Chapter 7

Class and StratificationJuly 12, 2010

Class Up-date• 3 more “instructional” classes:

July 12th

July 14th NO CLASS! WORK ON PROJECTSEmail me project info / article.July 19th July 21st

----------------------------------------------------------------July 26th – We present projects in class.July 28th - Final Exam (Critical Issues on Wiki)

Defining Class

• Following the Industrial RevolutionClass is the division of people into large groups

having similar economic assets.

Upper class: consists of those who control the means of producing goods and services

Middle class: those who possess education and/or technical skills

Lower or working class: posses manual labor skills.

Ideal Cutlure

• Values women and children first.

• Reference Titanic chart: What do you notice?

Titanic Facts

• In order to allow 1st class passengers enough room to walk the deck - # of life boats were reduced.

• Lifeboats were kept on the deck – close to 1st class cabins

What impact does your social class have on your life chances?

What is Social Stratification?

– social stratification– structured inequality

• wealth and power• belief systems

– structure of social mobility– Every society has a ranking system

• Why Do We Have Social Stratification?– creates interdependence (Durkheim)

– oppression and exploitation (Marx)

Social Class • Theories of Social Class – Marx and Class • bourgeoisie• proletariat

– Weber and Class• Class position• Status• Power

– socioeconomic status (“SES”)

Karl Marx

• Social Class is a core theme in Marx’s writings– Class means all members of a group who share

the same ties to the means of production– 2 main primary classes: • Capitalists (or bourgeoisie) – Own or direct the means

of production & accumulate profit• Working class (proletariat) – make living by selling labor

to Capitalists

Class Conflict• Relationship between the bourgeoisie and proletariat is

ground in their dependence on one another & class conflict.

• Capitalism: economic system that concentrates ownership of the means of production in the hands of the few and is coupled with a network of wage labor provided by many.

• Capitalists invest money in production of goods and services to generate private profit.

• Surplus Value: Marx describes this as the source of the exploitation of the working class by the capitalist elite.

Max Weber

Like Marx – believe that major class divisions were rooted in who owned the means of production.

He believed individuals were assigned different market values for their skills

BUT he believed that POWER played a role. Not just economics

ie… Bill Gates vs. Supreme Court Justices

Social Conflict

• Conflict is unavoidable b/c of scarcity or unequal distribution of valued good and services

• Some classes have power and control over these resources than other do.

Emile Durkheim

• Social class was a product of the division of labor.

• It is common to all organizations b/c it is required for a smooth operation.

Structural Functionalists

• Stratification satisfies a need to slot individuals to various positions for the division of labor

• Motivates people to accomplish their goals• Most competent people = more important

tasks • Inequality of strata = rewards must be

unequally distributed b/c not all jobs are not equally pleasant or important.

Social Class

• Socioeconomic Classes in the United States– Upper Upper Class– Lower Upper Class– Upper Middle Class– Middle Middle Class– Working Class– Lower Class– Underclass

Theories of Stratification

• Biological Deficiency– Social Darwinsim (“Survival of the Fittest”)• People are poor b/c they are biologically unfit• Some are born healthier and more intelligent• Some end up with “more” b/c they are superior• Today his beliefs appear in writings of THREE

contemporary theorists.

Poverty

Table 1Diverging classes

Median family income by income, 1979 and 2008, 2008 dollars

Low income Middle income Professional1979 $26,709 $74,244 $137,5472008 $19,011 $64,465 $147,742

Source:Heather Boushey and Jeff Chapman’s analysis of Miriam King, Steven Ruggles, Trent Alexander, Donna Leicach, and Matthew Sobek. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 2.0. [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: MinnesotaPopulation Center [producer and distributor], 2009.

Table 2Women in the workforce

Stay-at-home married mothers, by family income, in the late 1970s and the late 2000s

Low income Middle income Professional1977–1979 55% 35% 35%2006–2008 60% 23% 20%

Source: Heather Boushey and Jeff Chapman’s analysis of Miriam King, Steven Ruggles, Trent Alexander, Donna Leicach, and Matthew Sobek.Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 2.0. [Machine-readable database]. Minneapolis, MN: MinnesotaPopulation Center [producer and distributor], 2009.

US Census Data

• Poverty Table 2001 – 2003 (wiki ref.)

• US Dept. of Health and Family Services (wiki)

Poverty

• Concentrated in three groups:– Racial Minorities– Women– Children of the poor

*The book shows most of the poor are white. But median income in AA households is 61.9% of white

income. Hispanic income is 70.6% of white income. (2003)

Women

• 2003:– Female head of household median income: $29, 307– Male head of household (w/o wife): $41,959– Female head of households (w/o husband) bottom 35%– ¼ of female H of H (w/o husbands) live below poverty– 1996 over 50% of all poor were female H of H (w/o husbands)

Children

• 1:5 children in poverty• Nearly half of all AA children in poverty

• 1/3 of all poor do not get food stamps• ¾ receive no housing assistance• 1.5 million children w/o a permanent roof over head.• Nearly 5 million children experience hunger• 1/3 eat only one meal per day or less• Only ¼ eat 3 meals a day

