CHAPTER 8 – Social StratificationFill in the BlankSelect the missing terms from each section and place them in the correct blank space.Section 1Autonomy Castes ChattelClosed Conspicuous consumption CumulativeFormal Income Life chancesLower Lower-middle Lower-upperOpen Power PrestigeProperty Slavery Social class Social stratification Socioeconomic status Underclass Upper-middle Upper-upper WealthWorking Working poorSocial stratification is structured inequality between groups. A social class is a category of people with similar social standing based on wealth, education, power, prestige, and other valued resources. An open stratification system allows movement up or down. In a closed stratification system, movementfrom one social position to another is limited by ascribed statuses. In castes stratification is based on heredity. An extreme form of inequality is slavery, where people own others as property. In chattel slavery, people are bought and sold as commodities.Wealth is the money and other economic assets that a person or family owns, including property and income. Property includes buildings, land, or stocks and bonds. Income is money a person receives from wages, rents, or interest on savings accounts. Wealth builds; that is, it is cumulative and produces income. Social stratification includes prestige. The most prestigious occupations require more formal education,pay more, and offer greater autonomy. Social stratification also includes power, the ability of individuals or groups to achieve goals despite opposition. Socioeconomic status is an overall ranking of a person’s position in the class hierarchy based on income, education, and occupation. Upper-upper class members are extremely wealthy and value their privacy. They rarely appear on the lists of wealthiest individuals published by Forbes or Business Week. The lower-upper class is the nouveau riche and is more diverse than the upper-uppers.Most Americans describe themselves as middle class. The working class consists of skilled and semiskilled laborers, factory employees, and other blue-collar workers. The lower class has little education, few occupational skills, and work in minimum wage jobs. The working poor work at least 27weeks a year but receive such low wages that they live in or near poverty. The underclass is persistently poor, segregated residentially, and relatively isolated from the rest of the population.Max Weber used the term life chances to refer to the extent to which people have positive stratification experiences and can secure the good things in life.CHAPTER 8 – Social StratificationFill in the BlankSelect the missing terms from each section and place them in the correct blank space.Section 2Absolute poverty Culture of poverty Davis-MooreDemographic Economy Families with childrenHabitus Homelessness HorizontalImportant Intergenerational IntragenerationalJobs Meritocracy OrganizationPoverty Qualified RelativeReward Social mobility Vertical Women WorkAbsolute poverty is not having enough money to afford the most basic necessities of life. Relative poverty is not having enough money to maintain an average standard of living. The poverty line is the minimal level of income that the federal government considers necessary for basic subsistence. Several theories work to explain poverty. The culture of poverty view argues that poor people have different values, attitudes and beliefs than those who are not poor. Many sociologists argue that a society’s organization creates and sustains poverty. One severe consequence of poverty is homelessness, including people who live in automobiles, have makeshift housing such as boxes and boxcars, or stay with relatives for short periods. Single men are 68 percent of the homeless, families with children 23 percent, and single women 9 percent. Most Americans believe in social mobility, a person’s ability to move up or down the class hierarchy. Horizontal mobility means moving from one position to another at the same class level. Vertical mobility refers to moving up or down the class hierarchy. Intragenerational mobility refers to moving up or down the class hierarchy over one’s lifetime. Intergenerational mobility is moving up or down the class hierarchy relative to the position of one’s parents. Many factors related to social mobility are structural, including changes in the economy, and the number of jobs. Three of the most important demographic factors affecting social mobility are education, gender, and race and ethnicity. On an individual level, the habits of speech and lifestyle that reflect our class position – called habitus – are influenced by socialization. Other factors, such as chance, are also important factors in upward mobility.The Davis-Moore thesis, a functionalist explanation, argues that stratification is beneficial for society because: society needs individuals to perform a variety of work; some positions are more important than others; the most qualified people must fill the most important positions; and society must reward the most qualified people. This view reflects a belief in meritocracy, a belief that individuals are rewarded for their achievements.CHAPTER 8 – Social StratificationFill in the BlankSelect the missing terms from each section and place them in the correct blank space.Section 3Bourgeoisie Corporate welfare Dependency theoryFeminization of poverty High-income ImpoverishedLow-income Middle-income MobileMore Patriarchal Poor Proletariat Reputation Responsibilities Self-interest Similar Social mobilitySocialize Structural Symbols Upwardly World-system theoryKarl Marx used a conflict approach to argue that the competition between the bourgeoisie (those who ownthe means of production) and the proletariat (workers who sell their labor for wages) drives social organization so that the powerful maintain their power and wealth. For example, corporate welfare provides direct subsidies, tax breaks, and assistance that the government has created for businesses. Marx predicted that the conflict between these two groups would eventually cause capitalism to crumble. However, workers did not become impoverished, as he predicted. People do not always act out of economic self-interest and this theory does not emphasize the ability of individuals to be upwardly mobile.Feminist theorists contend that in a patriarchal system men shape the social stratification system because they control a disproportionate share of
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