Gilbert Model
Encyclopedia
The Gilbert Model was developed by Dennis Gilbert
, professor of sociology
at Hamilton College, as a means of a more effective way of classifying people in a given society
into social classes
.
believed that social class is determined by ownership (or non-ownership) of the "means of economic production" - ownership of raw materials, farm land, coal mines, factories, etc. His theory contains the idea of a struggle between two social classes - the Bourgeoisie
(the capital owners) and the Proletariat
(the non-owner workers).
Like Marx, Max Weber
agreed that social class is determined mostly on the basis of unequal distribution of economic power and hence the unequal distribution of opportunity. He also saw that honor, status and social prestige were key factors in determining what social class people belong to. "Life-styles" such as where a person lives and the schools they attend are very important in determining social class. "Life-chances" also determined social class. If a person becomes a respectable member of society it will raise their social class. Party affiliations can also influence social class.
, they were not weighted the same. Although the Gilbert model is based on the assumption that class structure develops out of the economic system
like the Marxist theory, it is still has much more in common with Weber's more modern theory that dealt with socialism
. The aspect that Marxism takes into consideration when referring to the economy is "what a specific person owns determines their class" - a capitalistic viewpoint. If a man owns a factory, he is going to be in a higher social class
than someone who works in the factory. According to Marxist theory, the middle class
does not exist, but it is clearly present in the Gilbert model. The Gilbert model focuses more on income
when referring to how the economic system
places people in classes. The income of a person is directly related to a person's educational preparation because better education provides for a better occupation which in turn raises their class level. Weber's model whose ideas suggests that it is not just the economic aspect that determines a person’s class in a stratification system, but it is also highly based on social and political aspects as well that help place people into the class that adequately represents their life. The three main factors that Gilbert used to propose his model were income
, education
, and occupation.
Even though the capitalist class is a very small class of super rich capitalists at the top of the hierarchy, its impact on economy and society is far beyond their numbers. These people contribute their money to political parties and are often owners of newspapers or television stations. They have investments that affect millions of people in the labor force
. They tend to only associate with other people from their own class, rarely interacting with people from an inferior class. Even their children are usually segregated
attending on the most elite preparatory schools and universities.
The upper middle class is the group in society most shaped by formal education
. A college degree is usually required and graduate studies are becoming increasingly required. Most people in this class are technicians, professionals, managers, officials, and proprietors. Children in high school strive to prepare themselves for upper middle class jobs because these type of jobs are symbols of success. Upper middle class people are able to purchase status symbols such as cars and homes. They are convinced that they deserve what they have achieved and are mostly satisfied that they have achieved a proper share of the American dream
.
To attain a middle class job it takes at least a high school diploma. However, many in the middle class have received some form of additional training besides college. The most educated will become semi-professionals, or have low-level managerial jobs. Sales and craft people are also included in this social class
. Most Americans consider themselves to be middle class even if they are really not. It is estimated that really about a third of the population is middle class.
The core of this working class
is made up of semi-skilled machine operators. Clerks and salespeople whose tasks are habitual and mechanized necessitate practically no skill beyond literacy. Brief on the job training can also be considered to be a part of this class. It is estimated that this class includes roughly a third of the population.
The working poor class includes unskilled laborers, people in service jobs and some of the lower-paid factory workers. Single mothers who have jobs usually find themselves in this class. Income is decided on the number of workers in the family and the amount of weeks that they work. The majority of adults have not finished high school. Unable to save money and when retired the working poor depend heavily on their social security
pensions to live.
These people are hardly ever employed. They suffer from long term deprivation from low education, low employability
, low income, and eventually, low self-esteem. Some can not work because of their age or they might have a specific disability. Hard times might be magnified because they belong to a minority group
who suffers discrimination
in the work force or they may be single mothers. The chances of a child becoming educated enough to remove himself from this class and succeed is about fifty-fifty.
Although the social hierarchy is most obvious at the extremes, it is much harder to either rise or fall from them as well. Differences between classes begin to become blurred when moving away from one of the extremes and towards the center to where the middle and working classes are. It is difficult to get a precise classification.
2. Hurst, Charles E. Social Inequality. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 1-452.
Dennis Gilbert
Dennis Gilbert is professor and chair of sociology at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and has taught at the Universidad Catlica in Lima, Peru, Cornell University and joined Hamilton college in 1976. He has published a variety of sociology books,...
, professor of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at Hamilton College, as a means of a more effective way of classifying people in a given society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
into social classes
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
.
Influences on the Gilbert Model
Karl MarxKarl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
believed that social class is determined by ownership (or non-ownership) of the "means of economic production" - ownership of raw materials, farm land, coal mines, factories, etc. His theory contains the idea of a struggle between two social classes - the Bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
(the capital owners) and the Proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
(the non-owner workers).