Grim Rule of Three• Poor children 3x more likely to live in sub-standard housing• 3 x more likely to go w/out heat or electricity• 3 x more likely to be exposed toe damp, molding housing and

lead to higher rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses• 3x more likely to live with cockroaches and mice (allergies,

bites, health issues form animal waste.)• 3 x more likely to experience overcrowding and lead poison• 3x more likely to die from house fire b/c 3 x more likely to live

in mobile homes

Theories on Racial Inequality

• Deficiency Theories:– Lies in genetics– Early theories – whites were mentally superior– Achievements and dominance were a matter of

natural selection– Resurfaced in 1969 (Arthur Jensen) and Richard

Herrnstein (1973)– Few scientists accept these theories.

Arthur Jensen

• Link between IQ and innate intelligence– 80% inherited– 20% environmental

Fasten your seatbelts!!!!!

– Suggested IQ between AA and whites– Used IQ tests and performance in school

Richard Herrnstein• Integrated Jensen’s views• Professor of Psychology at Harvard University• Hereditary caste system• Intelligence is inherited

– Lower intelligence – people will fall behind

The Bell Curve (written with Charles Murray) 1994Debate over intelligence and class structure

Controversial Conclusion: (Reference J.Mc)“Going on welfare really is a dumb idea, and that is why women who are

low in cognitive ability end up there.”

Culture of Poverty

• Once culture of poverty comes into existence – perpetuates from generation to generation b/c of the effect on the children.

• By the time “slum children” are 6 or 7 yrs. Old – they have absorbed basic values and attitude s of subculture.

(Reference Mom/ Chris D.)

Reading Ability

• # of words – vocabulary level

• 4 yr. olds vs. poverty mothers

• Busy talk vs. “talking” with children

Edward Banfield(Advisor to Republican Presidents 1974)

• Non-Poor:– Put off gratification of immediate needs or desire for

future gain– In school ex. : willing to invest time, energy, and money

in obtaining degrees that lead to….

• Poor tend to:– Present time orientation (live for the moment)– Ex. More willing to spend time, energy, and money on

gaining their immediate wants / desires.

Opportunity Theory

• Alternative to Genetic Theories• Focuses on changes post WWII• Thesis is the isolation of the AA underclass

from the opportunity structure created• Believes class has more of an effect on job

placement than race.

**Pursuit of Happiness – Will Smith**

Institutional Discrimination

• Michael Harrington (Book: The Other America)– Contemporary poor in US are those who for

reasons beyond their control cannot help themselves.

– Real reason why poor – made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents, in the wrong section of the country, in the wrong industry or tin the wrong racial or ethnic group.

William RyanSituational Constraints within Institutional Discrimination

• Author of blaming the victim

• The influence of the culture of poverty on poverty is relatively small. “The simplest and at the same time, the most significant proposition in understanding poverty is that it is caused by lack of money.”

Institutional Discrimination• Occurs when the accepted ways of doing things work to the disadvantage of the poor

and to the advantage of the non-poor.

Example:

• To get ahead = one needs education

• To succeed in education – one needs parents with the experience and expertise to guide their children through the vast educational network and to have high expectations.

• Most jobs leading to social mobility = require college education

• Poor experience low expectations of teachers, poor quality of schools, lack of support services, and can not afford college tuition = self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.

Welfare

Walter Williams' PBS documentary Good Intentions based on his book, The State Against Blacks (1982). The documentary was very controversial at the time it was released and led to many animosities and even threats of murder.

In Good Intentions, Dr. Williams examines the failure of the war on poverty and the devastating effect of well meaning government policies on blacks asserting that the state harms people in the U.S. more than it helps them. He shows how government anti-poverty programs have often locked people into poverty making the points that:

- being forced to attend 3rd rate public schools leave students unprepared for working life- minimum wages prevent young people from obtaining jobs at an early age- licensing and labor laws have had the effect of restricting entrance of blacks into the skilled trades and unions- the welfare system creates perverse incentives for the poor to make bad choices they otherwise would not

Dr. Williams presents the following solutions to these problems:

Failing Public Schools - Give parents greater control over their children's education by setting up a tuition tax credit or voucher system to broaden competition in turn revitalizing both public and non-public schools

Minimum Wages - Remove the minimum wage from youngsters to give more young people the chance to learn the world of work at an early age instead spending their free time idle an possibly falling into the habits of the street

Restrictive Labor Laws, Jobs Programs - Eliminate government roadblocks that prevent new entrepreneurs from starting their own business

Welfare Programs - Enact a compassionate welfare system such as a negative income tax which would remove dependency and dis-incentives for the poor to get themselves out of poverty

Scholars interviewed in the documentary include Donald Eberle, Charles Murray, and George Gilder.

Welfare Reform

• 1996 President Clinton signed:The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

Eliminated: AFDC: Aid to Families with Dependent ChildrenChanged: TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

1. Max. of 60 months (some states 2 years)2. Requires able-bodied people to work hours per week to

maintain