44 Weber’s Axes of Prestige
Max Weber agreed with Karl Marx that modern Western history could be understood through the relationship between those who control the means of production (the bosses, managers, land- and factory-owners, for instance), and those who did not (the workers).
But Weber argued that this alone couldn’t explain capitalism.
To do that he explore the Protestant Work Ethic, but also the pull of prestige: the desire by people in society to trade material wealth for social status.
Sometimes, people trade off earning a lot of money in order to take work in an area that confers lots of social prestige.
We’re often told that healthcare professionals are ‘called’ to this kind of difficult work because they can’t help being caring people.
Healthcare is a vocation – a semi-religious calling – whose rewards come in the satisfaction of being able to genuinely help people when they are often in desperate need.
And because they are the best of us, healthcare professionals shouldn’t demand high rates of pay or rich financial rewards. To do so would look unseemly.
But not, it seems for everyone.
Some healthcare professionals have managed to secure high levels of social prestige and significant financial gain.
So what this activity does is compare and contrast different professions against their financial reward and prestige.
Some professions (doctors especially) have high levels of social prestige and earn high salaries.
Other professions have high incomes, but are not respected (corporate leaders, politicians).
By contrast, other professionals have high social prestige but poor pay (nurses, many female dominated professions).
And a fourth group are poorly paid and poorly respected (cleaners, checkout operators, refuse collectors).
Look at this grid below and identify where on the map:
- You feel you’re located in your own personal professional world
- Where the physiotherapy profession in your region sits
- Where you would like both of these to sit
