SOSC 103D Social Inequality in HK Lecture 11: Subjective Side of Social Inequality

L11: Objective side of inequality Easily measurable 1. Inequality in distribution (material resources) E.g. Class differences in income and wealth 2. Inequality in opportunities (life chances) E.g. Class differences in the opportunity for upward mobility

L11: Subjective side of inequality People’s perception of the (objective) inequality:  Personal determinants of distributional order  Value on social equality  Perception of the trend and seriousness of social inequality  Perception of the reasons for and the consequences of inequality

L11: Another important way to understand the society Assumption: People’s objective experience will affect their belief system E.g. HK Dream Important measure of political orientation For policy implementation Subjective side of inequality (cont’)

L11: Distributional orderings Justification of the distributive system Occupation determines social status (respectfulness and power) one’s income (material resources) and  Based on what criteria that you and I use to assess the status of an occupation  What is the subjective hierarchical order of occupations

L11: Considering factors: Professional training/ academic qualification Contribution to society/ serving the public Salary Prospect of the job

L11: Findings on people’s formulation of distributional orderings A. People’s subjective hierarchical order matches with their belief system Professionalism and education are most important for gaining high social status B. The subjective hierarchy of occupation matches with the objective hierarchy The legitimacy of current distributive system

L11: Attitudes towards employers and business people

L11: Attitudes towards employers and business people (cont’)

L11: Attitudes towards rich and power

L11: Attitudes towards equality Expectation on the role of Government The degree of acceptance of inequality It affects the support and consensus of implementation of social policies

L11: Attitudes towards inequality and the role of Government

L11: Subjective side of inequality To identify the potential group differences in attitudes towards inequality An important way to detect the unstable elements in our society  Who/ which groups are having the strongest sense of inequality  Who/ which groups are having a sense of injustice

L11: Suggested Readings: Argyle, Michael (1994) “Inter-class attitudes” in The Psychology of Social Class