Race and Ethnicity

 Race: Scientific theories arose in the late eighteenth and nineteenth

century to justify the emerging social order due to the rise of the European
imperial powers.
 Arthur de Gobineau: Called the father of modern racism – said that there
are three races: white (Caucasian), black (Negroid), yellow (Mongoloid).
White race was believed to be possessing superior intelligence and will
power and morality, black race was thought to be beast-like
 No biological evidence of race, only physical variations which arise due to
population in-breeding
 The genetic diversity within populations that share physical traits is as great
as the diversity between them
 Race is thought to be an ideological construct that perpetuates a commonly
held belief that it has a grounding in reality (Miles)
 Racial difference: Physical variations determined to be socially significant
by people living in a society. In this case, this physical variation is the skin
colour of people.
 Race: Social relationships through which individuals can be identified and
attributed characteristics based on biological features/differences
 Racial differences contribute to the persistence of the patterns of power
and inequality in society
 Racialization: The categorization of people into biological groups based on
their natural features.
 Members living in a racialized society find their lifestyles, employment,
personal relations, housing and healthcare to be impacted by their
positions within the society
 W.I Thomas: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their
consequences”
 Ethnicity is a purely social phenomenon – the cultural practices and
outlooks of a community which sets them apart from others and are seen
 as different. The most usual characteristics which sets them apart are
language, history, ancestry, religion, styles of dress or adornment
 Ethnic differences are learned through socialization of young people who
assimilate the lifestyles, norms and beliefs of their respective ethnic
communities
 Ethnic groups use exclusionary devices such as endogamy to maintain the
cultural boundaries
 Ethnicity is fluid and adapts to changing circumstances
 Ethnic variations can be problematic if they create divisions – all members
of a population belong to a certain ethnicity but is most associated with
minority groups
 Minority groups are members of the society at a disadvantaged position as
compared to the dominant group. The dominant group possesses more
resources in terms of wealth, power and prestige. It is used in a way to
represent the relative position of a group within society
 Minority groups have a sense of group solidarity due to the common
struggles they face based on their ethnicity/race etc
 Members of minority groups tend to be physically and socially isolated and
concentrated in certain neighborhoods, cities or regions
 Some scholars use ‘minority’ to refer to groups that has faced prejudice at
the hands of the majority society
 Speaking collectively of minorities can be problematic as it leads to
generalizations about discrimination and oppression that do not accurately
reflect their experiences
 Many minorities are ethnically or physically different from the rest of the
population
 Usually, the defining factor in categorizing people into ethnic minorities is
skin colour
 Ethnic distinctions are associated with inequalities of wealth and power
 Prejudice: The preconceived beliefs, opinions and attitudes of one group
towards another which are not based on evidence, rather on what they
have heard.
 Stereotypes: Perceptions, opinions or beliefs about a group that are widely
held and fixed. Based on prejudices. Usually applied to ethnic minority
groups.
 Most stereotypes result from displacement where negative feelings such as
anger and hostility are directed towards other things that are not the origin
of those feelings.
 Scapegoating refers to competition between two deprived ethnic minorities
for economic rewards. People who scapegoat are usually in a similar
position economically with the group they are targeting
 Scapegoating usually happens with relatively powerless groups and is
characterized by projection (unconsciously attributing one’s desires or
characteristics on others)
 While prejudice and stereotypes relate to beliefs and opinions,
discrimination refers to actions or behaviors based on these beliefs and
opinions towards another group.
 Prejudice and discrimination are correlated but not necessarily coexisting –
discrimination does not necessarily originate from prejudice, the
relationship can sometimes be indirect
 Implicit Bias: Associations made by the mind between seemingly unrelated
things. Usually occurs through socialization and constant reinforcement of
stereotypes through neighborhood settings or media exposure.
 Explicit Bias: Prejudice that we are openly and consciously aware of
 Racism refers to when the physical differences deemed socially significant
by society result in prejudice or perceptions of superiority and inferiority
based on these differences
 Institutional Racism: When racism systematically infiltrates into society’s
structures or institutions such as healthcare, education, police etc. It is
when institutions fail to provide professional services to people because of
their colour, culture or ethnic origin
 New racism/Cultural racism: Exclusion based on cultural differences.
Hierarchies of superiority and inferiority are defined according to the values
