Explain How Sociologists Identify Class As A Primary Source Of Identity

This essay will firstly explain how sociologists identify class as a primary source of identity, secondly explain how sociologists also identify this source of identity as a primary pattern of inequality, thirdly it will refer to key sociological studies on institutional inequality and provide statistical data to illustrate how such inequalities are sustained and finally, refer to appropriate theoretical perspectives such as, Marx and Weber when explaining the causes of this primary patterns of inequality.
Sociologists identify class as a primary source of identity as each class identity relates to large numbers of people with similar characteristics such as education, wealth, employment, cultural and political views, and background. They are assessed on these characteristics and then placed into one of the four classes, these are known as ‘The Upper Class’, ‘The Middle Class’, ‘The Working Class’, and ‘The Under
You can work out the objective identity of an individual by looking at what class they are in, the type of education they received, the employment they are in, and their background. Class identity usually has a strong impact on the social relationships that people forge. The upper class is referred to as the ‘ruling class’ and is usually known to have the strongest sense of collective identity as it is ‘closed’ this means that you are unable to enter ‘the upper class’ from any of the classes below it. The middle class can be referred to as the ‘intellectual class’. The objective identity of the people within this class comes from their wealth, influence, and non-manual occupations. The jobs within this class will consist of salaried professionals, small business owners and administration workers, they will often benefit from pension schemes and high levels of pay. The working class, also