ABSTRACT
The purpose of this book is the sociological analysis of old age. In particular it seeks to understand how old age and inequality fit together in society. In order to do this it has been necessary to look not only at old age but at other forms of inequality and social differentiation as well. Sociology used to concentrate on the examination of class as the basis of inequality. But there is a growing consensus in sociology that replaces class as the central social process in advanced capitalist societies with a triumvirate of class, race and gender. Some of this writing that has sought to bring coherence to an understanding of inequality has been highly insightful. For example, in the field of social policy, Williams has developed a view that the organization of welfare around work, family and nation reflects the structures of class, race and gender, which unfold in the context of the process of capitalism, patriarchy and imperialism (Williams 1990). What is particularly useful about this theoretical scheme is that it emphasizes that inequality is not a collection of attributes but a social process. In this attempt to regain a single theory of inequality, however, other systematic inequalities have been neglected. In particular that of age has not been sufficiently considered and this is a major inadequacy of many such tripartite formulations. What is now required is a unified approach; a single theory that accounts for not only these three very significant forms of inequality but in addition, all other possible inequalities as well. It is for this reason that the examination of old age is so essential, not only for the intrinsic interest in understanding a growing part of the life course but because any such unified theory of inequality must be able to account for age-based inequalities.
