Social classes are some of the most common ways of grouping employed in delineating economic groupings within certain societies. The gap between the rich and the poor has continued to rise considerably in many societies, more so after the great depression. This is happening notwithstanding the evidence indicating that economic inequality undermines social and personal well-bang, and that the safe functioning of the society is impacted by inequality. Though the primary causes of economic inequality are macro-economic, the situation can be maintained and worsened by some psychological factors. The degree of class and social inequality differ from one society to the next, which points to the fact that they are amenable to change. Nonetheless, simple solutions including equal resource distribution seem challenging to achieve. Many research initiatives have emphasized on the impact of equality rather than their causes. Studies of mechanisms to mitigate this impact have majorly focused on techniques for lessening the disease level at the lower phases of the income distribution. This paper will review some data on inequality and class.
Data Sets
Data Set 1: How Peoples Think Wealth is Distributed
What the data set Measures and How Result is Presented
Many people do not believe that everybody should have the same wealth as everyone else. After all, while others save, some choose to spend. The older households have enjoyed considerable time of saving than their younger counterparts. The data set above measures the way people believe that wealth should be shared out. The research was conducted by Ipsos MORI for the University of Birmingham Wealth Commission. The result of the data set is presented in a histogram format. Averagely, the respondents believed that a fifth of the wealthiest should have approximately a third of the total, the lowest people should have 13 percent and the remaining something in between.
Who Collected this Data, how and Why?
This data was collected by Ipsos MORI in a poll that they conducted for the University of Birmingham Wealth Creation Commission. The poll was commissioned by the institution to have an insight into how the distribution of wealth actually looks like. Before this study, many people in Britain did not have accurate estimations regarding how much wealth is held by other people. The data presents a much detailed illustration of the true picture of wealth distribution in Britain.
What are its strengths in illuminating contemporary trends?
The data set above is presented in a histogram. The manner in which the data is presented makes it quite easy to study the trends and the categories, which would otherwise be difficult to understand if the same information was to be presented using tables. From the data, it can be shown that more wealth is more distributed in the older families compared to the younger ones.
What does comparison of the data sets suggest regarding inequalities?
From the data, we can see that the bottom fifth has less wealth compared to the other categories. Some even have negative wealth that is occasioned by huge debts that surpass their assets, including the personal items. The next fifth also do not have much wealth as well, a little below ten percent of the wealth. However, the top fifth have the majority of the wealth, which is approximated to be over 60 percent of the total wealth.
Provide the political and historical context of the data
The data shows the average for the time just when the great recession was starting. During this time, the real estate market was at its peak, but it eventually fell.
Provide a Sociological explanation of the data
The data depicts the inequality and class systems that exist in the contemporary society. The richest people in the society are considered to belong to the upper class. Individuals in this category are the elite business owners, white-collar professionals, and other wealthy people. At the bottom of the hierarchy is the lower class. This is where the unemployed and people who live below the poverty line threshold are found. Many of them have no high school education and earn much less.
What are the limitations of the data?
The data considers the total value of the wealth of every household in totality. These figures are not adjusted for the for the different household sizes or permit for the way in which certain household members may finally have considerable control over their wealth compared to others. Besides, the wealth distribution between individuals could be even more uneven than that of the households.
Data Set 2: Reasons people give for the wealth Gap
What the data set Measures and How Result is Presented
The data set above measures the views of the public regarding the wealth gap. The public was asked why they thought some people had much wealth as compared to others and they were presented with an array of probable reasons. The data gathered from the respondents is presented using a bar chart
Who Collected this Data, how and Why?
The data set above was collected by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the University of Birmingham. The University commissioned a survey as a component of its policy commission on wealth distribution. The survey was conducted online and approximately 1,061 members of the public took participated in it. The key findings were presented in summary form using bar charts.
What are its strengths in illuminating contemporary trends?
The data presentation tool used has been widely used almost everywhere, and it simplifies the data for the audience for easy interpretation. As time goes by, things are likely to change based on certain fundamental factors. If this happens, the variations in the trends can be mapped over time and further help the audience to understand trends even better. That is to suggest that the society was favoring some people while working against other people.
What does comparison of the data sets suggest regarding inequalities?
Many people were of the opinion that the huge wealth gap exists because of inheritance. Majority believe that the fundamental reason as to why some people were wealthier than others is because they inherited the wealth from their family. Worst still, others also believed that the variation in wealth gap was a result of injustice. The other reasons given for the wealth gap are that some people work hard than others and also that inequality in the society is inevitable.
Provide the political and historical context of the data
The data has some correlations with the historical political injustices, during which those in authority amassed wealth and power, which is still being used to rule those in the lower class to date.
Provide a Sociological explanation of the data
From a sociological point of view, the data suggests that classes and inequality exists in the society based on the economic status. Many people believe that inequality is rampant because of inheritance. That means that people from rich households will continue to be rich while those born in poor families will continue to be poor because they do not have anything to inherit.
What are the limitations of the data?
One of the limitations of the data is that it does not expressly state the assumptions on which these findings were anchored on. Also, the data could also be easily manipulated to give false impressions.
Data Set 3: Median Household Income
Source: ONS Wealth and Assets Survey July 2014
What the data set Measures and How Result is Presented
The data set measures the median household income in Britain. Over a fifth of the population in the country are said to be living below the poverty line as per the data set, despite the fact that these households may be working. The data has been presented using a bar chart.
Who Collected this Data, how and Why?
The data was collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to determine the current levels of inequality in the UK. The data was collected through online survey and many citizens participated.
What are its strengths in illuminating contemporary trends?
The data has effectively depicted the increasing inequality across the contemporary Britain and goes further to illustrate that the financial health of the country is segregated along the domains of ethnicity, income, age, and geography. The data is also well presented, enabling the audience to make appropriate conclusions.
What does comparison of the data sets suggest regarding inequalities?
The data suggest that the income gap in Britain has continued to increase in the recent past and over one fifth of the population live on income that is below the poverty line after taking into account the cost of housing,. There is a large difference between income of those at the top and those at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Provide the political and historical context of the data
Inequality in the UK has always been known to be large and the country is ranked fifth among some of the most unequal countries in Europe
Provide a Sociological explanation of the data
The data shows that the income gap between the rich and the poor is on the rise and it is made worse by the rising cost of living and weak growth in wages. The inequality is worrying, with the largest proportion of the nation’s wealth being owned by just approximately 10 percent pf the population.
What are the limitations of the data?
The income inequality data shown above provides a biased and partial picture of the power of the ruling class.
