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Life chances (''Lebenschancen'' in German) is a social science theory of the opportunities each individual has to improve his or her quality of life. The concept was introduced by German sociologist Max Weber. It is a probabilistic concept, describing how likely it is, given certain factors, that an individual's life will turn out a certain way.〔(Hughes 2003)〕 According to this theory, life chances are positively correlated with one's socioeconomic status.〔Blackwell, 2005〕 Opportunities in this sense refer to the extent to which one has access to resources, both tangible ones such as food, clothing and shelter, and intangible ones such as education and health care.〔Kendall, 2009〕 Life chances comprise the individual's ability to procure goods, have a career and obtain inner satisfaction; in other words, the ability to satisfy one's needs.〔Carl Cuneo, (Max Weber )〕 ==Theory== Weberian life chances can be seen as an expansion on some of Karl Marx's ideas. Both Weber and Marx agreed that economic factors were important in determining one's future, but Weber's concepts of life chances are more complex; inspired by, but different from Marx's views on social stratification and social class. Where for Marx the class status were the most important factor, and he correlated life chances with material wealth, Weber introduced such additional factors as social mobility and social equality.〔Rowenna Harrison, (Is an unstratified society possible? )〕〔(Life Chances and Social Mobility )〕 Other factors include those related to one socioeconomic status, such as gender, race, and ethnicity.〔Kevin Fitzpatrick, Mark La Gory, ''Unhealthy places: the ecology of risk in the urban landscape'', Psychology Press, 2000, ISBN 0-415-92372-7, (Google Print, p.90-91 )〕 While some of those factors, like age, race or gender, are random,〔 Weber stressed the link between life chances and the non-random elements of the three-component theory of stratification – how social class, social status and political affiliation impact each individual's life. In other words, individuals in certain groups have in common a specific causal component of their life chances: they are in similar situation, which tends to imply a similar outcome to their actions. Weber notes the importance of economic factors:〔William C. Cockerham ''Health and social change in Russia and Eastern Europe '', Routledge, 1999, ISBN 0-415-92081-7, ()〕〔(Multiple Sources of Power – Class, Status, and Party )〕 how the power of those with property, compared to those without property, gives the former great advantages over the latter.〔 Weber also noted that life chances are to certain extent subjective: one's assessment of one's life chances will affect one's actions; therefore, if one believes that one is or can become a respected and valued member of society, that outcome and associated positive results are more likely to become a reality for such a person than they are for one without this conviction.〔(WEBER AND CLASS ).〕 Persons without such a belief, especially those who consciously espouse or have unconsciously internalized a belief to the contrary, are vulnerable to learned helplessness and its long-term effects. In terms of agency and structure, life chances represent the structure, the factors that one has no control over; whereas one's life conduct - values and beliefs, attitude to risk taking, social skills, or more generally, free willed choices about one's behavior - represent the factors one has control over.〔 According to Weber theories, together with life conduct, life chances are responsible for one's lifestyle.〔 In social engineering, life chances may have to be balanced against other goals, such as eliminating poverty, ensuring personal freedom or ensuring equality at birth. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Life chances」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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