‘Refuse of All Classes’? Social Indicators and Social Deprivation

The development and electronic accessibility of indices of poverty and socialdeprivation have yet to be fully exploited by mainstream sociology, not least inthe field of class analysis where it might seem likely to be taken up. Whilereasons for this can be suggested, there are several conceptual frameworkswithin sociological debates about class that might accommodate deprivation andits indicators, and also valuable empirical resources in the form of indiceswhich are now available to researchers interested in contemporary socialinequality.The potential of this approach in the UK is demonstrated by an examination ofpatterns of social deprivation in 1991 Census data for 391 wards in the SouthWest of England, using the Townsend, Jarman, Breadline Britain and the new DoELocal Conditions indices. Urban and rural patterns are demonstrated ininter-pair correlations between index scores, component variable values, andsocial class represented as SEGs. A factor analysis similarly shows distinctpatterns for urban areas, small towns and rural areas. However, in all casesclass, single-parent families, and children living in low- income householdsshow the strongest associations with other deprivation indicators.An explanation for the empirical findings may be found in two main strands ofclass analysis. First, following Weber, deprivation and occupational class bothderive from market situations, but the reported deprivation patterns cannot beentirely explained in terms of class: other factors (such as life-cycle) need tobe included. Second, while there is no clear evidence of residualization in thedata, some aspects of consumption sector theory seem to be born out; forexample, differential opportunities for access to consumption. In addition, itis suggested that the rural/urban differences raise issues for ameliorativepolicies, further demonstrating the potential for a closer integration of thesocial indicators approach into the techniques of sociological analysis.