Module Directory

This module examines socio-economic inequality with a focus on wealth elites in the context of globalised capitalism. The module introduces research and perspectives from economic sociology, elite studies, the sociology of inequality, and postcolonial studies. Students do not need any prior economic knowledge to take the module.

From Marx, Weber, and Durkheim onwards, sociologists have sought to understand how economic activity is organised in capitalist societies and the relationship between capitalism and socio-economic inequality. The past three decades have seen a stark growth in inequality in the UK and worldwide, where the explosion of wealth at the top has gone hand in hand with a concentration of political power among the few. This trend has triggered renewed sociological interest in social inequality in capitalist societies and the role of economic and political ‘elites’, meaning those with disproportionate wealth and political power. In this module, we will explore the changing nature of capitalism and socio-economic inequality since the mid-19th century with a focus on how elites accumulate wealth, what role wealth elites play in capitalist societies, and how wealthy lives are organised and experienced.

The aims of this module are:

• To provide an understanding of how capitalism and socioeconomic inequality have changed over the past two centuries, and how socio-economic inequality intersects with ‘race’, gender and nationality.


• To provide an understanding of how wealth is accumulated in the context of global capitalism, what role wealth elites play in capitalist societies, and how wealthy lives are organised and experienced.


• To explore the relationship between economic activity and political policymaking and understand how nation-states and other actors have both enabled and redressed wealth concentration


• To apply sociological theories to real-life examples from different national contexts and develop the ability to think critically about the economy, inequality and wealth.


• To enable students to communicate their knowledge and understanding of these topics to a broader audience.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Understand how capitalism and socioeconomic inequality have changed over the past two centuries.


2. Analyse how wealth is accumulated in the context of global capitalism, what role wealth elites play in capitalist societies and how wealthy lives are organised and experienced.


3. Have an understanding of the relationship between economic activity and political policymaking.


4. Apply sociological theories to real-life examples from different national contexts and think critically about the economy, inequality and wealth.


5. Communicate their understanding of these topics to a broader audience.

The module explores central institutions through which wealth is gained – including the family, the corporation, finance, and offshore industries – and introduces different theories and perspectives on capitalism, social inequality and the role of wealth elites.

Together we will discuss questions such as:

• What is capitalism?


• Is there such a thing as the economy and a free market?


• How have changes in capitalism since the nineteenth century period of the industrial revolution and first globalisation affected socio-economic inequality and why is inequality rapidly growing today?


• Who are the most powerful economic actors and how has this changed over time?


• How have wealth elites historically and today accumulated and defended their wealth? In other words, how do the rich get and stay rich, and what are implications of their riches for society more broadly?


• What do wealthy lives look like and how do the very wealthy experience and defend their wealth?


• How does socio-economic inequality intersect with other forms of inequality to make wealth elites racialised, gendered and geographically constituted social phenomena?


• How have nation-states and other actors responded to socio-economic inequality and what is the relationship between policy making and wealth accumulation?

Throughout the course, we will work with case studies from the UK and beyond, including Royal Families, Wall Street, tax havens, the international VIP party circuit, and tech billionaires. We will use sociological theories and concepts to analyse these real-life examples and think critically about the world we live in.

We will draw on a varied range of reading materials, from seminal readings in economic sociology, to evocative ethnographic portrayals of elites, and reveals about wealth elites by investigative journalists. We will also listen to podcasts and students will be encouraged to watch documentaries and engage with fictional portrayals of elites in film and media.

The module will be delivered via:

• One 2-hour seminar each week.

Face-to-face attendance is expected.