Like Marx, Max Weber
Max Weber
Karl Emil Maximilian "Max" Weber was a German sociologist and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself...
agreed that social class is determined mostly on the basis of unequal distribution of economic power and hence the unequal distribution of opportunity. He also saw that honor, status and social prestige were key factors in determining what social class people belong to. "Life-styles" such as where a person lives and the schools they attend are very important in determining social class. "Life-chances" also determined social class. If a person becomes a respectable member of society it will raise their social class. Party affiliations can also influence social class.
Basis for the Gilbert Model
Even though Marx's and Weber's research were both taken into consideration when trying to create an effective means of social stratificationSocial stratification
In sociology the social stratification is a concept of class, involving the "classification of persons into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions ... a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions."...
, they were not weighted the same. Although the Gilbert model is based on the assumption that class structure develops out of the economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
like the Marxist theory, it is still has much more in common with Weber's more modern theory that dealt with socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. The aspect that Marxism takes into consideration when referring to the economy is "what a specific person owns determines their class" - a capitalistic viewpoint. If a man owns a factory, he is going to be in a higher social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
than someone who works in the factory. According to Marxist theory, the middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
does not exist, but it is clearly present in the Gilbert model. The Gilbert model focuses more on income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
when referring to how the economic system
Economic system
An economic system is the combination of the various agencies, entities that provide the economic structure that defines the social community. These agencies are joined by lines of trade and exchange along which goods, money etc. are continuously flowing. An example of such a system for a closed...
places people in classes. The income of a person is directly related to a person's educational preparation because better education provides for a better occupation which in turn raises their class level. Weber's model whose ideas suggests that it is not just the economic aspect that determines a person’s class in a stratification system, but it is also highly based on social and political aspects as well that help place people into the class that adequately represents their life. The three main factors that Gilbert used to propose his model were income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and occupation.
Six social classes of the Gilbert Model
The six social classes that provide the basis for the Gilbert model are determined based on the assumption of how class structure develops out of the economic system.Capitalist class
(over $750,000, mostly from assets)Even though the capitalist class is a very small class of super rich capitalists at the top of the hierarchy, its impact on economy and society is far beyond their numbers. These people contribute their money to political parties and are often owners of newspapers or television stations. They have investments that affect millions of people in the labor force
Labor force
In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce, including both the employed and unemployed.Normally, the labor force of a country consists of everyone of working age In economics, a labor force or labour force is a region's combined civilian workforce,...
. They tend to only associate with other people from their own class, rarely interacting with people from an inferior class. Even their children are usually segregated
Residential Segregation
Residential segregation is the physical separation of cultural groups based on residence and housing, or a form of segregation that "sorts population groups into various neighborhood contexts and shapes the living environment at the neighborhood level."...
attending on the most elite preparatory schools and universities.
Upper middle class
($70,000 or more)The upper middle class is the group in society most shaped by formal education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
. A college degree is usually required and graduate studies are becoming increasingly required. Most people in this class are technicians, professionals, managers, officials, and proprietors. Children in high school strive to prepare themselves for upper middle class jobs because these type of jobs are symbols of success. Upper middle class people are able to purchase status symbols such as cars and homes. They are convinced that they deserve what they have achieved and are mostly satisfied that they have achieved a proper share of the American dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
.
Middle class
(About $40,000)To attain a middle class job it takes at least a high school diploma. However, many in the middle class have received some form of additional training besides college. The most educated will become semi-professionals, or have low-level managerial jobs. Sales and craft people are also included in this social class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
. Most Americans consider themselves to be middle class even if they are really not. It is estimated that really about a third of the population is middle class.
Working class
(About $25,000)The core of this working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
is made up of semi-skilled machine operators. Clerks and salespeople whose tasks are habitual and mechanized necessitate practically no skill beyond literacy. Brief on the job training can also be considered to be a part of this class. It is estimated that this class includes roughly a third of the population.
Working-poor class
(Below $20,000)The working poor class includes unskilled laborers, people in service jobs and some of the lower-paid factory workers. Single mothers who have jobs usually find themselves in this class. Income is decided on the number of workers in the family and the amount of weeks that they work. The majority of adults have not finished high school. Unable to save money and when retired the working poor depend heavily on their social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
pensions to live.
Underclass
(Below $13,000)These people are hardly ever employed. They suffer from long term deprivation from low education, low employability
Employability
Employability refers to a person's capability of gaining initial employment, maintaining employment, and obtaining new employment if required . In simple terms, employability is about being capable of getting and keeping fulfilling work...
, low income, and eventually, low self-esteem. Some can not work because of their age or they might have a specific disability. Hard times might be magnified because they belong to a minority group
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
who suffers discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
in the work force or they may be single mothers. The chances of a child becoming educated enough to remove himself from this class and succeed is about fifty-fifty.
Although the social hierarchy is most obvious at the extremes, it is much harder to either rise or fall from them as well. Differences between classes begin to become blurred when moving away from one of the extremes and towards the center to where the middle and working classes are. It is difficult to get a precise classification.
External references
1. Gilbert, Dennis, and Joseph A. Kahal. American Class Structure. 4th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth Company, 1992. 1-355.2. Hurst, Charles E. Social Inequality. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 1-452.