 of the majority culture. If the minorities refuse to assimilate, they can be
marginalized
 “We live in an age of 'multiple racisms', where discrimination is experienced
differently across segments of the population (Back 1995).”
 Racism has persisted due to the emergence of the concept of race, due to a
belief of the superiority of white race over others. It has also persisted due
to the exploitative relationship of white people with people of other races
such as the slave trade. It also helped justify colonial rule. It has also
persisted due to the migration of ethnic minorities to European regions
which were pre-dominantly white. This encouraged hostility against
immigrants as they were thought to be hogging up jobs.
 Ethnocentrism is a sociological concept. It refers to evaluating the culture
of others in terms of one’s own culture along with a suspicion of outsiders
as they are seen as morally and mentally inferior which has led to multiple
clashes.
 Group closure refers to the use of exclusionary devices to maintain
boundaries that separate a group from others such as restrictions on
intermarriage, social contact or economic relationships.
 Sometimes, closure if mutually enforced by groups with equal power to
keep themselves separate from one another but none of them dominate
the other.
 More commonly, one group has more power. In this case, closure coincides
with resource allocation, creating and enforcing inequalities in the
distribution of wealth and material goods
 Privileged groups may use tools of violence to uphold their position,
whereas underprivileged groups may resort to violence as a defense or to
improve their situation.
 Conflict theories relate to the links between racism and prejudice &
relationships of power and inequality
 Marxist theories believed racism to be a product of the capitalist system,
arguing that ideas of racism, slavery and colonization were used as tools to
exploit labour
 Neo-marxists believe racism to be a multifaceted phenomenon involving
the interplay of ethnic minority and working class identities
 Three primary models have been adopted by multiethnic societies:
o Assimilation: The process of abandoning one’s original customs
and practices and adapting to the values and norms of the
majority. Immigrants change their language, dress, lifestyles and
cultural outlooks to integrate in a new social order. However,
attempts to assimilate are not always successful due to
racialization
o Melting Pot: Mixing the traditions of the immigrants and the
majority to form new, evolving cultural patterns. This creates
diversity as ethnic groups adapt to their new social environment.
Hybrid forms of cuisine, music, architecture etc are created.
o Cultural pluralism: Ethnic cultures can participate in society’s
economic and political life without having to abandon their
traditions and customs. They can exist separately. This has also
led to multiculturalism
o Multiculturalism: Policies that encourage harmony between
different cultural and ethnic groups.
 Central argument of multiculturalism by Bhikhu Parekh: The cultural
identity of some groups ('minorities') should not have to be confined to
the private sphere while the language, culture and religion of others
('the majority') enjoy a public monopoly and are treated as the norm.
For a lack of public recognition is damaging to people's self-esteem and
is not conducive to encouraging the full participation of everyone in the
public sphere.
 A Solitarist approach (Amartya Sen): Solitarism is where a person’s
identity is primarily determined by their national, civilizational or
religious adherence. Sen basically argues that a person can belong to
multiple values simultaneously, all of which give them a particular
identity – no value or belief can singularly determine one’s identity.
 Arguments against multiculturalism say that it gives way to a potential
segregation of ethnic groups if separate schooling and curricula are
devised by states. It is debated whether multiculturalism should become
state policy.
 Multiculturalism is confused with cultural diversity
 Sophisticated multiculturalism: Focuses on a national identity and
national laws, along with the creation of connections between different
social and ethnic groups. This form of multiculturalism is concerned with
social solidarity, not separateness. There is equality in status and respect
for diversity but the practices of different cultures is not perceived
uncritically
 Seems to be a glass ceiling which prevents people from ethnic minorities
from advancing to top positions within large companies and
organisations
 Factors that contribute to housing differentials include racial harassment
or violent attacks in ethnic neighborhoods, thus encouraging ethnic
segregation. Another factor is the physical condition of housing –
housing occupied by ethnic minority groups tends to be in greater
disrepair than that of the white population
 Robert Moore – ethnic minorities have emerged as a distinct housing
class. The challenges faced by ethnic minorities means they have few
options to exert control over their housing position and have to make do
with the inadequate housing
 Poor housing leads to higher levels of poor health amongst ethnic
minority groups
 Founders of Sociology
 Positivism: It is the idea that a means of attaining knowledge is conducting
scientific research which observes and provides explanations for real
phenomena
 The idea of positivism became increasingly popular in the 19th century.

