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Chapter 7 Stratification
Chapter 7
Stratification
Chapter Outline Structures of Inequality Inequality in the United States Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality The Determinants of Social Class
Position Social Class and Social Life Social Class and Public Policy Inequality Internationally Where This Leaves Us
Structures of Inequality
Inequality becomes stratification when two conditions exist: 1. Inequality is institutionalized, backed up
by social structures and social norms. 2. Inequality is based on membership in a
group rather than personal attributes.
Stratification – an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which social statuses are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources
Structures of Inequality Scarce resources include prestige, power and money.
Power - the ability to direct others’ behavior even against their wishes.
Prestige - the amount of social honor or value afforded one individual or group relative to another. Prestige is also referred to as social status.
Types of Stratification Structures Caste systems rely largely on ascribed
statuses as the basis for distributing scarce resources.
◦ Ascribed – determined by birth or inheritance Class systems rely largely on achieved
statuses as the basis for distributing scarce resources. ◦ Achieved – obtained over a lifetime
Structures of Inequality
Structures of Inequality Types of Stratification Structures
The primary difference between caste and class systems is the opportunity for achievement.
The class system permits social mobility.
Social mobility – the process of changing one’s social class
Connections: Personal Application Everyone has both ascribed and achieved statuses.
You have the achieved statuses of a high school graduate and college student, and hope to have the achieved status of college graduate.
If your parents graduated college, you have the ascribed status of being from an educated family, which you will keep whether or not you graduate college.
How others view you will depend on both statuses.
Marx – the Bourgeoisie and the Proletariat In Marxist theory, class refers to a person’s
relationship to the means of production. ◦ The bourgeoisie is the class that owns the
tools and materials for their work. ◦ The proletariat is the class that does not
own the means of production. False consciousness is a lack of awareness
of one’s real position in the class structure. Class consciousness occurs when people
understand their true class identity
Structures of Inequality Classes – How Many?
Weber: Class, Status and Power Class is a relationship to the means of
production. Status is related to lifestyle. Power is the ability to compel other people’s
behavior.
Structures of Inequality Classes – How Many?
Weber’s Model of Social Class
Structures of Inequality
Measuring Social Class A social class is a category of people
who share the same class, status, and power and who have a sense of identification with each other.
Socioeconomic status (SES) is determined by looking at measures of income, education, and occupation.
Structures of Inequality
Social-Class Identification (U.S.A.)
Structures of Inequality
Only tiny minorities see themselves as belonging to the upper and lower classes. The rest are split between those who identify as working- or middle-class. Studies show that class identification has important consequences, affecting what church you go to, how you vote, and how you raise your children.
General Social Survey (2008)
Inequality Internationally
A central fact in our world today is the vast international inequality.
In 2003, gross domestic product per capita was $41,890 in the United States but only $806 in Sierra Leone.
Average life expectancy in the United States is 77; the average in Sierra Leone is 41.
Inequality Internationally
Development refers to the process of increasing the productivity and standard of living of a society—longer life expectancies, more adequate diets, better education, better housing, and more consumer goods. It is the most accepted way to raise standards of living in lesser developed countries.
Three Worlds: Most to Least Developed Countries
Most Developed Countries are rich nations with considerable economic and political autonomy. Comprise about 20% of world population; produce
about 80% of world gross product; own about 90% of cars in the world.
Examples: United States, Western European nations, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
Inequality Internationally
Three Worlds: Most to Least Developed Countries
Less Developed Countries have worse living standards than those in the most-developed countries but better than in the least-developed nations. Include countries in Asia and countries in Central
and South America.
These nations hold an intermediate position in the world political economy.
Inequality Internationally
Three Worlds: Most to Least Developed Countries
Least Developed Countries rank low on measures of development and are characterized by extreme poverty and political weakness. 75% of the world’s population lives in the least
developed countries.
Countries vary in population, political ideologies, and resources.
Inequality Internationally
The Human Development Index measures a country along the dimensions of human experience: life expectancy educational attainment standard of living
Inequality Internationally Three Worlds: Most to Least Developed Countries
Human Development Around the World
Structural-Functional Analysis: Modernization Theory Sees development as the natural unfolding of
an evolutionary process in which societies go from simple to complex economies and institutional structures.
Based on the premise that adaptation is the chief determinant of social structures.
Limitations: ◦ does not account for regression of former developed nations, rapid modernization of some countries and none for others
Inequality Internationally
Conflict Analysis: World-Systems Theory Examines the economic relationships
between developed (core) and developing countries (peripheral)
Two classes of nations: ◦ Core societies are rich, powerful nations that
are economically diversified and free from outside control.
◦ Peripheral societies are poor, weak nations, with highly specialized economies subject to outside control.
