10 3 14 Stratification a system by which a society ranks and categorizes people in a hierarchy such that structured inequalities exist between groups in access to 99999999material or symbolic rewards 3 common systems 1 Caste system born into it and stay in for ones whole life 2 Meritocracy social standing determined by merit and effort 3 Class systems 4 basic principals of stratification 1 Ranking applied to social categories of people who share a common characteristic e g class race gender power 2 Peoples life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is ranked 3 A trait of society cultural beliefs motivate the rankings 4 Ranks of social categories change slowly overtime Stratification is universal but variable Class system Economically based systems of stratification Relative categorization and somewhat loose social boundaries they Socioeconomic status SES basis metric of class stratification in the US are fluid can move in and out of social classes Based on both ascribed and achieved statuses Large scale and impersonal earnings from work or investment total value of money and assets minus debt highest level of education Income Wealth Educational attainment Occupation US Class Structure prestige Upper class wealthiest 1 approx 1 3 of the nations wealth Middle class white collar non manual jobs that pay significantly Working class blue collar labor and pink collar service labor that above poverty line pays above poverty line Working poor unskilled low paid jobs usually without benefits minimum wage jobs leave many in poverty Underclass poor 15 income based many live in inner cities The income gap between high income and low income individuals has increased dramatically over the last 30 years In the part 45 years the lower 2 of households never received more then 5 2 of overall US income while the high 20 has always received 40 or more 10 8 14 Inequality and Social Mobility social mobility One of the biggest problems with rising levels of inequality is that it inhibits This conflicts with our strong cultural notions of the U S as the land of equal opportunity Social Mobility ability to change positions in a social stratification system Intragenerational Social mobility within the course of one persons life Intergenerational Social mobility from one generation to another Mob ility depends on where you are born live even within the U S Functionalist Explanation of Stratification Davis Moore Thesis Social stratification has beneficial consequences for society The greater the functional importance of a position the more rewards a society attaches to it Having an egalitarian society requires allowing anyone to perform highly skilled jobs and giving rewards that aren t based on quality Social position based entirely on innate talent and efforts All groups benefit when most valuable positions receive the greatest rewards trickle down economics Critiques Rewards don t always reflect contribution to society Some people have more power to define what is valuable and structure rewards accordingly Explanations of Rising Inequality since 1980 Functionalist Beginning in 1980 the skills intelligence and talents of the wealthiest individuals became much more valuable than those of the least wealthy Increasing role of technology in the economy may make skills of wealthy more valued by the economy not the entire explanation Marx Conflict Explanation of Inequality People in power capitalists who own the means of production are able to define what is valuable in society and structure rewards accordingly in ways that protect their interests Laws policies and ideology Stratification is not functional but leads to conflict and social tension Definitions of Poverty livewith dignity Deprivation due to economic circumstances severe enough that one cannot Absolute Poverty life threatening lack of resources can t meet minimal requirements to purchase food uncommon in U S Relative Poverty deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more lacks decent standard of housing and healthy living conditions Measuring Poverty Official Measure Poverty formula developed in the 1960s 3x the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet 23 850 a year for a family of four 49 are children young adults under 25 Criticisms Overestimates poverty doesn t include food stamps medicaid public housing Underestimates poverty because housing is so expensive now people spend 30 of income on food Should be based on housing costs or the multiplier should be reduced Causes of Poverty Poverty as cultural Culture of Poverty Poverty as Structural Poverty as Situational 10 10 14 The Culture of Poverty Argues that poor people adopt lifestyles and beliefs which differ from those of middle class mainstream society in order to adapt and survive in difficult economic circumstances and these help keep them in poverty Dependency culture argument that providing welfare erodes people s But critics say most poverty is situational and more poor have same values as desires to work non poor Poverty as structural Poverty as the result of a lack of income producing employment for all sectors in a capitalist society Capitalism needs a reserve army of workers who can be fired in economic stagnation and rehired in prosperity Poverty as situational The Myth of Race At the individual level poverty is widespread but temporary Occurs in response to major life crisis 2 3 of americans between age 20 and 65 will use a welfare program at some point in their life and 90 who do use it only use it once Only 3 of families are persistently poor over multiple years Race a socially constructed category of people who share physical characteristics that members of a society consider important not biologically identified Imposed hierarchical exclusive and unequal Ethnicity shared cultural practices and attitudes that set people apart Voluntary self defined nonhierarchical cultural and no so closely linked with power differences Minority group Any group of people who because of their physical or cultural charachteristics are singled out from others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment Subordinate discriminated against Not a statistically numerical term Differential treatment Stereotypes oversimplified ideas about groups of people that emphasize difference from other usually dominant group Can imply that all members of a minority group are alike Not the same as prejudice discrimination but can indirectly