Unit 3: Social Inequality Chapter 9: Social Stratification A guide through the American Status System
Structures of Inequality Inequality exists all around us.
Maybe your mother loves your sister more than you, or your brother received a larger allowance than you did.– This kind of inequality is personal.
Sociologists study a particular kind of inequality called stratification.
Stratification Is an institutionalized pattern of inequality
in which social statuses are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources.– Division of society into categories, ranks, or
classes. Two conditions must be present
Two conditions for Stratification 1.) The inequality is
institutionalized, in other words, backed up by long-standing social norms about what ought to be.
2.) The inequality is based on occupancy of a position in the social structure, or a status (such as : oldest son, blue-collar worker, female, Hispanic, disabled, or over age 65), rather than on personal attributes.
Scarce Resources that cause stratification among individuals. Material Wealth ($, land, cars, boats, houses,
clothes, electronics) Prestige (status) Power
– When inequality in one of these dimensions is supported by widely accepted and long-standing social norms and when it is based on status occupancy, then we can call it stratification.
Stratification Stratification is present in every society that we
know.– All societies have norms specifying that some
categories of people ought to get more wealth, power, or prestige than others.
Closed system – movement b/t status levels is impossible
Open system – movement b/t strata is possible
Sociologists recognize 2 types of stratification systems in today’s societies:– Caste and class systems
Caste System Scarce resources and social rewards are
distributed on the basis of ascribed statuses.
Child’s status determined by parents Exogamy forbidden
– Marriage outside one’s own social category Endogamy practiced
– Marriage within one’s own social category
Caste System Brahmans
– Priests, scholars Kshatriyas
– Rulers, nobles, soldiers Vaisyas
– Merchants, bankers, business people
Sudras– Laborers, artisans
Harijans– Outcastes, limited to
the most undesirable tasks
Caste System, cont. Once very common in South Asia. Developed more than 3,000 years ago Harijans, aka: Dalits
– Unclean, given undesirable tasks– Other castes avoid them
Indian constitution, 1950, outlawed discrimination to this caste level– Declared all Indians, are equal– Created gov’t jobs and spots in school for these
people• Easier to do in city, hard in rural life
Class: % of pop & annual income Upper 1-3% >$100,000 (median
~$225,000) Upper Middle ~10% >$100,000
Lower Middle 30-40% >$50,000 Working 30-40% >$35,000 Lower 20-25% <$20,000
Class systems: Upper class(es) Tiny, rich and powerful; old and new money
Aristocracy (upper upper)--Ascribed, Enormous wealth (inherited) Richest 400 people--$328 billion. – WASP. – Know each other, socialize, same schools, corporate control,
intermarry. • What do we call that?
– Women--volunteer work. – Social Register vs. Who's Who.
New (lower upper)-- more money, less prestige--Depend on earnings. – The American Dream.
Both: significant impact on national and international affairs.
Middle Class:Upper Middle Lower Middle Professionals and
Business managers. High Incomes Politically active,
Leadership in Voluntary Associations.
Career advancement, Children and Mobility.
Similar values as U. Middle.
Lower income and prestige.
Emphasize: proper behavior, decency, hard work.
Make opportunities for children.
Working Class Lower Class
Ongoing decline. Blue collar, manual
labor (more money but identify with, share values and attitudes with, the "labor movement.")
Security, Pride, keep place--looking over their shoulder to see who's catching up.
Minorities. Single (female
headed) parents. Lack power,
alienated. Ascribed. About 3/4 are poor
~15% of population (40 mil.) 1994,
Poverty line- $23,550: Family of four (2013)
Different types of Poverty Situational
– A lack of resources due to a particular event Generational
– At least two years Financial
– Having money to purchase goods and services Emotional
– Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior.
Different types of poverty, cont. Mental
– Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing, thinking) to deal with daily life
Spiritual– Believing in a divine purpose and guidance
Physical– Having physical heath and mobility
Support systems– Having friends, family, and backup resources available to access
in times of need. Relationship/Role Models
– Having frequent access to adults who are appropriate, who are nurturing to the child, and who do not engage in self-destructive behavior
Knowledge of Hidden Rules– Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group
Karl Marx and class Conflict theorist Bourgeoisie
– Owners of means of production in capitalist society
– Reap all the benefits Proletariat
– Those who sell labor in exchange for wages – Do all the work
Max Weber – 3 dimensions of class Property/Wealth
– Assets (value of what one owns) + income (money earned through salaries, investment returns, or capital gains).
– Richest 1% of population has 1/3rd USA’s wealth Prestige (page 209)
– Respect, honor, recognition, and courtesy and individual receives from other members of society.
• Common factors: income, occupation, education, family background, area of residence, possessions, club membership.
Power– Ability to control behavior or others with or without
their consent
SES – Socioeconomic status Rating that combines social factors (see
below) with the economic factor of income– Educational level– Occupational prestige– Place of residence
Combined factors are used to determine an individual’s relative position in the stratification system.
Let’s see how much you know about the classes! Take questionnaire on each level Review all classes on our chart
Start Titanic!– 21:30, Scene 5
Explaining stratification:The Functionalist Theory Stratification is a necessary feature of social
structure. All roles must be performed Those that are more important and require more
skill are rewarded with more money/prestige– Rewards need to be varied or roles would not be filled
and society would not function smoothly Explains why people are willing to spend years
training to become a doctor or a lawyer But….
