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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Later life, inequality and sociological theory | | Author(s) | Sarah Irwin |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 19, part 6, November 1999 |
| Pages | pp 691-716 |
| Keywords | Ageing process ; Sociology, Social Science ; Theory ; Sexual equality ; Social economics. |
| Annotation | A central concern of many theorists of later life has been to elucidate the processes which shape the marginalisation and relative disadvantage of older people in contemporary society. This concern parallels a current argument within sociological theorising: that life course stage and generational location constitute increasingly important dimensions of social difference and inequality. It is the argument of the paper that many current approaches operate within metaphors of society which ultimately locate those in later life at the margins by virtue of the theoretical terms being used. Too much has been claimed for life-course based divisions and too little has been claimed in respect of life-course related processes. The paper develops an alternative, moral economy perspective with the aim of furthering analysis of the social organisation of life course-related rights, claims and obligations and their relationship to lifetime inequalities across the population. Such an approach offers a resourceful framework both for interrogating the diverse circumstances and experiences of older people, and for conceptualising social inequality and its reproduction. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000307215 A |
| Classmark | BG: S: 4D: TM8: W4 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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