For inequality to be maintained it is “institutionalised” that is, it is made into a social form that can last over time and space eg slavery was a proto-capitalism form organised in the interests of a particular group and against the lives of other groups. It has lasted a long time and in its history are the makings of the financial institutions that are now institutionalised in the city of London, for instance, the organisation of debt via forms of financialisation, such as mortgages and bank loans. Or the insurance market. The most obvious form of institutionalisation is the law – whereby the law is organised in the interest of those who own property (remember slaves were classified as property, as chattel). The British Law develops through precedent which builds over time on the sedimentation of cases. It institutionalises inequality, through classifications and mechanisms of power. Other significant institutions are those of the state, in its different functions eg welfare, education, religion, military, media, or private institutions such as corporations, asset managers. Sociologists are often differentiated from other scholars because of their emphasis on institutionalisation, on how structural forms eg economic interests are further shaped through an institution, and how these institutions inform how social and cultural relationships are lived.

Beverley Skeggs, 2024