– Not everyone has equal access to education– Some rewards do not reflect that role’s social value
• Professional athletes
Explaining Stratification:Conflict Theory Cause for social inequality is the
competition over scarce resources. Stratification comes from class exploitation
– Bourgeoisie controls proletariat Explains why the children of the wealthy go
to the best colleges. Weaknesses:
– Different skills require different jobs– Not everyone is suited for every position in
social structure
Explaining stratification:Efforts at Synthesis – combining Gerhard Lenski Says the functionalist theory applies best to
small societies The conflict theory applies best to more
complex societies
Section 2: The American Class System Open or closed
system? 6 class system:
– Check your chart 3 basic techniques to
rank people according to social class:– Reputational,
subjective, and objective methods
Reputational– People in communities
rank other community members based on what they know of their lifestyle
– Only used in small communities where everyone knows everything about everybody
Basic techniques to rank people
Subjective Method Objective Method
Individuals determine their own social rank
Most people say middle– We don’t like to put
ourselves in the other two
Sociologists define social class by income, occupation, and education.
6 Social Classes in the US We already went over these… let’s review: Upper Class:
– Divided into two, which are? – What & of pop?– Old $ looks down on new $ for their
conspicuous consumption (buying goods for their status they bring rather than usefulness)
• Can you think of anything like that?
Conspicuous Consumption- Thorstein Veblen
More review of various classes 2. Upper middle class
– Who are these people usually? 3. Lower middle class
– Does their work involve manual labor?– Do owners of small businesses fit here?
4. The working class– Does their work involve manual labor?– What color collar jobs?
More review: 5. The working poor
– Are they out of work or do they have the lowest paying jobs?
– What kind of education do many of these people have?– Are they politically involved?
6. The underclass– Are they technically unemployed?– What kind of poverty are they in?– Where do they get money?– * about 50% of these kids make it to another class
Social mobility The movement b/t or within social classes
or strata 3 kinds:
– Horizontal• Movement within a class or strata; small promotion
– Vertical• Movement b/t classes or strata; up or down
– Intergenerational • Status differences b/t generations in the same family
Structural causes of upward mobility
Advances in technology– Jobs available can change– This can cause mobility both ways, how?
Changes in merchandising patterns– Due to increases with insurance, real-estate, etc.
• More white collar workers in our labor force (73%)
Increases in the population’s general level of education– Today, 9% of people 25 and older have not completed
high school– 26% of people ages 25 and older have graduated from
college
Structural causes of downward mobility
Changes in the economy – primary cause– Technology - Example from last slide– Can affect intergenerational mobility
• Ever heard of college grads having a hard time finding a job?
Section 3: Poverty More than 31 Americans (11% of pop) live
below the poverty level– More are unable to meet their daily needs, but
make too much money to qualify for gov’t asst. Poverty – a standard of living that is below
the minimum level considered adequate by society; it is relative.– What is considered poverty to some may not be
to others.
2008 Poverty GuidelinesSize of Family Unit
Poverty Guidelines
125%
1 $10,400 $13,0002 $14,000 17,5003 $17,600 $22,0004 $22,200 $26,5005 $24,800 $31,0006 $28,400 $35,5007 $32,000 $40,0008 $35,600 $44,500
Defining poverty in the USA Poverty level – minimum
annual income needed by a family to survive – See handout!– Calculate cost of providing
an adequate diet, based on US Dept of Agriculture’s minimum nutritional standards
• Multiply by three b/c research has indicated that poor people spend 1/3 of their income on food
Each year it is adjusted for cost of living
American Poverty There are several characteristics that affect
poverty: Age
– Children under age 18 make up 25% of pop, but are 35% of people in poverty
– Level of poverty in African American and Hispanic kids is three times as high compared to white kids
Sex– 57% of poor are women– ½ of poverty households are headed by women
• Again, households headed by African American and Hispanic women 34% are poor; it is 20% for white women households
Race and Ethnicity– See above
Effects of Poverty Fewer life chances
– Likelihood that individuals have of sharing in the opportunities and benefits of society.
– Ex: health, length of life, housing, education
Heart disease, diabetes, cancer, pneumonia – higher among those in poverty.
Have shorter life expectancies– # of years a person can expect to
live– Poor children are 60% more
likely to die in their first year of life than kids not born into poverty
Effect of poverty, continued: Why do those in poverty have shorter life
expectancies?– Inadequate nutrition– Less access to medical care
How does lack of money hinder the above? Educational life is limited
– School funding is based in part on local property taxes, thus schools in low-income areas are inadequately funded b/c of low tax revenues.
• Think of Cobb and our SPLOST
Patterns of BehaviorDraw the chart!
Divorce rates higher among low-income families
Poor Americans are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and sent to prison
People in poverty are more likely to commit crimes investigated by police – Violent, burglary,
auto theft, drugs, etc.– Usually rob those in
or near their community
Government responses to poverty 1964 – LBJ declares a war on poverty
– Since, the fed gov’t is active in helping the poor Social Security & Medicare for the elderly
Gov’t involvement Transfer payments
– Take money through taxes and funnel it to groups who need the assistance.
– SSI – Supplemental Security Income• $ to folks over 65• Blind or disabled adult and children
– TANF – Temp Assistance for Needy Families• Cash payments to poor families with children
Subsidies– Transfer goods and substances rather than cash
• Ex: food stamps
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