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Evaluate the view that the position of the old in today’s society is changing for the better. [20 marks]
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Evaluate the view that the position of the old in today’s society is changing for the better. [20 marks]
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Evaluate the view that the position of the old in today’s society is changing for the better. [20marks]
Old age refers to the ages nearing or surpassing the traditional life expectancy. Old age differs
between societies.
Modern society portrays the elderly in a particular way. Modern society is characterised by scientific
thought, individualism, industrialisation, technical development, and the rejection of some traditional
values. Marxist Phillipson believes the old are no use towards capitalist values as they are no longer
productive. As a result, ageism emerges. Elderly people are 'structurally dependent' on society and
the welfare state as they are excluded from work due to compulsory retirement. In modern society,
identity and status is dependent on the role production and how the individual contributes to the
production process. Due to the old being excluded from work, they are given a dependent status
paired with a stigmatised identity. Specifically, role allocation is hugely reliant on age, fixed life
stages are created along with age-related identities like a worker or a pensioner. Hence, the old are
excluded from the labour force and made dependent and powerless. However, Hirsch notes that old
age is a social construct that can be changed. Therefore, modern society doesn't position the old
highly.
Postmodern society portrays the elderly in a different light. Postmodern society believes traditional
values no longer provide reasonable explanations for things, society experiences a 'pick and mix'
culture when deciding what suits their lifestyle and choices. Hunt argues that we can choose a
lifestyle that identity regardless of age. In postmodern society, certain social trends such as late
marriages and early retirement have blurred the boundaries between life stages. As a result,
postmodern society regards consumption as the main basis of one's identity. Thus, individuals are
defined by what they consume. This gives rise to the old becoming consumers of 'body maintenance'
or 'rejuvenation' products, which allows them to create their identities. Moreover, postmodern
society illustrates elderly lifestyles positively in the media, and anti-ageing products allow the old to
rewrite their identities on the surface. Although, critics argue that postmodernists undermine the
importance of class and gender equalities within the older population and how this can impact their
freedom of self-choosing identification through consumption. We can infer that the position of the
old has improved in the process of the move from a modern society to a postmodern society.
The elderly population are a part of the dependency ratio. The dependency ratio refers to the two
economically dependent groups (the non-working old and the non-working young). In 2015, there
were 3.2 people of working age for every one pensioner, the ratio is predicted to fall to 2.8 to one by
2033. The old rely on both the state and the working population for their pension and financial aids.
This creates a problem; as the number of pensioners rises, the dependency ratio increases and the
burden on the working population increases. Therefore, the old may be given the image of being a
burden on society and this could result in ageist stereotypes and stigmatisation. However, not all of
the elderly population are economically dependent. Particularly, as the pension age is rising higher
every few years. This shows that the old may be vulnerable to being known as a burden on society,
however this is changing over time with the rise in the pension age and their position is gradually
improving.
Whilst the position of the old may be improving overall but some factors restrict this general
improvement. Gender and class still play an important role within the ageing population, particularly
in regard to their living standards. Pilcher argues that class and gender still remain important in old
age as well as the individual's previous occupational position. As expected, those within the middle
class would have higher occupational positions have access to higher salaries to ensure greater
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