Vermette - Sociology 101 - Chapter 8: Stratification, Class and Inequity

Introduction to SociologyNinth Edition

Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier,Richard P. Appelbaum, & Deborah Carr

Chapter 8

Stratification, Class, and Inequality

Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company

Stratification, Class, and Inequality

• Which income group lost the greatest percentage of its wealth during the Great Recession of 2008?– (a) the upper class– (b) the middle class– (c) the lower class

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Learning Objectives

• Basic Concepts– Learn about social stratification and the importance of

social background in an individual’s chances for material success

• Theories of Stratification in Modern Societies– Know the most influential theories of stratification—

including those of Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Erik Olin Wright

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Learning Objectives

• Research on Social Stratification Today– Know the class differences in U.S. society, what

influences them and how they are defined and determined

– Recognize the ways in which the gap between rich and poor has grown larger

– Learn the processes by which people become marginalized in a society and the forms this marginalization takes

• Unanswered Questions– Learn about competing explanations for why poverty

exists and means for combating it– Understand your own social mobility chances– Learn how changes in the American economy since the

1970s have led to growing inequalities4


Basic Concepts

• Social Stratification– How individuals and social groups

are divided in society and the inequalities of wealth and power that result

• Structured Inequalities– Social inequalities that result from

patterns in the social structure

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Basic Concepts

• Slavery– A form of social stratification in

which some people are literally owned by others as their property

– Total subjection of individual to the interests of their owners

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Basic Concepts

• Caste systems– A social system in which one’s social

status is given for life– Social life is segregated– Intimate relationships are restricted

to members of one’s own caste

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Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

• Class– A large group of people who hold

similar material prosperity and power

• Life chances– A person’s opportunities for

achieving economic prosperity

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Basic Concepts

• Income– Payment, usually derived from

wages, salaries, or investments– Unequal distribution of income

among class groups

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Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

• Wealth– The assets that an individual owns,

such as cash, savings, and checking accounts and investments in stocks, bonds, and real estate

– Unequal distribution across class groups

– Racial divisions persist

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Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

• Education– College education predicts

occupation, income, and wealth later in life

– Racial differences persist• Occupation– Affected by education– Affects income and wealth

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Basic Concepts

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Basic Concepts

• Class and Lifestyle– Economic capital– Cultural capital

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Theories of Stratification in Modern Societies

• Karl Marx– Class is based on relationship to the

means of production• How production of material goods is

carried on in a society, including technology and social relations between producers

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• Karl Marx– Capitalists• People who own companies, land, or

stocks and use them to generate economic returns

–Working class• People who sell their labor to capitalists

and generate surplus value

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• Max Weber– Besides relationships to the means

of production, class divisions depend on skills, credentials, and social status

– Pariah groups prevented from opportunities• Groups who suffer from negative status

discrimination

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• Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore– Stratification is functional– Important positions in society require

special skills and offer greater rewards

–Most qualified people fill the most important roles and receive the greatest benefit

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• Erik Olin Wright– Class divisions based on:• Control over investments or monetary

capital• Control over the physical means of

production• Control over labor power

– Contradictory class locations

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• Annette Laureau– Different parenting styles on the

basis of social class position– Concerted cultivation vs. natural

growth

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Research on Social Stratification Today

• The upper class in the United States– Broadly composed of the more

affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own businesses, and hold large numbers of stocks (shares)

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• The middle class in the United States– Composed broadly of those working

in white-collar and lower managerial occupations

– Occupational prestige, income, and wealth split middle class into upper middle and lower middle classes

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• The working class in the United States– Broadly composed of people working

in blue-collar or manual labor occupations

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• The lower class in the United States– Composed of people who work part-

time or not at all and whose annual household income is typically below $20,000

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• The “under class” in the United States– Individuals situated at the bottom of

the class system, often composed of people in the highest-poverty neighborhoods of the inner city

– “New urban poor”

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• Social mobility– Intergenerational mobility– Intragenerational mobility– Structural mobility– Exchange mobility

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• Upward mobility– Higher education

