Elevator effect
Elevator effect is a term coined by the German sociologist Ulrich Beck .
Beck uses the term to describe the influence that the explosion of prosperity and the change in the labor market (expansion of the service sector , more flexible work) have had on society in West Germany since the end of World War II . Beck assumes that the income differences between high and low earners have not changed significantly, but the increase in material prosperity , the gain in leisure time and the improved educational opportunities have been shared with all population groups, so that the entire social structure is now a few floors higher is located. "There is," as Beck writes, "- with all inequalities that have leveled off or persisted, there is a collective increase in income, education, mobility, law, science, mass consumption".
Elevator effect and customization
However, the term “elevator effect” can only be understood in the context of Beck's theory of individualization . The point of Beck's argument is that precisely because class society is “moved up one floor”, a process of individualization begins that calls into question the classic structures of inequality: namely, the increase in the general standard of living has, even if all The same number of floors are driven higher, but not the same meaning for all: While this enables the first contact with 'higher education' and mass consumer goods such as cars, home ownership, etc. for some sections of the population, for others this increase only means 'more of the same' - i.e. Second home, second car, etc. The explosion of prosperity, increasing mobility opportunities in a differentiating labor market and educational expansion lead, according to Beck's individualization thesis, to a total release from traditional ties. The welfare state security, the growing general prosperity and increasing professional differentiation undermine class solidarity. The expansion of female gainful employment and women's access to advanced education and their own money are irritating the power relations between the sexes. This creates new and changed situations of inequality that can no longer be described with class or shift models.
The complex effects of individualization cannot and should not be described here. It is only intended to suggest that the elevator effect neither asserts the constancy of social inequalities in the form of classes and strata , nor the disappearance or weakening of social inequalities . The fact that a ride in the elevator can also lead to an exacerbation of inequalities or at least to an intensification of the distribution struggles can also be exemplified by the consequences of the educational expansion. This leads to the paradox of a simultaneous revaluation and devaluation of educational qualifications: on the one hand, they are becoming more and more important for entry into a professional career, on the other hand, they are increasingly devalued by the market economy principle of supply and demand, as more and more people have access to them to have. Education is therefore more and more a necessary prerequisite for participating in the distribution of jobs, but it is less and less guaranteed to be successful. This leads e.g. B. to the fact that population groups with comparatively low qualifications (despite an increase in education) are permanently excluded from social prosperity.
See also
literature
- Beck, Ulrich (1986): Risk Society. On the way to a different modern age . Suhrkamp: Frankfurt a. M., v. a. Pp. 121-160.
- Geißler, Rainer (1996): The social structure of Germany . Westdeutscher Verlag: Opladen. v. a. Pp. 69ff, 250ff
- Christoph Butterwegge : Crisis and future of the welfare state , 3rd edition. Wiesbaden: VS - Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften 2006