In his essay L’avenir confisqué, Nicolas Duvoux argues for subjective analysis to be taken into account in the social sciences in order to understand the concept of “social hierarchy”.
The social position of individuals in society is often classified based on “objective” data, such as their socio-professional categories or income.
However, if we also consider “subjective” data, such as their sense of poverty or insecurity, we can obtain a more nuanced view of their social status.
Taking into account “feelings of poverty” to understand their social conditions therefore shows that individuals do not feel poor solely because of their income, but also because of their feelings of social insecurity and their inability to see a positive future for themselves.
The results of this study need to be used by the public sector to respond to people’s demands for economic and social security.
Professor of Economics at Ecole Polytechnique (IP Paris)
Camille Peugny
Professor of Sociology at Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Key takeaways
In France, inequalities in education are increasing throughout the schooling process and are fuelling social inequality.
The way in which the curriculum is structured is socially significant: at lycée (15-18 years), around 80% of pupils from advantaged backgrounds go on to “2nde Générale et technologique”, compared with 36% of pupils from less privileged backgrounds.
The French education system is built around the selection of future elites, and the budget for nursery and primary education is lower than the OECD average.
One experiment shows that informing pupils of their real position in the distribution of marks influences their choices and helps to correct the under-confidence observed among young girls and pupils from the most disadvantaged backgrounds.
Lecturer at ETHICS Laboratory's Medical Ethics Centre at Université Catholique de Lille
Key takeaways
Cancers more frequently affect the lower social classes, particularly the deadliest cancers, such as lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers.
This disparity can be explained by the fact that disadvantaged groups are more exposed to risk factors such as smoking and exposure to carcinogenic substances before they become ill.
In France, health inequalities tend to worsen as the disease progresses, due to more frequent delays in diagnosis and lower levels of participation in screening campaigns among people from poorer backgrounds.
Studies show that these inequalities are more marked among men, particularly if they are isolated, than among women, although inequalities in mortality rates amongst women are increasing.
Inequalities also persist after the disease: for example, lung cancer, which is particularly impacted by social factors, leads to increased social inequalities and greater uncertainty when it comes to returning to work.
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