SOCIO-120 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: False Consciousness, Class Consciousness, Proletariat
Document Summary
Social class and social status are important. Both shape our life chances and opportunities. E. g. neighbourhoods we grow up in, schools we attend, jobs we get. Marx described capitalism as the economic system in which businesses are privately owned and goods are sold on the market for profit. Marx argued that capitalism is founded on internal tensions that make it unsustainable. There is a power differential between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Each class has different wants and interests: the bourgeoisie wants to make as much money as possible, the proletariat wants a good wage and safe working conditions. False consciousness refers to a willingness to believe in ideologies that support the ruling class but are actually disadvantageous to working-class interests. The ideologies of individualism and meritocracy support and serve the interests of the ruling class. Class consciousness refers to people"s beliefs regarding their social class and class interests. Weber takes a different approach to conceptualizing inequality.
