Durkheim's Views On Inequality

Durkheim views inequality through the division of labor. He feels there should be internal abilities not external qualities in the division of labor that causes there to be some form of inequality. This is according to his idea of organic solidarity in the movement of society (Hurst 222). Internal abilities should be the only reason for inequality not external qualities like race and inheritance, including classes would eventually disappear. This would happen because educational abilities and biological abilities would be the only differences in people rather than looks and social classes. Marx believed that the division of labor is a basic problem in capitalist society. He focused on class conflict over fundamental issues like property and

Institutions could be employers or government agencies. These could continue to reproduce because they would be able to control wages and advancement or promotion within the corporation or agency. This would reproduce inequality because it is a way to keep the people on a lower pay scale and lower position to keep the pay low and require them to work more hours just to make it by. Culture can cause inequality to reproduce because of the schools and how the employees of the school directs their focus towards the students. Schools focus on cultural capital which are the sets of beliefs, practices, ways of thinking, knowledge, and skills passed from generation to generation (Hurst 243). This allows inequality to grow because schools focus on the people that have a higher cultural capital. This cause inequality to grow because efforts are put into making sure the upper class students receive the most attention in the classroom. Also, a person’s habits can also cause inequality to reproduce because it basically is a revolving door. It keeps people thinking things cannot change so they do not try to make changes to get out of their current path in

The minority groups are more likely to say that they are in fair or poor health than white people (Hurst 257). Studies show that white women have a higher life expectancy compared to white men and black women (Hurst 257). Income effects the mortality rates also. People with more income from different sources have lower mortality risks (Hurst 258). This is important to know because these factors all weigh in on the issue of inequality in health care. The people in the lower class and poverty levels are more likely to get sick because they cannot afford health care to keep them from getting sick. Also, their physical health is lower because they are not able to afford time off work to go to doctors or even afford medical