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• Absolute poverty– The minimal requirements necessary

to sustain a healthy existence• Relative poverty– Poverty defined according to the

living standards of the majority in any given society

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• Measuring poverty– The poverty line• An official government measure that

defines those living in poverty in the United States• In 2011, $22,350 annually was the

poverty income for a family of four

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Copyright © 2014, W.W. Norton & Company 32



• Working poor– People who work, but whose

earnings are not enough to lift them above the poverty line

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• Working poor– In 2011, minimum wage was

$7.25/hour for full-time annual income of $14,500

– Only 5 percent of low-income families that work full-time, full-year qualify for welfare

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• The feminization of poverty– An increase in the proportion of the

poor who are female– Growing numbers of women who are

single mothers, divorced, or separated

• Children in poverty– Related to economic conditions and

government spending36





• Elderly in poverty– Low overall poverty rate (9 percent)– Large variation based on race and

gender

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• Homeless– People who have no place to sleep

and either stay in free shelters or sleep in public places not meant for habitation

– Young single men of working age– Families (often single women) with

children

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Unanswered Questions

• Is Inequality Declining or Increasing in the United States?– Kuznets Curve

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• Why are Poverty Rates Rising in the United States?– Culture of poverty• Poor are socialized to learn values,

beliefs, and lifestyles that are incompatible with upward mobility in the class system

– Dependency culture• Culture of individuals who rely on

government welfare subsidies rather than working for pay

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• Why are Poverty Rates Rising in the United States?– Social structure• Inequities are built into the system that

affect opportunities available to people depending on their gender, race, ethnicity, education, or social class

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• What Can Be Done to Combat Poverty?–Welfare systems• Provide basic benefits like food, housing,

and medical care to the poor• Critics argue that welfare recipients

become dependent on a system that is supposed to make them independent

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• What Can Be Done to Combat Poverty?–Welfare reform• Time limits• Work-training programs

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• How Will These Economic Patterns Affect Your Life?– Decreasing effect of education on

mobility chances– Increasing income inequality– Global economic competition

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Concept Quiz

Ownership of wealth, occupation, income, and education are the four main bases of which kind of stratification system?(a) caste(b) class(c) meritocratic(d) slavery

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Concept Quiz

According to your text, approximately what percentage of the country’s total net worth was held by the bottom 60 percent of Americans in 2007?(a) 23 percent(b) 60 percent(c) 2 percent(d) 11 percent

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Concept Quiz

Rosie, a woman from a working-class family, won a huge lottery jackpot. She decided to apply for membership at an exclusive country club but felt unwelcome there after ordering the “wrong” wine at a prospective member dinner and receiving stares when she smoked a cigarette outside. What does her experience demonstrate about class?

(a)Occupational status can impact one’s class standing even more than one’s wealth or income.

(b) One must obtain cultural capital at a very young age in order to be able to circulate smoothly among those in the top class brackets.

(c) Class is not only determined and expressed economically but also through lifestyle choices and personal tastes. 50


Concept Quiz

According to the logic of Davis and Moore’s functionalist theory of stratification, which of the following occupations must be functionally most important to society?(a) corporate lawyer(b) sewage-treatment plant mechanic(c) sixth-grade teacher(d) police officer

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Concept Quiz

What is one implication of Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital?(a) Social mobility is less about how hard you work and more about the kinds of tools you work with.(b) Growing up rich ultimately creates cultural disadvantages in adulthood.(c) The hardest-working members of society will usually wind up highly successful.(d) Working-class parents do not place high value on their children’s education.

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Concept Quiz

What is meant by the feminization of poverty?(a) the emasculating effect poverty has on men, whose masculinity must be proven by the ability to provide for one’s family (b) the fact that poor women who cannot afford the clothing and beauty regimens of rich women must behave in ultra-feminine ways to compensate(c) an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female

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Discussion Question: Thinking Sociologically

If you were doing your own study of status differences in your community, how would you measure people’s social class? Explain why you would take the particular measurement approach you’ve chosen. What would be its value(s) and shorcomings(s) compared with those of alternative measurement procedures?

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Using occupation and occupational change as your mobility criteria, view the social mobility within your family and explain why you think people in your family have moved up, moved down, or remained at the same status level. Apply these terms: vertical and horizontal mobility, upward and downward mobility, intragenerational and intergenerational mobility.

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Discussion Question: Thinking Sociologically

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