Auguste Comte:
 Argued that like the physical world, society also conforms to invariable laws
 Wanted sociology to become a positive science in the sense that knowledge
about society is attained through research which gathers empirical
evidence through observation, comparison and experimentation
 Introduced the Law of Three Efforts: Human efforts to understand the
world have passed through three stages:
o Theological State: Thinking was guided by religious ideas and the
belief that society was an expression of God’s will
o Metaphysical Stage: Society began to be seen in natural terms
instead of supernatural terms. Around the Renaissance time
o Positive State: Encouraging the application of scientific techniques to
the social world.
 Urged the establishment of a Religion of Humanity that would abandon
faith in favour of a scientific grounding – sociology would be at the heart of
the religion
 According to him, the solution to the inequalities created by
industrialization was the production of a new moral consensus – moral
consensus is when majority people share the same values and beliefs.
Emile Durkheim
 Social facts (Emile Durkheim): External aspects of social life that influence
our actions as individuals by restricting our behavior. Ways of acting,
thinking and feeling that are not limited to the individual but exist
externally. They can constrain human actions through outright punishment,
social rejection or simple misunderstanding. They are intangible thus can
only be examined through their consequences or through their
manifestation or attempts at their expression.

 Solidarity (Emile Durkheim): A phenomenon that prevents society from

chaos amidst rapid changes and holds it together. Solidarity is maintained
when people are regulated by shared values and customs. Durkheim
contrasted two types of solidarity:

o Mechanical Solidarity: In traditional cultures where people were

held together by shared beliefs and common experiences as people
were involved in similar occupations. The foundation of mechanical
solidarity lies in consensus and similarity of belief
o Organic Solidarity: Industrialization led to division of labour which
broke down mechanical solidarity. This refers to a solidarity created
by economic interdependence and recognizing the importance of the
contribution of others.
o Key element in solidarity is integration (developing a shared
identity) and regulation (behavior is regulated by constrains and
expectations)
 Linked the disruptive effects of the rapid changes on traditional lifestyles,
morals and beliefs to anomie (negative feelings such as dread and despair
triggered by modern social life)
 He is considered a founder because he attempted to explain social facts
and found a relationship between what an individual does and how that
individual is influenced by the society
Karl Marx
 Ideas contrasted with Comte and Durkheim as he focused on economic
factors and their relationship with social institutions
 Capitalism and Class Struggle:
o Capitalism is a system of production that differs radically from all the
previous economic systems. Goods and services are produced to
make profit.
o He believed capitalism to be the foundation of some of the most
important changes
o Two elements of capitalism:
 Capital: asset that can be used or invested to make future
assets
 Wage Labour: workers who must find employment provided
by those who own capital in order to earn their livelihood
o The capitalists (people who own capital) form the ruling class and the
wage labour forms the working class (AKA Proletariat)
o Marx believed capitalism to be characterized by conflicts between
the two classes since the relationship is exploitative (employers earn
profit by using the product of the workers’ labour while the
workers have little or no control over it)
o So, for Marx, class conflict occurs due to economic resources
 Materialist Conception of History:
o Class conflicts are the motor of history and social change is brought
about by economic influences
o Social systems have made a transition from one mode of production
to another either gradually or by revolting
o He outlined a progression of historical stages: communist societies of
hunters and gatherers – slave owning systems and feudal systems
based on division between landowners and serfs
o The capitalist class emerged with merchants and landowners
 o Marx believed that just how capitalists united to overthrow feudal
order, capitalism would be replaced by communism through a
worker’s revolution
o There would be a new society with no social classes and no large
scale divisions
 Alienation:
o Workers are unhappy with the work environment because they have
little autonomy and little to no control over how they work and this
accelerates conflict

