Life chances (Lebenschancen in German) is a theory in sociology which refers to the opportunities each individual has to improve their quality of life. The concept was introduced by German sociologist Max Weber in the 1920s. It is a probabilistic concept, describing how likely it is, given certain factors, that an individual's life will turn out a certain way. According to this theory, life chances are positively correlated with one's socioeconomic status. 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. 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.
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 was the most important factor, and he correlated life chances with material wealth, Weber introduced such additional factors as social mobility and social equality. Other factors include those related to one's socioeconomic status, such as gender, race, and ethnicity. 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 affect 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: 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. 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.
Ascriptive qualities The life chances approach suggests that status is not entirely achieved, but is, to some extent, ascribed. The idea of life chances is that socioeconomic status and social locations positively correlate to the opportunities and quality of those opportunities that one has. It presents the probability of a person's life to follow a particular path, generally one similar to their parents’. Overall, in societies emphasizing ascription, opportunity is relatively low and status (in the sense of prestige in the community) is often inherited. This means that people are, effectively, given their status as a result of the group into which they are born, rather than earning it entirely on merit. Ascriptive qualities such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class of origin can all affect one's life chances. In all societies parents pass on whatever advantages and disadvantages they have to their children. A person's class of origin determines one's neighborhood they live in, which in turn will affect educational attainment, the people they socialize with, and ultimately their class identification. A very important factor affecting life chances is housing and the general inequalities in the real-estate market. Poorer housing will affect health, available facilities, the likelihood of being a victim of crime, and many other aspects of life. Leisure facilities are often located in middle class areas or near non manual work places. Gym membership is expensive and subsidies are rarely available for lower grade staff. Therefore, in general, the middle and upper classes have far greater life chances available than the less advantaged groups. If born into a wealthy family a person will have access to far more desirable resources that can assist them in further enhancing their life chances to a far greater extent than someone who is born into a working class poor family. One of these resources includes a family's social ties and the ability for a person with well connected parents to benefit greatly in the status attainment process. Status attainment refers to how each individual enters an occupation. This encompasses how both ascribed and achieved factors combine, because each individual enters an occupation based on the way their parents’ status produces advantages and disadvantages, their own efforts and abilities, and a degree of luck. An additional dimension is the effect of family dynamics on life chances, such as the presence of biological parents, the quality of family relationships, and sibling configuration. For example, it has been demonstrated that children of divorced parents exhibit lower levels of psychological well-being, more problems in their own relationship, a greater risk of experiencing divorce, and also tend to be less educated.
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