Is social mobility on the increase? If yes, why? If not, why not?
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sociology
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published 29/05/2008
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SummarySocial mobility is the degree to which, in a given society, an individual's social status can change throughout the course of his or her life, or the degree to which that individual's offspring and subsequent generations move up and down the class system. The former can be understood as intragenerational mobility, and the latter as intergenerational mobility. The level of mobility within a society is reflective of the opportunities available, how equal those opportunities are distributed, and how much class origin plays in this. “The amount of mobility in a society is a major index of the degree of its ‘openness’, indicating how far talented individuals born into lower strata can move up the economic ladder.” (Giddens, 23)
Table of Contents
- A number of factors, most notably government policy, the working of the labour market and the education system, are responsible for changes in mobility.
- But what are the factors that keep the upper strata being more likely to continue their education.
- It is difficult to determine whether social mobility is rising or falling, for multiple reasons.
- As detailed above, it is credible that mobility could be rising due to structural changes within society.
- However, Breen & Luijkx found this to be an incorrect assertion.
- Sorokin makes a comparable observation regarding the likelihood of downward mobility and the presence of trends.
- The conventional wisdom has markedly been that social mobility is on the rise. Is this often-cited detail based in fact or fiction?
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