Inequality Internationally
Connections: Personal Application If you have traveled to a less developed country,
you have seen the consequences of economic dependence:
You probably were warned not to drink water from the faucets, because these nations lack safe drinking water.
Because wages are so low, you could buy meals, clothes, and souvenirs cheaply.
You might have seen beggars or prostitutes and been warned to watch out for thieves.
Inequality Internationally
Inequality Internationally Global Inequality and Armed Conflict Inequality can lead to armed conflict when:
◦ powerful nations use their resources to seek even more resources (as when most-developed nations invade less-developed nations to obtain oil, gas, or other commodities).
◦ those who lack power rise in revolt. A war is an armed conflict between a national army and some other group.
Global Inequality and Armed Conflict
Inequality Internationally
Case Study: Islamic Terrorism. Pro-Taliban supporters in Pakistan one week after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Such demonstrations reflected fear of American cultural and economic power and American political and military power.
Terrorism is the deliberate and unlawful use of violence against civilians for political purposes.
Inequality in the United States
Income: money received in a given period. Wealth: sum value of money and goods.
Economic Inequality
Poorest 10% of the population is significantly poorer; wealthiest 10% is significantly wealthier. When the U.S. population is divided into five equal-sized groups:
◦ The poorest 20% of American households have only 3.4% of all personal income.
◦ The richest 20% receive 50% percent. Richest 20% of population owns 69% of the wealth.
Inequality in the United States
Income inequality is the extent to which incomes vary within a population. It is higher in the U.S. than any other industrialized nation and continues to increase.
Inequality in the United States
Income Inequality in the U.S. U.S Bureau of the Census (2006)
Consequences of Social Class People with incomes less than $7,500 a year
are 4 times as likely to be the victim of a violent crime as people with incomes over $75,000.
Infants with mothers who don’t graduate are 50% more likely to die before their first birthday as infants whose mothers attend college.
Students from poor and working class homes are more likely to attend community colleges and to drop out regardless of which type of college they attend.
Inequality in the United States
Structural-Functional Theory Each society has essential tasks that
must be performed if it is to survive. The rewards must be proportional to
three factors: ◦ The importance of the task.
◦ The pleasantness of the task. ◦ The scarcity of the talent or ability
necessary to perform the task.
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality Structural-Functional Theory Criticisms of S-F theory: High demand (scarcity) can be artificially
created by limiting access to good jobs.
Social-class background, sex, race or ethnicity likely influences high reward in status more than scarce talents and ability.
Many highly rewarded statuses are less necessary to the maintenance of society.
Conflict Perspective Statuses and scarce resources are
distributed on the basis of class struggle. Modern conflict theorists argue that men
gain benefit from the “reproductive” labor of women the same way capitalists benefit from the labor of workers. ◦ Reproductive labor refers to traditionally
female tasks that enable a society to continue…and for ‘others’ to work and play.
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality Conflict Perspective Criticisms of Conflict theory: Questions the conclusion that inequality is necessarily undesirable and unfair:
◦ People are unequal – some are smarter, harder working, more talented than others.
◦ Coordination & authority are functional – organizations work better when those coordinating have authority / power to do so.
Perspectives on Inequality • Garbage removal is
both unpleasant and essential, yet most garbage collectors are paid low wages.
• Structural-functional theory attributes their low wages to a lack of skill, whereas conflict theory attributes it to a lack of power.
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality
Comparing Two Models of Stratification Attribute Structural-Functional Conflict
How society can be understood
Groups cooperating to meet common needs
Groups competing for scarce resources
Social structures…
Solve problems and help society adapt
Maintain current patterns of inequality
Rationale Stratification is functional Stratification is dysfunctional
Strengths Considers unequal skills and talents in people
Considers how those in control exploit
Weaknesses Ignores importance of power and inheritance in allocation of rewards
Ignores functions of inequality & unequal human capital
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality
Symbolic Interaction Theory A major contribution of symbolic interaction theory is the
importance of self-fulfilling prophecies. Self-fulfilling prophecies: occur when something is
defined as real and therefore becomes real in its consequences.
Symbolic interaction theory helps us understand how everyday interactions reinforce inequality by constantly reminding us of our place in the social order.
Theoretical Perspectives on Inequality
The Determinants of Social-Class Position With each generation, the social statuses
in a given society must be allocated anew. ◦ Some people will get the good positions and
some will get the bad ones. ◦ Some will receive scarce resources and some
will not. In a class system this depends on two
things: ◦ the opportunities available to individuals ◦ the overall opportunities in a society’s labor
market
Microstructure: Individual Opportunities The indirect inheritance model argues that
children have occupations of a status similar to that of their parents because the family’s status and income determine children’s aspirations and opportunities.