Max Weber
 Did not agree with Marx’s materialistic conception of history and did not
see class conflict as significant
 He believed economic factors to be important but focused just as much on
ideas and beliefs
 The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit of Capitalism
o A major factor influencing a capitalist outlook was religious values
especially those associated with Puritanism – people believed being
productive was a service to Gods
 He argued that sociologists should focus on social actions, not social
structure as change is brought about by ideas, values and beliefs
 He did not see structures as existing external to or independent of
individuals because individuals have agency and can shape the future
 Structures are formed by a complex interplay of actions
 He concluded that certain aspects of Christian beliefs strongly influenced
the rise of capitalism
 He rejected the idea that capitalism only emerged from economic changes
– society and individual actions are greatly influenced by cultural ideas and
values
 Ideal Type: (important) Conceptual or analytical models that can be used to
understand the world. They are a pure form of certain phenomenon. They
rarely exist in the real world, only some of their attributes are present
 Rationalization: Basing decisions regarding social and economic life on the
principles of efficiency and technical knowledge. People were making
decisions based on cost benefit analysis rather than based on superstition,
religious and custom habits. They were engaging in rational and
instrumental calculations that considered efficiency and future
consequences of those actions.
 According to him, the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism was
evidence of rationalization
 The outcome of this rationalization was bureaucracy: The development of
purpose-built organizations to achieve tasks
 He was not optimistic about the idea of bureaucratic domination as it could
crush human spirit by dominating all aspects of social life

Comparison
-Durkheim and Marx focused on external forces that act on the individual:
Durkheim emphasized on social facts and the concept of solidarity. Marx
emphasized on economic factors.
- Weber focused more on agency and how individuals interact with outside
structure
-Durkheim and Weber focused on how social order is produced and
reproduced. Durkheim focused on social facts and solidarity. Weber focused
on religious beliefs, ideas and the concept of rationalization.
-Marx focused on how conflict emerges – due to the classes

The Three Important Theories:

 Functionalism: (Durkheim)
 Society is formed by interconnected and interdependent parts
that work together to maintain stability and solidarity. Thus,
sociology should investigate the relationships between parts of
the society such as education and economy
 Emphasizes on the contribution of moral consensus (when
majority people in a society share the same values) to maintain
order and stability. It creates a social equilibrium
 Durkheim argued that religion leads to adherence to core social
values, thus maintaining social cohesion
 Jalcott Parsons & Robert K Merton – prominent adherents of
functionalism
 Robert K Merton distinguished between Manifest and Latent
functions
 Manifest: These are functions that are intended by individuals
when they participate in an activity
 Latent: The consequences of the activity of which participants are
unaware
 According to Merton, a major part of sociological action can be
learned by understanding the latent functions of social activities
and institutions
 He also distinguished between functions and dysfunctions
 Dysfunctions: Aspects of social life that do not adhere to the
existing social order. For example, religion is not always function
and thus leads to social conflict
 Focusing on stability and order means minimization of divisions
and inequalities
 Critics say that functionalism focuses on qualities of society that
do not exist

 Conflict Perspectives (Marx)

  Rejects the emphasis of functionalism on moral consensus and
highlights the importance of divisions in society
 Concentrates on the concepts of power, inequality and struggle
 Society has different groups with separate interests, pursuing
which leads to conflict
 Conflict theorists examine the tension between disadvantaged
and dominant groups of society and how relationships of control
are established and perpetuated
 One conflict theory is Marxism
o Focuses on class conflicts due to the inequalities in the
distribution of economic resources
 Some conflict theories are influenced by Weber
o Dahrendorf – Since different groups have different
interests, conflict happens. He relates this to authority and
power
 All societies have a division between those who hold authority
and those who are excluded from it

 Symbolic Interactionism (Weber)

 Symbol is a thing that stands for something else
 A theoretical perspective that draws on Weber’s basic idea of
focusing on symbols and meanings to understand society
 Mead argues that humans rely on shared symbols and
understandings in their interactions
 Sociologists focus on the role of these interactions in creating
society and its institutions
 Max Weber had an indirect influence on social structures as he
said they are created through social actions of others
 It is criticized for ignoring larger issues of power structure and
how they restrict individual actions
Theories: They are focused and represent attempts of explaining certain
phenomena or social conditions
Middle Range Theories: General enough to cover a range of phenomena but also
specific enough to be tested by empirical research

