysis revealed that, in general, income inequality of the population is caused by two reasons – inequality of effort and inequality of starting opportunities. Income inequality caused by inequality of effort is socially acceptable and can have a positive effect on economic growth. “Bad” inequality arises when a person’s starting opportunities, rather than effort, largely determine their income (Lambert & Griffiths, 2018). Starting opportunities in this case are those factors that a person cannot influence – nationality, race, gender, income of the parental family. Income inequality of the population, resulting from inequality of opportunities, leads to the inefficient use of human capital and slows economic growth, and can be a source of social instability.
K. Marx’s Theory
Conducting a general description of K. Marx’s theory of social conflict, it should be noted the scientist’s great contribution to the development of the doctrine of social contradictions, which was based on the thesis shared by Marx about the dialectical nature of humanity’s historical development. Thus, according to K. Marx, the dialectical principle of the unity and struggle of opposites underlies the entire social structure, which predetermines the natural, objective nature of conflicts in social life (Fuchs, 2019). In turn, K. Marx saw the positive value of social conflicts in the fact that within them there is a synthesis of polar opposite interests of different social actors, which ultimately serves as the main source of changes occurring in social systems.
The degree of intensity of social conflicts, especially those that develop between dominant and subordinate actors, is directly related to the degree of inequity in the distribution of scarce resources within society. In other words, the more unequal the access to social goods, the deeper the conflict and crisis processes (Fuchs, 2019). The degree of social tension depends on the depth of subordinate social groups’ awareness of their collective interests – as soon as the corresponding awareness becomes sufficient for active action, large-scale social conflicts and revolutions are inevitable (Fuchs, 2019). As noted above, the probability of large-scale, intensive conflicts depends on the degree of subordinate classes’ awareness of their true collective interests. Thus the probability and possibility of corresponding awareness depend on: degree of concentration of society members in subordinated social groups, their access to means of mass communication, education, ability to develop by such groups their own ideology, different from ideology of ruling elites (Fuchs, 2019). Having realized illegality of existing model of social benefits distribution, having formed own ideology and having consolidated around it, society will be capable to open confrontation with ruling groups in form of social revolution, as the most important of all social conflicts (Paradeise, 2020). Based on the analysis of the given elements of K. Marx’s theory of conflict, the conclusion is that it is mainly aimed at describing the causes, conditions and consequences of social conflicts in which society as a whole finds itself involved. However, it seems that the relevant theses can also be applied to smaller social groups, for example, at the level of a labor collective or a separate organization (Paradeise, 2020). In addition, within the framework of the theory of social conflict, C. Mark systematized and described the main causes of social conflict:
- A shortage of material goods, resources, and power in society, the severity of which is multiplied by the unreasonable and unjust distribution of the relevant resources in society;
- Violent forms of social conflicts are most often caused by a lack of coherence of interests between subordinate and leading social groups;
Causes and conditions of positive social conflicts, those that lead to the relief of social tensions and certain positive consequences for large social groups, are the high level of organization of subordinate social groups and their awareness of their own interests, goals and values (Fuchs, 2019).
Comparative Analysis of Arguments of Marx’s Theory and Empirical Approach
The analysis of special literature allows to conclude that the main positive sides of the social conflict theory described in the works of K. Marx are their unique nature, the reliance on dialectical foundations of the existence of the world, as well as the fact that the theory generalized and studied specific historical experience, formation, increase, escalation and resolution of specific conflict situations that existed at different times in different peoples. At the same time, it is necessary to notice the weaknesses of the relevant concept, including:
The assessment of any social conflict, including such a conflict, in which broad layers of society are involved, is carried out by Marx exclusively on the basis and in the context of the significance of such a conflict for the political sphere of society. Focusing on large-scale social conflicts, K. Marx did not conduct a theoretical analysis of the behavior of subjects of social conflicts, and other causes of relevant contradictions were not identified (Jarman & Lambert, 2018). While the complexity and diversity of social relations clearly indicate that conflicts in society can arise not only in connection with the desire to possess scarce resources.
It is important to emphasize that empirical analysis also allows to conclude that the key cause of social inequality is an economic factor. Nevertheless, it is not the only one, since racial discrimination, gender prejudice, and ageism are all relevant. These aspects do not depend directly on the economic position of the individual, so in a changing society other reasons must also be taken into account. Another important difference between Marx’s theory and the empirical approach is that social inequality cannot always be considered as a conflict. The fact is that social mobility elevators allow individuals to change their position, develop prestige, experience, and improve the quality of education. For example, a student who works as a waiter because he needs the extra money is in a lower class relative to his teachers or guests in the restaurant. Nevertheless, one does not observe a conflict in the student’s activities, because this is a forced measure for the period of graduation, specific knowledge, and the search for a more prestigious job.
Nevertheless, no contradictions between Marx’s theory and the empirical approach were found. This means that these approaches are not contradictory and allow their combined use. The fact is that Marx’s theory describes the economic component of class inequality to the fullest extent and explains the conflicting nature of this social construction. At the same time, the empirical approach considers other aspects of this sociological phenomenon without contradicting the aforementioned theory. Consequently, combined use in the analysis and consideration of social inequality, as well as in the search for solutions to this phenomenon, can be considered most effective. In addition, the empirical method is inferior to Marx’s theory in economic research for the reasons that some of the arguments are axioms, but not the tangible evidence on which the approach is based. Therefore, the combination of the two approaches allows us to expand the aspects of the study under consideration in order to achieve the most accurate result.
References
Bice, C., Leavitt, L., and Wisdom, S. (2019). Handbook of research on social inequality and education. IGI Global.
Fuchs, C. (2019). Marxism. Karl Marx’s fifteen key concepts for cultural and communication studies. Taylor & Francis.
Gibbon, H. M. F., Hurst, C. E., and Nurse, A. M. (2019). Social inequality. Forms, causes, and consequences. Taylor & Francis.
Jarman, J., and Lambert, P. (2018). Exploring social inequality in the 21st century. New approaches, new tools, and policy opportunities. Taylor & Francis.
Lambert, P., and, Griffiths, D. (2018). Social inequalities and occupational stratification. Methods and concepts in the analysis of social distance. Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Paradeise, C. (2020). Marxism. The inner dialogues. Taylor & Francis.