ABSTRACT
The social competition is played out within a framework and through processes of allocation. The framework consists of a structure of origins and a structure of destinations. The structure of origins is given in the constellation of participants by the class in which they originated. The HGM-story is the truth—it is a story of stable differences in treatment between the classes—but it is not the whole truth. Social mobility is seen as a competition which participants enter with certain background characteristics, such as class, and exit in more or less attractive positions. The HGM-studies have measured differential treatment by class and from that drawn conclusions about class inequality. The strength of association between class and education is relatively stable, at least there is no linear downward trend. The distribution, however, has changed dramatically, displaying a strong and uniform movement towards less inequality. The concept of inequality is used in different ways in the literature, including to describe differential treatment.
