How Do Some People 'lose' And Others Win In Contemporary Uk Society?

[BobbyBobBob]

This is one of the questions in my social science exam and I'm struggling to come up with ideas

the only thing I can think of is that some smaller shops would go out of business (lose) when newer bigger shops appear in close proximity to take away customers.

any useful ideas and info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[factor-fiction]

I would have thought that answers could cover a very wide rang.
Think about different aspects of life:
-job/no job, promotion or not
-family background- wealth and inheritance v a life on benefits
-win the lottery, luck with gambling or investments
-sport
-friends in the right places
-luck
-postcode lottery
- being a victim of crime
- large companies v small companies as you say
....

[Prudie]

Do you see this as about businesses? I see it more as about people and an age old thing - depends on where you were born, what genes you have, what your home life was like, how stable was your upbringing, education, ability or lack of it, financial security, environment, peer groups etc etc - often just luck of the draw.

[Peaspeculiars]

Hiya, I'm no expert in social science, but at a guess the question seems to be more 'out of the box' thinking i.e - why do some people do well in life, have joy, have success (not just in business or monetary terms) whilst others not have joy and success. (?)
When you answer, perhaps think of the social reasons for why some 'get on' in contemporary society more than others. Is it because they have had a privilaged up-bringing and have learnt form those around them how to succeed, or the opposite - a less privilaged upbringing which spurs them on to have success? Think 'self-efficay' are they more or less confident with other people/ situations depending on the social environment in which they are in? Do some people have talent which is self promoted well naturally, or do some still have talent, but not the confidence to show anyone?
What access do people have to 'good'/ joyous relationships with friends/ peers/ family? Does the fight or flight instinct to commit to being successful have an impact from todays social environment, - are we afraid of failure so don't bother trying, or does todays culture make us feel that we are 'entitled' to be successful regardless of the effort we put in to relationships/ projects?
Or you could play devil's advocate and question the question itself - How do we specify what constitutes losing or winning in life?
Just a thought, hope it helps?
Good Luck! :-)

[pixie373]

I think you need to look at which topics you've covered in your social science course (or which you're doing now) to make it relevant. I think i would start off with ways you can win or lose - financial, happiness, employment, education, healthcare, health, home, etc etc and give examples of what and how someone does well in each, or doesn't.

[ll_billym]

Nothing to do with contemporary society.

People feel like they lose if they judge their particular life situation to be inferior to what they expect, or they think they deserve.

Actually your own views on who 'wins' and who 'loses' will be based on whether you perceive the life situation of the individual you are judging to be good or bad however they may feel differently about it than they way you think they may feel, they may judge on different values.

Not trying to be personal about you here, we all do it.