Transcript Social Stratification

Social Stratification
 Ranking
of individuals or
categories of individuals on the
basis of unequal access to
scarce resources & social
rewards
Social Inequality
 The
unequal sharing of social
rewards & resources
 Why
haven’t large ‘unstratified’
societies existed?
 What
criteria would you use to
stratify a society if it were up to you?
 How
would you distribute scarce
resources & social rewards?
Caste
 Distribute
resources & rewards on
ascribed characteristics
Class
 Distribute
resources & rewards on
achieved characteristics
U.S.
Class system
 US law forbids discrimination based
on ascribed characteristics (race, sex,
ethnicity, religion, etc.) Therefore, all
Americans have equal access to
resources needed for social
advancement.
 Does everyone have equal access?

Social Class
 Grouping
people with similar
levels of wealth, power, and
prestige
 Upper, middle, lower
Wealth

Made up of his or her assets (value of
belongings) and income (money earned
through salary, returns, and gains)
In the US…
Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small percent of the
population.
-Richest 1% of population controls 1/3 of wealth
-Top 1/5th of income earners receive 50% of the
national income
-Average executive makes 419x the average worker
Power

The ability to control the behaviors of
others with or without their consent
Based on:
FORCE
POSSESSION OF A SPECIAL SKILL
SOCIAL STATUS
SPECIAL KNOWLEDGE
CUSTOMS
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Prestige

Respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy
an individual receives from the other
members of society
Income
Occupation
Education
Family Background
Area of Residence
Possessions
Club Memberships
SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS

Combines social factors such as
educational level, occupational prestige,
place of residence, and income
Prestige Ratings

On the next page in your packet, there are
20 occupations. By yourself, please rank
the occupations based on Prestige. There
are no right or wrong answers, just
opinions.
Explaining Stratification

Functionalist Theory

Social Stratification is a necessary feature of
Social Structure

Certain roles must be performed in order to
maintain society
Opposition to the Functionalist Theory
-Not everyone has equal access to education
-Unrecognized talent in lower classes
-Some rewards don’t reflect social values of the role
Explaining Stratification

Conflict Theory

Competition over resources as the cause of
social inequality

Stratification comes from class exploitation
6 Classes
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Upper-upper- UPPER CLASS
Lower-upper- UPPER MIDDLE CLASS
Upper-middle- LOWER MIDDLE CLASS
Lower-middle- WORKING CLASS
Upper-lower- WORKING POOR
Lower-lower- UNDERCLASS
UPPER CLASS


1% of population
Old money
vs.
-wealthy for gen.
-Family name
New Money
- Newly rich
- Not as respected
-Upper class holds power and influence
-Usually associated with Charity work and philanthropy
-Pay their dues to society
UPPER MIDDLE CLASS



High income businesspeople and
professionals
Status based on income rather than
assets
Have more influence in community
LOWER MIDDLE CLASS

White collar jobs (Do not require manual
labor)


Require less education and receive less
income
Have comfortable life, but must work hard to
maintain traditional values
WORKING CLASS

Jobs require more manual labor

Blue collar
Factory workers, trades-people
Don’t carry much prestige

Few financial reserves

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If emergencies happen…
WORKING POOR
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Lowest paying jobs

Often temporary or seasonal
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Housecleaning, migrant farmers, day laborers
Barely make a living wage

Depend on government assistance
UNDERCLASS
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Families have been poor or unemployed
for generations
Chief source of income is public
assistance
50% of children make it to a higher class
Life is a day to day struggle
3 ways to rank individuals
1.
Reputational

2.
Subjective

3.
Indiv. In the community rank others
Indiv. rank themselves (middle)
Objective

Sociologists define class based on
occupation, income & education
SOCIAL MOBILITY

Movement between or within social
classes

Horizontal
Vertical
Intergenerational
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Horizontal Mobility

Movement within a class
Moving from one job to another in the same field
Vertical Mobility

Movement between social classed

Can be
or
Moving from one position to another
Intergenerational Mobility

Status differences between generations in
the same family

Going from class of origin to a new,
higher class
Causes of Upward Mobility

Advances in technology
Jobs available change
Bad for 1st generation, good for 2nd
Causes of Upward Mobility

Changes in merchandizing patterns
Explosion of Credit and
insurance needs over the
years… need for more white
collar jobs
1940- 31% of pop held white
collar jobs
Today- 73%
Causes of Upward Mobility

Increase in general level of education
1940- 75% did NOT
graduate
1940- 5% have college degree
Today- 26%
Today- 9% do not
graduate
Causes of Downward Mobility

Personal Factors
Divorce, illness, widowhood, retirement
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Changes in Economy
Getting laid off, cutbacks
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No need for certain jobs
New technologies

Job market
College grads in some field have difficulty finding a job
Section 3: Poverty

31 Million people live below the poverty
line in America (11%)

Poverty- Standard of living that is below
the minimum that is considered adqequate
by society

Varies by society
Poverty in America


Poverty Level- Minimum annual income
needed by a family to survive
How is it calculated?
Changes each year to account for rise in overall cost of
living (inflation)
Food, housing, personal expenses
Poverty in America
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Age
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Children have the highest % in poverty
37% of the poor are under 18
Sex
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57% of women are poor
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Head of ½ of poor families
Race and Ethnicity
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What does the chart tell us?
Effects of Poverty
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Life Chances

Likelihood that individuals have in sharing in
opportunities and benefits of society
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Ex. Healthe, length of life, housing, education
Life Expectancy

Average number of years a person born into a
particular class can expect to live
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The Poor have lower life expectancy rates
Poor children are 60% more likely to die before 1 year
old than a family not in poverty
 Why????
Effects of Poverty
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Education
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Divorce rates
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Less property tax, less funding, fewer
supplies
Higher among the poor
Deviance
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More likely to commit crimes