If your parents are middle or upper class, you are more likely to be: ◦ born healthy, ◦ get good nutrition and health care during childhood, ◦ have access to good education, ◦ have access to good jobs through class networks.
The Determinants of Social-Class Position
Macrostructure: The Labor Market The indirect inheritance model explains how
some people come to be well prepared to step into good jobs, whereas others lack the necessary skills or credentials.
The other variable in the equation is the labor market: ◦ If there is a depression, you will not be able
to get a good job no matter what your education, motivation, or aspirations.
The Determinants of Social-Class Position
The Determinants of Social-Class Position
The Labor Market A segmented labor market has one labor market for good, high pay jobs and one labor market for poor, low pay jobs.
The American Dream: Ideology and Reality Ideology – a set of norms and values that
rationalizes the existing social structure. Ideology offers individuals an incentive to accept their lot in life.
American Dream ideology suggests that all who work hard enough will get ahead.
Only ⅓ of Americans enjoy upward mobility.
The Determinants of Social-Class Position
The Determinants of Social-Class Position Explaining Upward Mobility American Dream ideology survives
because there is some upward social mobility.
Indicators of upward mobility include: ◦ access to educational resources ◦ parents with college education
◦ financial resources ◦ systemic reinforcement of class status
The Poor Official poverty level – the minimum amount
of money a family needs to have a decent standard of living. Set by U.S. government every year based on economic conditions.
In 2011, the poverty guideline for a family of four was $22.350.
In 2007, 37 million people fell below the poverty level - officially classified as poor.
Many more not below the poverty level are still poor.
Social Class and Social Life
Social Class and Social Life The Poor – Who are they?
Age # people % group Under 18 13M 17.8
18 – 64 20.5M 11.3
65 and up 3.5M 9.8
Native born 31M 12.1
Naturalized 1.3M 9.8
Noncitizen 4.7M 21.6
Citizenship # people % group
White 31M 12.1 non-Hispanic
African 9.0M 24.7 American
Hispanic 9.1M 21.9
Asian/Pac 1.2M 9.8
Married 3.21M 5.5 couple
Female head 4.0M 28.4 no husband
Male head .7M 13.5 no wife
Ethnicity # people % group Household # people % group
The Poor Concentrated poverty – areas in which high
proportions of the population live in poverty.
Homelessness – a major problem in the U.S. since the early 1980s, when the federal government slashed funds for low-income housing and increased subsidies to landlords for “gentrifying” buildings in the inner-city. ◦ Value of the minimum wage declined
◦ Public assistance became harder to get and lower in value.
Social Class and Social Life
Social Class and Social Life The Poor - Causes of poverty
Culture of poverty - a set of values that emphasizes living for the moment rather than thrift, investment in the future, or hard work.
◦ 30 years of research has shown little support for culture of poverty theories.
Changing labor market - deindustrialization of the United States has eliminated many of the jobs that once paid good wages to people who had little education
Social Class and Social Life The Near Poor:
Have household earnings from just above the federal poverty level to twice the poverty level.
Typically work at low pay jobs, have a roof over their head, and enough food to eat.
Have little to no health insurance, no employment benefits
Live in high risk neighborhoods and are targeted by ‘predatory lenders’
The Working Class The working class includes those who work
in blue-collar industries and their families. Their economic prospects differ in three
ways: 1. They have little chance of promotion, and their
incomes rarely rise much over their lifetime. 2. Their jobs are rarely secure. 3. They are much less likely to receive pensions,
health insurance, and other benefits.
Social Class and Social Life
The Middle Class The middle class is a large and diverse group. Middle-class workers have widely varying
incomes, with some earning less than the typical working-class individual.
Compared with those in the working class, middle-class workers tend to have more job security and opportunities for promotions and advancement.
Middleclass could until recently, expect to have benefits such as health insurance and sick leave and incomes that continue to rise.
Social Class and Social Life
The Upper Class In 2007, a family living in the United States required
an income of $177,000 to be in the richest 5% of Americans.
Most of this upper 5 % is still middle class – their wealth may not add up to much more than their debt.
The true upper class is made up of two groups: ◦ those whose families have had high incomes and
statuses for more than a generation ◦ those who themselves earn incomes in the millions
of dollars
Social Class and Social Life
Social Class and Public Policy Fair Wage Movements A decline in unions as a result of fewer manufacturing jobs has weakened the effects of unions to improve wages.
Social attention on income equality.
Focus on raising the minimum wage.
After adjusting for inflation, the current minimum wage (7.25/hr) is worth 10% less than the minimum wage in 1979.
Social Class and Public Policy Increasing Educational Opportunities Premise that education is key to reducing income inequality
Educational resources from early years enrichment to loan and grant programs for college age learners.
Growing support for year round schools and summer enrichment to reinforce consistent learning.
