Social Class Inequality & Life Chances (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Social class inequality & life chances

Social class inequality

• Social class inequality refers to unequal access to wealth, income, power and opportunities between different social groups

• People from higher social classes often enjoy greater advantages:

  • Better education

  • Higher-paid jobs

  • Better health and living standards

• Working-class people are more likely to experience poverty, insecurity, and limited life chances

• Sociologists study how class background shapes success, well-being and opportunity in areas like education, work, health, and crime

Life chances

• According to Max Weber, life chances are the opportunities people have to improve their quality of life

• This includes chances to access:

  • education

  • health

  • income

  • housing

• People born into higher social classes start life with more advantages

• Those from lower classes face barriers that limit opportunities

Education

• Education is one of the main ways class inequality is reproduced

• Working-class children are less likely to achieve high GCSE grades or attend university

• Middle-class families benefit from:

  • cultural capital (Bourdieu): knowledge, language and values rewarded by schools

  • economic capital: ability to afford tutoring, books and extracurricular activities

  • social capital: networks that open doors to opportunities

• The Sutton Trust (2016) found that:

  • 75% of top lawyers, 60% of doctors and 50% of journalists were privately educated

  • Only 7% of UK students attend private schools

• This shows that privilege and class advantage are passed on across generations

• Life chances consequence:

  • Middle-class children are more likely to achieve good grades and access high-status jobs

  • Working-class students often lack support and resources, limiting future opportunities

Work and employment

• Middle- and upper-class people are more likely to have secure, professional and well-paid jobs

• Working-class people are concentrated in manual, temporary or insecure work

• Lack of job security leads to:

  • lower income and savings

  • fewer qualifications and training opportunities

  • greater risk of redundancy

• The “old boys’ network”: connections from elite schools and universities, e.g. Eton, Oxford and Cambridge, help to maintain class privilege

  • Members use these connections to secure jobs and promotions and maintain influence and control in politics, law, and business, e.g.:

    • 19 British Prime Ministers attended Eton

    • around one-third of MPs in 2015 were privately educated

• Life chances consequence:

  • Social connections and privilege give upper-class people access to exclusive opportunities and promotions, while working-class people face limited mobility and low job security

Income and wealth

• Wealth includes assets such as property, savings, investments — not just wages

• The richest 10% of people own far more than the poorest 50%

• Credit Suisse (2014) found that wealth inequality in the UK is greater than in France or Germany

• Inheritance plays a major role:

  • Wealthy families pass on property and savings

  • Working-class families often can’t afford to buy homes or invest in children’s futures

• Life chances consequence:

  • Inheritance and class privilege mean that wealth is reproduced rather than earned, giving the rich lifelong security and keeping the poor disadvantaged.

Health and life expectancy

• Social class has a strong impact on physical and mental health and life expectancy

• Working-class people are more likely to:

  • live in poor-quality housing

  • have limited access to healthy food and healthcare

  • work in dangerous or physically demanding jobs

• The Nursing Times (2015) reported that income and wealth are key predictors of health and life expectancy

• Stress, insecurity and poor living conditions cause higher illness rates and shorter lifespans

• Life chances consequence:

  • Economic disadvantage directly limits health and longevity — the poorer you are, the shorter and less healthy your life is likely to be

Crime and justice

• Working-class people are more likely to be convicted of crime — but also more likely to be victims of crime

• Middle- and upper-class offenders often avoid punishment for white-collar crimes like fraud or tax evasion

• Marxists argue:

  • the justice system protects ruling-class interests

  • street crime is punished more harshly than corporate crime

• Life chances consequence:

  • Criminalisation of poverty traps many working-class people in cycles of disadvantage, while the wealthy often avoid serious consequences

Family life and class

• Family background plays a major role in shaping life chances

• It is thought that middle-class parents provide more support through:

  • encouragement and academic help

  • financial stability

  • access to cultural and social capital

• Working-class families may face:

  • financial pressure

  • limited time and resources

  • less access to advice and opportunities

• Life chances consequence:

  • Middle-class children benefit from supportive, resource-rich environments, while working-class families struggle to offer the same advantages

Media and class stereotypes

• The working class often face negative media stereotypes

  • Owen Jones (2011), in the book Chavs argues that the media portrays working-class people as lazy, uneducated and criminal

• This creates moral panic and justifies inequality

• It also leads to discrimination in education, work and housing

• Life chances consequence:

  • Media prejudice reduces confidence, reinforces stigma and makes it harder for working-class people to access fair opportunities

Sociological perspectives on class, inequality and life chances

New Right

• New Right sociologists, such as Peter Saunders, argue that inequality in life chances is natural, necessary, and beneficial:

  • It rewards talent and effort, motivating people to work hard

  • The rich create jobs and drive economic growth

  • Inequality encourages competition and self-reliance

  • Welfare dependency discourages responsibility and ambition

• He claimed that middle-class children succeed because they work harder and have more ability — not because of privilege

• However, critics argue that Saunders underestimates how class background and family privilege affect opportunities

Marxism

• Marxist sociologists strongly oppose the New Right view

• They argue that inequality is structural, not based on talent or effort

• Under capitalism, the bourgeoisie own and control the means of production, exploiting the proletariat for profit

• Inequality is maintained through:

  • ideological control: the media and education system teach that inequality is fair

  • economic control: wages are kept low while corporate profits rise

  • political power: elites influence laws and taxation to protect their wealth

• The gap between rich and poor is widening, as the wealthy gain from tax reliefs, private education, and inherited assets

• Working-class families continue to struggle with low pay, job insecurity, and reduced access to public services

• Marxists see inequality as a consequence of exploitation, not a reflection of merit or ability

Is inequality still important today?

• Yes — social class inequalities remain deeply rooted in modern Britain

  • Working-class people are still under-represented in politics, the media, and professional careers

  • Education, health, and income are strongly linked to class background

  • Class privilege continues to determine life chances

• However, New Right thinkers argue that inequality is motivational, not harmful, and that opportunities exist for those who work hard

• Most sociologists agree that while opportunities have increased, outcomes remain unequal, showing that class still matters in shaping people’s lives