ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how inequalities are produced, re-produced, and contested through symbolic processes. It identifies five symbolic processes that are key for the generation of inequalities and therefore could also be fundamental in efforts to reduce social asymmetries. These processes are: classification, categorization, and creation of boundaries; valuation, de-valuation, and re-valuation; relations between differences and inequalities; production, acquisition, and distribution of symbolic capital; and struggles over the legitimacy of inequalities. Equality and difference are two sides of the same coin, but they are two opposing sides that express tendencies and countertendencies that pervade human groups. The hegemonic strategy is the conversion of differences in inequalities. The creation of a cultural and affective distance is fundamental to making distances and differences of another nature possible. The conjunction of these four dimensions—symbol, power, social tie, and value—is the one that best explains the whole chain of production of inequalities.
