PATTERNS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY AND EXCLUSION
‘Social inequality’ is a phenomenon present across various societies where individuals have unequal access to key social resources, such as money, property, education, health, and power. These resources can be understood better when categorised into three distinct forms of capital:
1.Economic Capital: It includes material assets and income. Essentially, it’s what a person or family owns and earns.
2.Cultural Capital: Represents educational qualifications, knowledge, skills, and any other cultural knowledge a person might possess.
3.Social Capital: Pertains to networks, connections, friendships, family ties, and other social relationships that can provide advantages in society.
These forms of capital are often intertwined. For instance, someone from a wealthy background may leverage their economic capital to secure better education, thereby acquiring cultural capital. Similarly, those with strong social ties or networks might use this social capital to gain economic advantages, like landing a lucrative job.
Social inequality isn’t purely a result of individual differences in talent or effort. More broadly, it arises from societal structures, which sociologists’ term as ‘social stratification’. This system places people in hierarchical categories that influence their access to resources and opportunities. Three principal concepts explain this: