Consists of 4 blocks
class structure of global Britain
elites in global Britain
the haves and the have yachts
the petit bourgeoisie
A notion of shopkeepers
2. Britishness and belonging: class and nation
the british upper class
great britain as a house society
britain after brexit
bri...
1810-1910 Liberal, free market capitalism – freedoms of an individual to pursue self interest (make
wealthy wealthier)
1910-1970 Keynesian/welfare/monopoly –- using taxation to manage distribution of wealth and use
for other services (NHS)- produced a class system to manage this
1970-2010 (present) Neo-liberal capitalism…
Neo- liberalism: political economy
The shift to neoliberal of political economy 1970s/80s to present:
Economic crisis- stagnation (inflation and slow growth) low economic growth but expensive
living costs
Nationalised industries under threat – marketisation privatise companies formerly owned by
the state (energy companies, trains ect)
Regulation trade unions and Fordism – stops you from making money, turns against trade
unions
Rise of multinational
Transformation of production methods techniques and corporate identity
Neoliberalism:
Removal of security blankets for unions and industries
Bureaucratic public sector – rolling back the state
Advocate labour market flexibility and the free market capitalism
Society where inequality is the norm, social mobility is promoted.
Society where inequality is the norm, social mobility is promoted.
Wendy bottero (2020) A sense of inequality
- If you see lots of rich people, it raises aspirations, promotes meritocracy.
- There is not a similarity between how social life is structured and how it is lived.
- People see inequality as a given feature of environments and must be ‘managed’ – bottero
2020 p3
- We see how inequalities in life effect people and their lives but we do not have much of an
idea on how people ‘perceive, interpret and understand issues of inequality’ – bottero
2020p1
- The way people perceive society is very different to how it is – we think the world is more
equal than it is
Neo-liberalism : definition
Nicolas Gane (2014 p1092) – Neo-liberalism is a form of governance that injects marketized goods
and competition into society and culture.
,Governance is when you tell yourself what to do
So this means, you accept and encourage marketized principles and competition in society and
culture
- promotes individual competition
- Market is commodified – seen as a product that can be bought and sold
- Society is made up of institutions (education, gov, entertainment)
- Culture= modes of thought – made up of the majorities or those with most powers’
mentality
Power is dispersed through society and we do not rely on institutions anymore.
Life chances
Micheal Young (1953) The rise of meritocracy 1870-2033
- Written as a pamphlet for the labour party
- Replacing one form of hereditary privilege with another – instead of born better or worse
than others replace it with, better looking ect
- Moves away from family inheritance and moves to social mobility
- Moves away from aristocracy (born into rich or poor) but creates a new aristocracy based on
talent and connections.
- Meritocracy promises to remove the privilege of wealth and places blame on the individual
Dystopian book
Jo Litter Against Meritocracy (2017) meritocracy is an ideology that has moved away from a socialist
critique and has become mainstream.
Daniel Bell (1977) the coming of a post industrial society
- Moved from an economy of industry to service (imperial labour and emotional labour)
- Meritocracy is a form of power and places responsibility on individuals, takes a psychological
toll on individuals as if they fail it is deemed as their fault.
- There is no institution, gov, or anyone else to blame but themselves if they fail.
Abbott 2016 p246 – the hollow self of meritocracy – is there a true inner self that is perfect and able
to achieve the end goal of meritocracy?
The metric society
- Social interactions from dating to civic conduct to professional success is measured and
counted in your favour or against you.
- Measures your worth
- What you achieve determines how people see and respect you –
- You are a brand so you must pay your rent with your talent
Merit doesn’t lead to meritocracy…
Mijs (2020) earning rent with your talent
- You are a brand, transform your talents and strengths into rent and make money.
,- But merit doesn’t lead to meritocracy.
- Meritocracy hides structural and historical factors that influence talents. (successful
parents)
- Meritocracy rewards success and blames failure on the individual alone. cultural and
structural factors may influence your success
Merit and cultural identity
People create a sense of self through the opportunities they are given, but we come into the world
with different ritual and languages.
Abbott 2016 p235- minority group, cultures, alternative social practices, language ect are maintained
through parental influence so
Blames individuals for their failures and their social background is seen as baggage for their
opportunities. These different backgrounds are maintained through parental influence.
Neo-liberalism: Ideology
- Elitism is efficient- elites are the best and born to rule.
- Exclusion is necessary- Groups and individuals lose due to failure and inability to achieve.
- Prejudice is natural- Racism is a product of elitist and exclusionary policies.
- Greed is good- Capitalism is most efficient and best economic system.
- Despair is inevitable – inequality produces social unhappiness and unease.
An elite – economic 1%/10%
A salariat - a professional occupational group working in big organisations public institutions and civil
service. Managerial and professional work
A profician – information service technicians and exerts – info manager
A precariat – An amorphous group who are neither proletariat nor coherent class in themselves
The corruption of capitalism
There are two extremes of wealth
Rentier class (elite)
- Patents, copyrights, estate owners seen as able to monopolise intellect and tax knowledge.
These are the 1% - subsidies paid for by the gov with public money to attract big business
- Do not own means of production, they own the knowledge to get things done
Concierge economy
- Rice of concierge economy- those who take employment from these big businesses and
populate this platform (uber, air bnb, Deliveroo)
- Economy of partners but not contracted, not protected by labour rights of subject to labour
laws.
Everyone’s competing with everyone all the time
Transformation in what we see as wealth and squalor…
Wealth/squalor in neo-liberalism
Danny Dorling (2011) injustice
, 1940s: squalor consisted of unliveable conditions and las of basic subsistence goods
1970s: peter Townsend conception of ‘relative deprivation’ as an objective measure of poverty
(lacking basic resources to participate in social life and dignity) Looking at other people and feeling
you ae lacking compared to others, comparing your situation to others.
2000s: we all suffer from an institutional ideal of greed is good but if we look at the logic of
distribution excess is far from efficient or rational.
Imogen Tyler 2013 revolting subjects
- Neo-liberal states relies upon a biopolitics of disposability (some people who simply don’t
matter)
- Neo-liberalism states both relax state interface but constantly monitor and intervene on
population matters
- People are perceived to be failing due to a benchmark that is not specific to them
- Biopolitics
- Neo-liberalism- gov removes themselves but also starts to monitor people and hold them to
standards that are not applicable to everyone
Danny dorling (2011) injustice
- It has become a normality to get into debt – richest 5% in US accounted for 20% gross US
debt – debt is okay and we need it to go through life.
- 1990- 25% UK students taking out loans
- 2000 75% UK students taking out loans
- 2000s-2010 drastic rise in payday loans – excessive interest rates
- Debt becomes a universal moral story – debt outright is something that should be paid back
– who sets that?
David Graeber (2011) Dept: The first 5000 years
- Universal moral story a debt must be repaid
- Debt is a promise corrupted by math and violence (interest and bailiffs)
- Debt in a market society knows no bounds (debt is the logic of a market society)
Lecture 2 – 31/01/23
1810-1910 pre-industrial capitalism
- Lords and ladies’ aristocracy
- Yeoman
- Merchants (black smiths, industry)
- Day labourers
20th century- modern
- Upper class- weber
- Middle – marx
- Working
4 part hierarchy
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