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Income Inequality

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The growing inequalities in our society and individual’s motivation to work can be explained through different theoretical perspectives. This essay will provide examinations on two theories, the functionalist perspective of social stratification and Max Weber’s perspective of rationalisation and life chances. In the first section of the paper, the differences and similarities of these theories’ understanding of people’s motivation to work are discussed. This will be followed by the comparison of how the two theories explain the general trend of the rise of income inequality. Overall, the essay seeks to contend that the functionalist theory fits better in explaining the general trend of rise of income inequalities as opposed to Weber’s theories. …show more content…

Although high rewards may not be explicitly linked to high income, the functionalist approach appears to interpret the differences in monetary reward as the motivator behind different job positions in the community. For instance, those in the medical profession would not have committed to such career pathway without the higher rewards associated compared to the sacrifices required through the long and costly training process (Davis & Moore 1945, p. 244). Similarly, the economic rationalisation of an individual may lead to the calculation of wages in motivating one’s chosen work pursuit. However, this perspective of income as a form of reward and a factor behind one’s rational thinking may have its limitations. This is because certain positions in the society, such as nursing, may be of functional importance, but is not associated with the appropriate reward system. For example, nurses are paid at a lower rate than computer programmers (Fitzpatrick et al. 2000, p. 33), yet it is reasonable to state the occupation of stronger association with the health care system have a more important function in our society than the latter position. Therefore, one’s motivation to work in this field of employment cannot be explained through the functionalist perspective and rational decision of economic calculation. Nevertheless, the income aspect of labour …show more content…

Past researches have indicated that at the very top earnings distributions, the highest 0.1% experienced faster income growth than the next highest 1% and 9% (Piketty & Saez 2003, 2006 cited in Neckerman & Torche 2007, p. 337). According to the functionalist perspective, a person’s high income is measured from the functional importance of their position (Davis & Moore 1945, pp. 246-247), hence the differential in rewards can be associated with the uneven income distributions of individuals. This perspective approaches this trend of inequalities as necessary for the operation of society in order to promote participation in jobs of higher functional importance that require further training of skills. Therefore, the increase in wage growth at the highest earners of society and uneven distribution of income between jobs can be explained and justified through the functionalist understanding of the rewards

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