Stratification and Class

o Stratification: A term used to describe how groups in a society are ordered
in a hierarchy in terms of the resources they possess such as gender,
religious affiliation etc. Refers to structured inequalities between different
groups
o Characteristics of Stratified Systems:
 Social categories of people who share common characteristics are
ranked, regardless of whether they interact with each other or not.
Individuals within a particular category can change their rank but the
category continues to exist, i.e., they can move to a different
category such as upward class mobility
 The ranking of these social categories shapes life experiences and
opportunities
 Ranks of social categories change very slowly overtime
o The four basic systems of stratification are slavery, caste, estates and
class:
 Slavery is a form of inequality where certain people are owned as
property of others. This may have dismantled due to the onset of
rationalization as it is not economically efficient. People are believed
to be more efficient and motivated to work if they receive something
in return for it.
 Caste is a system in which one’s social position is given for a lifetime
and all individuals remain at the social level that they were ascribed.
It is based on personal characteristics and believed to be
unchangeable. Caste purity is maintained through endogamy
  Estates were a part of European feudalism - Feudal estates consisted
of strata with differing obligations and rights towards each other.
Example is aristocracy and clergy
o Class: Grouping of people on a large scale based on the economic resources
they possess.
 Influences the type of lifestyle. The chief basis of class differences are
ownership of wealth and occupation
 Characteristics of class systems:
 Fluid: Not established by legal or religious provisions. No
formal restrictions on intermarriage
 To some extent achieved: Social mobility in class structure is
more common
 Economically based: Made according to inequalities in the
distribution of economic resources
 Large scale and interpersonal system: In other systems,
inequalities are evident through personal relationships of duty
and obligation (such as slavery). Class systems are large scale
and involve interpersonal associations such as pay and working
conditions.

Theories of Class and Stratification

 Karl Marx (Class Conflict)

o According to Marx, class refers to a group of people who hold the
same position in the mode of production and have similar means of
productions such as factory owners
o He believed class relations to be conflictual and exploitative

 Max Weber
o Believed conflicts occurred in society over power and resources
 o According to him, stratification is shaped by class, status and party
o Considered a lot of factors as significant in forming classes – believed
class to derive from many other economic differences such as skills,
credentials and qualifications which affect occupation
o An individual’s market position impacts their life chances – degrees,
skills and diploma make people more marketable
o Status: Differences between social groups based on the honor and
prestige they hold in society. Status is expressed through lifestyles.
Markers and status symbols such as housing, dress, occupation and
manner of speech determine one’s social standing as perceived by
others. People sharing the same status form a community based on a
sense of shared identity.
o Marx believed status distinctions to be a result of class divisions, but
Weber believed it to be independent of that. The evidence for this
lies in the existence of genteel poverty, whereby aristocratic families
enjoy social esteem despite having lost their wealth
o Party: A group formed on the basis of common backgrounds, aims or
interests. Parties works in an organized manner towards a particular
goal. It may be based on religious affiliation or nationalist ideas.
o According to Weber, status and party cannot be reduced to class but
can influence the economic circumstances of individuals and groups,
thus impacting class

Erik Olin Wright’s Theory of Class

 He identified three dimensions of control over economic resources
which allow us to identify major classes:
o Control over investments and money capital
o Control over physical means of production
o Control over labour power
  Capitalists are those who have control over all three while the working
class has control over none
 He identified the middle class which lies between the capitalists and the
working class – includes managers and white collar workers. It is a
contradictory class position as they have control over some aspects but
not over others.
 The middle class is hired by capitalists to supervise the working class.
They are neither capitalists nor manual workers.
 To differentiate class locations, Wright considers relationship to
authority and possession of skills/expertise
 Middle class workers have a more privileged relationship towards
authority than working class but they are under the control of the
capitalists.
 Middle class workers possess skills that are in demand in labour market
and are thus able to exercise a specific form of power in the capitalist
system. If their expertise is in short supply, they will earn higher wages
 Wright argues that employees with skills and knowledge are more
difficult to monitor so employers have to earn their loyalty and
cooperation by rewarding them accordingly

Measuring Class and Inequality in Pakistan

 Weber says that class impacts life chances in the form of the opportunities
available, the quality of life, freedom, desires and aspirations that you can
or cannot pursue thus class becomes the independent variable
 In sociology, class is seen as a causal force
 Class can be assessed through income structure and occupational structure
 Occupations exist in a hierarchy based on renumeration, skills, credentials
required, control over labour
 Inequality is a gap that exists between different classes or groups based on
income and wealth
 Rao’s framework – Inequality Trap “describing situations where the entire
distribution is stable because the various dimensions of inequality (in
wealth, power and social status) interact to protect the rich from
downward mobility and the poor from being upwardly mobile”
 Two characteristics of inequality trap (Bebbingon):
o Persistence of ranking: Income distribution may shift without
impacting the relative ranking of different population groups – either
incomes increase for all groups or decrease for all groups
o Causal interaction between multiple dimensions of advantage such
as income mobility and education