1 Class stratification Gans reading Kozol Reading People like us and handout a What is stratification i Social stratification Structured inequality in society Doesn t change from one year to the next A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy Caste Can t leave your caste regardless of how hard you work vs Class Can leave your class systems ii Strata Different layers b Caste vs Class i Caste Can t leave your caste regardless of how hard you work vs Class Can leave your class systems c Functionalist explanation for stratification Davis Moore Thesis i Davis Moore Thesis 1 All societies face the problem of motivating their best and brightest to fill the most functionally important social position 2 A system of unequal rewards solves this crucial problem high salaries 3 Talented hard working individuals receive top rewards 4 Less motivated less talented settle for less demanding roles with lower rewards Lower salaries 5 Stratification functions as an incentive system and has beneficial consequences for society 6 The rank of any social position within depends on 3 factors a Functional importance of the task How important is this job for the function of the society i Ex Without doctors everyone gets sick Without painters we don t have painted houses b The pleasantness of the task If you like to do it without being paid a lot then you wouldn t have to pay a lot for it c The scarcity of personnel How many people can do this job 7 Don t have a reason for the growing difference between d Conflict Explanations job salaries i Karl Marx Focused on class inequality 1 2 Inequality is rooted in capitalism He was an economic determinists In capitalism there are 2 great classes a Bourgeoisie capitalist owners Own the means of production property land factories businesses etc earn a living through profit b Proletariat workers labor Do not own must sell their labor to the capitalists for a wage 3 Traditional production Carpenter a Raw materials lumber 2 labor and tools finished product chair 10 i 8 surplus value That the carpenter received in a traditional production 4 Capitalism Factory owned by capitalist a Linen 2 labor wage 1 overhead 2 Coat 10 i 5 profit That goes to the capitalist the owner of the means of production Before capitalism the producer got all the extra money Wealth gathers in the hands of the owner 5 Conflict theory The bourgeoisie accumulate wealth through the exploitation of labor Process by which the capitalist owner extracts profits by paying the workers a wage that is less than the value of the commodities the workers produce 6 Through the continual exploitation of labor wealth in society becomes concentrated in the hands of the owners at the expense of the workers whose wages stay relatively low Just high enough to survive Inequality does not benefit society as a whole it leads to conflict It benefits the wealthy Capitalists 7 8 CEO vs worker pay In japan 1 16 In Germany 1 21 a b c UK 1 33 d USA 1 120 1980 e USA 1 420 Now ii Max Weber Social Class 1 Category of people who share the same economic class cultural status and political power iii Weber agreed with Marx that economic class position is important but believed that there were two other dimensions on which people were ranked in a stratified society 1 Status Cultural prestige 2 Power Political iv Socio Economic status SES 1 Upper upper 2 Lower Upper working rich Lebron James 3 Upper Middle 4 Average Middle 5 Working class Lower Middle 6 Lower class working poor underclass e Be generally familiar with class stratification in the U S society From class handout i I E poverty line median family income f Poverty absolute relative g feminization of poverty Women making up a larger portion of the poverty 2 Race and ethnicity Ch 11 Oliver and Shapiro reading video True Colors a Definitions i Race A socially constructed category of people who share biologically transmitted traits That members of society deem socially significant ii Ethnicity Shared cultural heritage iii Minority Group that is culturally politically and economically iv Majority Group that is culturally politically and economically subordinate dominant v Prejudice Negative emotion haterd dislike based on rigid and irrational generalization about an entire category of people A belief vi Discrimination An action treating various categories of people unequally individual discrimination vii Racism Dislike of people of color being anti black brown white supremacy viii Scapegoat Blaming people of lesser power for your own ix x problems Individual Discrimination Institutional discrimination bias inherent in the operation of society s institutions b Ethnocentrism the tendency to use the norms and values of our own culture as standards against which to view others i Positive ethnocentrism leads to in group pride ii Negative dysfunctional ethnocentrism can lead to out group prejudice c Bigotry treating other people with hatred contempt or intolerance because they are different from you based on ethnicity religion national origin gender sexual orientation disability socioeconomic status etc i Forms chauvinist 1 Sexism Dislike of women being misogynist male 2 Racism Dislike of people of color being anti black brown white supremacy 3 Homophobia Fear or dislike of gay lesbian bisexual and transgender people being heterosexist belief that only heterosexuals are acceptable 4 Classism Dislike of poor people making fun or exclusion of poor people elitism ii Hate speech Using words that convey bigotry d Patterns of interaction i Pluralism Share power and wealth if group A and B move into ii Assimilation Group B Minor group is absorbed into group A the same area together major over time iii Segregation Group B is kept apart from society iv Genocide The killing of a people e 400 years of America i Indians ii Europeans English 1 1790 1 1600 Indigenous population 3 to 5 million people 2 1830 Indian removal act 3 1871 Forced assimilation 4 1900 Indian population 250 000 most losses were associated with Indian removal 5 1924 Citizenship 6 Current population 2 9 million Some are doing very well economically but most are doing very poor and have the highest rate of poverty a 80 citizens born in US i Colonial immigrants Anglo French German ii 20 African descent 1 Slave trade virtually over by 1776 abolished 1800 2 Possibly one of the oldest groups in America b 20 Recent immigrants i Anglo Scotch Irish German 2 1791 Open door policy 3 1820 s 1880 s a 1st wave 16