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| Social stratification is: |
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the hierarchical (unequal) arrangement of positions in society by property, prestige, and/or power
hierarchy of social groups based on control over resources |
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| closed stratification system based on prestige. Class, status and power are ascribed at birth. Characterized by maximum inequality. No mobility except some downward. You stay where you are. |
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| one where there is a hierarchy but it is not institutionalized. There is mobility and minimal inequality of opportunity. Nearly all things are possible. |
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| No stratification system is |
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| completely open or closed |
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status is determined at birth
caste systems grow weaker as societies industrialize
vestiges of caste systems remain for years after they are officially abolished
Slavery is an example of a caste system (Roman Empire, Ancient Greece, U.S., Brazil, Caribbean)
An estimated 27 million people held as slaves worldwide. |
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| based on ownership and control of resources and on the type of work people do |
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Societies have tasks that must be accomplished and positions that must be filled
Stratification is necessary to ensure that the most qualified people pursue the most important jobs
Best performers are lured to perform critical tasks
Job rank depends on how important and rare skills and/or extensive training required
Stratification is needed for society to survive
BUT
Rewards are not always related to importance
Importance is hard to assess
Talents and skills may not be effectively developed
Power can be used to restrict access to better jobs
There are other motivators besides money and status |
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Stratification arises from groups competing for power and property
Puts all weight on economic forces
Focuses on the way dominant groups control the economy, legitimize control and control resistance
Marx predicted revolution against capitalist system that would result in utopian communist system
BUT
Puts too much weight on economic forces
Predicted revolutions that did not occur
Many “communist” countries have fallen in recent years
Conflict may not result in change |
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| subjective class ,objective class , false consciousness , class consciousness, Class, Bourgeoisie, Proletariat, Substructure, Superstructure |
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| one to which you think you belong |
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| one to which you actually belong |
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| subjective and objective class do not correspond |
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| realize common interests and common antagonism to other major classes |
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Class= individual with common level of life chances*
Emphasized economic basis of stratification BUT
Says political and social power or prestige are also factors AND
Ideas can influence economic behavior and life chances
Three factors interplay:
economic (life chances)
social (honor and prestige)
political (power) |
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Access to resources such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care.
Affluent people have better life chances because they have greater access to:
quality education
safe neighborhood
nutrition and health care
police protection |
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| Maintenance of the stratification system |
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Definition
Inheritance
Socialization
Religion and ideology
State use of coercion
Social processes
Cooptation – share symbol of power
Principle of cumulative advantage |
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Term
| Socioeconomic status (SES) – |
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– a combined measure that in order to determine class location, attempts to classify people in terms of:
occupational rank (autonomy and type of work)
income (salary and wages)
wealth (property and assets; can generate income)
education.
It is the usual measure of class in America. |
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| Social mobility - movement from one level in the stratification system to another |
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| vertical, horizontal, intra-generational, intergenerational, occupational, voluntary, structural, downward |
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| improve yourself during your life time |
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| movement experienced by family members from one generation to the next |
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| a standard of living below the minimum needed for the maintenance of an adequate diet, health care and shelter |
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| approximately 14.3% of the total American population and millions more worldwide. |
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| lack money for basic necessities like food, clothing, shelter |
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| have money for necessities but lack basic amenities; unable to maintain an average standard of living |
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| compare actual income against perceptions and expectations |
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The trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty.
Women bear the major economic and emotional burdens of raising children when they are single heads of households but earn 70 and 80 cents for every dollar a male worker earns.
More women than men are unable to obtain regular, full-time, employment. |
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| Those who are poor, seldom employed, and caught in long-term deprivation that results from low levels of education and income and high rates of unemployment. |
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| A reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a specific job that leads to a corresponding reduction in the wages for that job. |
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| A hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people’s ability and credentials. |
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| Four factors have eroded the American Dream for the middle class: |
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Escalating housing prices
Occupational insecurity
Blocked mobility on the job
Cost of living squeeze that has penalized younger workers, even when they have more education and better jobs than their parents. |
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| Consequences of stratification |
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| physical health, mental health, politics, criminal justice, education |
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| U.S. Stratification in the Future |
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Many social scientists believe that trends point to an increase in social inequality in the U.S.:
The purchasing power of the dollar has stagnated or declined since the early 1970s.
Wealth continues to become more concentrated at the top of the U.S. class structure.
Federal tax laws in recent years have benefited corporations and wealthy families at the expense of middle and lower-income families.
The rate of downward mobility is increasing and sources of upward mobility are shrinking |
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