Transcript Social Class & Families

Social Class & Families
Introduction to Families
Social Class & Families
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Today we’ll focus on:
Differences in families by class
How sociologists define class
How trends in the U.S. economy affect
families
Income inequality among families
Social Class & Families
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I can’t define it , but I know it when I see it
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Social class is hard to define
Social Class & Families
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One way that sociologists think about class is in
the Marxist sense:
Social theorist Karl Marx defined two classes
each determined by the person’s relationship to
the means of production
Means of Production includes: the things
necessary to produce goods and services such
as buildings, factories, machines, and capital or
money
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Two classes:
Those who own the means of production
 The bourgeoisie
Those who sell their labor to the owners of the
means of production
The proletariat
Social Class & Families
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But this two tiered system doesn’t fit with
the modern U.S. economy –
For example, where do we place
managers who supervise the working
class, but who don’t own the mean the
means of production?
Social Class & Families
 Social Class refers to an ordering of individuals
according to their prestige, power and privilege.
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Power: ability to force another person to do
something even against their will
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Prestige: respect and status in society
Privilege: special advantage or benefit enjoyed
by individuals, but not all
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What determines how much power, prestige, or privilege that
you have?
Social Class & Families
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To a large extent these three factors are
determined by a person’s economic
resources, including their:
 Income
 Occupation
 Education
Using this type of ordering is used to
create and define several layers or strata
in society
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This type of ordering is used to create
and define several layers or strata in
society
Sociologist call the study of how these
groups are ordered and the differences
between them social stratification
In other words, social stratification is
the hierarchical ranking of categories
of people within society
For example the rich are ranked more highly
than the poor
Social Class & Families
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Social class is hard to define
Thus, it is difficult to make absolute
distinctions between classes
What about a person who dropped out of
college, but heads a computer company?
What about a plumber (usually defined
as a working class occupation) who
makes 100,000 a year in income?
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What are the main social classes or
strata in the U.S. ?
Upper class
Middle class
Working class
Working poor
Underclass
Upper Class Families
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Upper class
They have amassed great wealth and
privilege
Have substantial prestige
Substantial investment holdings
Part of the social, cultural, or power elite
William Domhoff argues that all these
wealthy and powerful individuals are not
only part of the upper class but are really
the ruling class in U.S. society.
Middle Class Families
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Middle class
This is the group most Americans report that they
are in.
Connected to economy in such a way that they
have secure comfortable income
Jobs that have some prestige, and require some
college or a college degree
Middle class men are in professional occupations,
middle managers, lawyers, engineers etc.
Middle class women have jobs in female
dominated professions like nursing teaching
The decline of the middle class?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PsUyE
YO16E
Working Class Families
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Working class
Minimum requirements for a decent life, may own a
house, or rent
Children are more likely to attend a community
college
Tend to hold manual labor jobs in factories, auto
repair shops, construction sites, but these jobs are
more prone to layoffs compared with jobs held my
middle class men
Thus, working class men are more vulnerable to
spells of unemployment.
Working-class women are more likely to work as
secretaries, service jobs, such as cashiers.
Working Poor Families
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Working Poor
Employed in minimum wage jobs
Jobs have few benefits (I.e. health
insurance)
Unlikely to own home
Those who work steadily but at low paying
jobs
May be frequently unemployed
May be receiving public assistance
Underclass Families
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Underclass
Extremely poor
May lack education and skills to secure a job
Often reside in inner cities (i.e. Chicago,
Detroit) where jobs have moved south or
overseas
Some may receive welfare for extended
periods of time
William Julius Wilson’s “Truly Disadvantaged”
Households by Total Money Income, 2010
3.5%
4.3
5.9
20.5
Under $5,000
$5,000-$9,999
$10,000-14,999
12%
$15,000-24,999
$25,000-34,999
$35,000-49,999
11.4
$50,000-74,999
10.8%
17.7
13.9%
U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032011/hhinc/new01_001.htm
$75,000-99,999
$100,000 and over
Occupy Wall Street Movement
The Occupy movement is an international
Protest movement which was directed at
increasing economic and social inequality
The first Occupy protest to receive wide
coverage was Occupy Wall Street in New York
City's Zuccotti Park, which began on September
17, 2011.
By October 9, Occupy protests had taken place
or were ongoing in over 95 cities across 82
countries, and over 600 communities in the
United States
Some Occupy Wall Street video:
These are just some videos I found on you tube, y
can do your own search:
http://socialtimes.com/occupy-wallstreet_b80636
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScS9Re_
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK1MOM
BI
Social Class & Families
Summary:
Families vary by social class as measured by
education, income, occupation, ties to extended
families and family type.
Income inequality is increasing – greater divide
between the haves and have nots
The rich are getting richer, and the poor
are getting poorer