Term
| What is absolute poverty? |
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Definition
| A minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below. |
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Term
| What is an achieved status? |
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Definition
| A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts. |
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Term
| What is an ascribed status? |
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Definition
| A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics. |
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Term
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Definition
| Karl Marx's term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of production. |
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Term
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Definition
| An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits. |
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Term
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Definition
| A hereditary rank, usually religiously dictated, that tends to be fixed and immobile. |
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Term
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Definition
| A group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income. |
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Term
| What is class consciousness? |
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Definition
| In Karl Marx's view, a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common vested interests and need for collective political action to bring about social change. |
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Term
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Definition
| A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. |
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Term
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Definition
| A social system in which there is little or no possibility of individual social mobility. |
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Term
| What is corporate welfare? |
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Definition
| Tax breaks, direct payments, and grants that the government makes to corporations. |
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Term
| What is dominant ideology? |
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Definition
| A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests. |
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Term
| What is an estate system? |
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Definition
| A system of stratification under which peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Also known as feudalism. |
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Term
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Definition
| The reputation that a specific that a specific person has earned within an occupation. |
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Term
| What is false consciousness? |
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Definition
| A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position. |
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Term
| What is horizontal mobility? |
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Definition
| The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| What is intergenerational mobility? |
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Definition
| Changes in social position within a person's adult life. |
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Term
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Definition
| The opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences. |
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Term
| What is objective method? |
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Definition
| A technique for measuring social class that assigns individuals to classes on the basis of criteria such as occupation, education, income, and place of residence. |
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Term
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Definition
| A social system in which the position of each individual is influenced by his or her achieved status. |
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Term
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Definition
| The ability to exercise one's will over others. |
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Term
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Definition
| The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society. |
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Term
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Definition
| Karl Marx's term for the working class in a capitalist society. |
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Term
| What is relative poverty? |
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Definition
| A floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole. |
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Term
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Definition
| A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people. |
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Term
| What is social inequality? |
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Definition
| A condition in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power. |
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Term
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Definition
| Movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society's stratification system to another. |
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Term
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Definition
| People who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent of their class positions. |
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Term
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Definition
| A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society. |
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Term
| What is the most extreme form of legalized social inequality for individuals or groups? |
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Definition
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Term
| The caste system is generally associated with...? |
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Definition
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Term
| What class has the smallest proportion of the population? |
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Definition
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Term
| Since the 1960's what has happened to America's middle class population? |
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Definition
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Term
| What sociological perspective argues that stratification is universal and that social inequality is necessary so that people will be motivated to fill socially important positions? |
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Definition
| The functionalist perspective. |
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Term
| The intellectual tradition at the heart of conflict theory begins principally with the work of...? |
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Definition
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Term
| Ralf Dahrendorf views social classes as groups of people who share common interests resulting from their authority relationships. What type of theorist is he? |
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Definition
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Term
| In 2001, about what percent of the wealth of the US was held by the richest fifth of the population? |
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Definition
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Term
| __ out of 9 people in this country live below the poverty line established by the federal government? |
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Definition
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Term
| The fact that a doctor in the Congo has a lower standard of living than a poor man in Appalachia illustrates which idea about poverty? |
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Definition
| Standards of poverty are relative. |
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Term
| In 2003, 51 percent of poor people in the US were living where? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which sociologist has applied functionalist analysis to the existence of poverty and argues that various segments of society actually benefit from the existence of the poor? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the digital divide? |
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Definition
| Where the poor, minorities and those living in rural communities and inner cities are not as likely to have access to the Internet as other members of society in the US. |
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Term
| A plumber whose father was a physician is an example of...? |
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Definition
| Downward intergenerational mobility. |
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Term
| What is conspicuous consumption? |
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Definition
| The term Thorstein Veblen used to describe the extravagant spending patterns of those at the top of the class hierarchy. |
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Term
| Which theorists believe that a differential system of rewards and punishments is necessary for the efficient operation of society? |
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Definition
| A functionalist theorist. |
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Term
| What is the ferminization of poverty? |
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Definition
| Since World War II, an increasing proportion of poor people in the US have been women , either divorced or never-married mothers. |
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Term
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Definition
| Term by William Wilson... Long term poor who lack training and skills. |
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Term
| What is slavery referred to today? |
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Definition
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Term
| According to Daniel Rossides, what is the largest social class in the US? |
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Definition
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