Exam 2 Study Guide Social Status and Stratification Status the prestige that goes along with one s social position o Status power derives from the ability to increase one s own prestige often at the expense of others Social stratification relates not only to assets or property but also to attributes such as gender age religion and military rank o 3 key aspects of social stratification Class Status Power o Stratifications can be described as structured inequalities individuals and groups enjoy unequal access to rewards depending on their position within the stratification scheme o Systems of stratification 1 People in a category don t necessarily know or interact with each other but share a common characteristic 2 People s life experiences and opportunities depend on the ranking of their social category 3 The ranks of different social categories change very slowly over time Slavery and extreme form of inequality in which certain people own other people as property o Slavery is an unstable form of production o Today slavery is illegal in every country Caste system social status is bestowed for life Everyone s social status is based on personal characteristics such as perceived race or ethnicity parental religion or parental caste that are considered unchangeable o Intimate contact with members of other castes is strongly discouraged Purity of a caste is maintained by rules of marriage within one s social group as required by custom or law o Caste societies special type of class society in which class position is ascribed at birth rather than achieved through personal accomplishment Typically occur in agricultural societies that have not developed industrial capitalist economies Ex India Caste traditions are slowly giving away to class systems due to the globalization of capitalism Social class a large group of people who occupy a similar economic position in the wider society the boundaries between classes are never clear cut There are 1 Class systems are fluid no formal restrictions on intermarriage 2 Class positions are in some part achieved 3 Class is economically based material resources 4 Class systems are large scale and impersonal social mobility classes depend on inequalities in the possession of o Life chances concept Weber life chances are the opportunities you have for achieving economic prosperity A person from a humble background has less chance of ending up wealthy that some from a more prosperous one o Kuznets curve a formula showing that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development then declines and eventually stabilizes at a relatively low level Classes in Western Societies Today Income wages and salaries earned from paid occupations plus unearned money from investments Wealth all assets individuals own cash savings and checking accounts investments in stocks bonds real estate properties and so on o Inequality between races Because whites historically have enjoyed higher incomes and levels of wealth than blacks whites can accrue more wealth which they pass on to their children It is easier for whites to obtain assets even when they have few resources than blacks because discrimination affects the racial gap in home ownership Blacks are rejected for mortgages 60 more often than whites Education Occupation Class and Lifestyle o One of the strongest predictors of occupation income and wealth later on in life o How much education one receives is often influenced by the social class of one s parents o Jobs requiring the most education are ranked most highly in terms of how prestigious they are o Symbols and markers related to consumption are playing an ever greater role in daily life Individual identities are structured more around lifestyle choices such as how to dress what to eat how to care for one s body and where to relax and less around the traditional class indicators such as employment U S Class Structure o Upper class Households earning more than 297 405 5 of all American households Politically influential o Middle class Upper middle Includes slightly more than half of all American households consists of relatively high income professionals doctors lawyers mid level corporate managers people who own or manage small businesses and retail shops and some large farm owners Household income ranges from 168 000 297 000 Members are likely to be college educated with advanced degrees Their jobs are secure 20 of American households and provide retirement and health benefits Lower middle firefighters and others who provide skilled services consists of trained office workers teachers nurses salespeople police officers Often members of this group enjoy high status it is their relatively low income that determines their class position 40 of American households Household income ranges from 48 000 76 000 Working class mechanics restaurant workers includes primarily blue collar and pink collar laborers factory workers 20 of American households Household income ranges from 28 000 48 000 Family income just covers basic living expenses and perhaps a summer vacation o Lower class Includes those who work part time or do not work at all Roughly 15 of American households Household income is typically lower than 28 777 Most lower class live in cities sometimes working semiskilled or unskilled manufacturing or service jobs Their jobs are unlikely to lead to promotion or substantially higher income and their work does not provide medical insurance disability or Social Security o The Underclass Includes unskilled and unemployed men young single mothers and their children on welfare teenagers from welfare dependent families and many of the homeless Located in the highest poverty neighborhoods of the inner city Includes many African Americans who have been trapped for more than one generation in a cycle of poverty Inequality in the United States The rich have gotten much richer middle class incomes have stagnated and the poor have grown in number and are poorer than they have been since the 1960 s Social mobility changes in occupation wealth or income the movement of individuals and groups between different class positions as a result of o Intragenerational mobility how far individuals or groups move up or down the socioeconomic scale during their working lives and so on o Intergenerational mobility mobility across generations including offspring parents grandparents Most research on intergenerational mobility shows that children are likely to work occupations
View Full Document
Unlocking...