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CHAPTER 7 SUMMARY
The term social control refers to techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human
behavior. Social control occurs in families, peer groups, and bureaucratic organizations.
Members of society are expected to act properly. Sanctions, which may be either penalties or
rewards, help to induce behavior consistent with social norms. Conformity is defined as going
along with one’s peers even though they have no special right to direct our behavior. Obedience
is defined as compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchal structure. People casually,
through such means as smiles, laughter, and ridicule, carry out informal social control.
Authorized agents, such as police officers, physicians, school administrators, employers, and
military officers, carry out formal social control. Law is defined as governmental social control
and reflects continually changing standards of what is right and wrong.
Sociologists define deviance as behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of
a group or society. Deviance involves the violations of group norms that may or may not be
formalized into law. It is a comprehensive concept that includes not only criminal behavior, but
also many actions not subject to prosecution. Deviance can be understood only within its social
context. The term stigma was coined by Erving Goffman to describe the labels society uses to
devalue the members of certain social groups. People are often stigmatized for deviant behaviors
they may no longer engage in.
According to the functionalist view, deviance is a normal part of human existence. Functionalists
suggest that deviance helps to define the limits of proper behavior. Robert Merton adapted Émile
Durkheim’s notion of anomie to explain why people accept or reject the goals of a society.
Merton’s theory posits five basic forms of adaptations: (1) conformity, (2) innovation,
(3) ritualism, (4) retreatism, and (5) rebellion. Merton’s anomie theory of deviance, though
popular, has had relatively few applications.
The interactionist perspective is reflected in two explanations of crime, cultural transmission
and routine activities theory. Cultural transmission, which Edwin Sutherland drew upon,
suggests that criminal behavior is learned through interactions with others. He used the term
differential association to describe the process through which exposure to attitudes favorable to
criminal acts leads to violation of rules. Reflecting the contribution of interactionist theory,
labeling theory emphasizes how a person comes to be labeled as deviant or to accept the label.
Labeling theory is also referred to as the societal-reaction approach. The popularity of labeling
theory is evident in the emergence of the social constructionist perspective, which purports that
deviance is the product of the culture in which we live. Social constructionists focus on the
decision-making process that creates the deviant identity.
The conflict view of deviance suggests that people with power protect their own interests and
define deviance to suit their own needs. Richard Quinney argues that lawmaking is often an
attempt by the powerful to coerce others into their own brand of morality. Akin to the roots of
conflict theory, the feminist perspective suggests that deviance, including crime, tends to flow
from economic relationships. Feminists suggest that cultural views and attitudes toward women
influence how women are perceived and labeled.
Crime represents a deviation from formal social norms administered by the state. Types of crime
include professional crime, organized crime, white-collar and technology-based crime,
corporate crime, transnational crime, and victimless crime. There has been a significant decline
in violent crime in the United States. The accuracy of measuring crime and tabulating crime
statistics varies widely. The National Crime Victimization Survey was initiated in 1972 to
question ordinary people about crime victimization.
LECTURE OUTLINE CHAPTER 7
I.
Social Control
• Refers to the techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any
society.
• Family and peers socialize individuals to social norms. Example: dress codes.
• Government legislates and enforces social norms.
• Sanctions are penalties and rewards for conduct concerning a social norm.
• Functionalists contend that people must respect social norms for society to function. By
contrast, conflict theorists maintain that the functioning of society benefits the powerful.
A.
Conformity and Obedience
• Stanley Milgram defined conformity as going along with peers who have no
special right to direct our behavior. Milgram defined obedience as compliance
with higher authorities in a hierarchal structure. Example: military recruit.
• In some circumstances, conformity and, especially, obedience can cause
immense damage. Example: Milgram’s electric shock experiment: “Behavior
that is unthinkable in an individual…acting on his own may be executed without
hesitation when carried out under orders.”
B.
Informal and Formal Social Control
• Informal social control is carried out casually by ordinary people through such
means as laughter, smiles, and ridicule. Example: spanking or slapping children
as punishment.
• Formal social control is carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers,
judges, school administrators, and employers. Example: imprisonment.
C.
Law and Society
• Law is defined as governmental social control.
• Some laws (e.g.,) are directed at all members of society. Example: laws
prohibiting murder. Some laws affect particular categories of people.
Example: hunting and fishing regulations. Others govern social institutions.
Example: corporate laws.
• Creation of law is a social process in response to perceived needs for formal
social control. Example: alcohol prohibition laws.
• Hirschi’s control theory suggests that our connection to members of society
leads us to systematically conform to society’s norms.
II.
Deviance
A.
B.
What Is Deviance?
• Deviance is defined as behavior that violates the standards of conduct or
expectations of a group or society. Examples: criminals, alcoholics,
compulsive gamblers, and the mentally ill.
• Deviance involves violation of group norms.
• Deviance is not always negative. Example: whistle blowers.
• Deviance is subject to social definition within a particular society and at a
particular time.
1.
Deviance and Social Stigma
• Erving Goffman coined the term stigma to refer to a label used to
devalue members of certain social groups. Example: redheads or short
people.
• People may be stigmatized for past behaviors. Examples: ex-con;
recovering alcoholic.
2.
Deviance and Technology
• Some socially tolerated forms of deviance can be found in the world of
high technology.
• Anonymity of the Internet allows for uncivil behaviors. Example:
hate speech and pornography.
• Some deviant uses of technology are criminal. Examples: software
piracy and other black-market activities.
Explaining Deviance
• Early explanations centered on supernatural or genetic factors.
• Sociologists reject any emphasis on genetic roots of crime and deviance.
1.
Functionalist Perspective
• Deviance is a common part of human existence.
a.
Durkheim’s Legacy
• Durkheim viewed social control mechanisms as necessary to
define acceptable behavior and contribute to social stability.
Introduced the term anomie to describe a feeling one experiences
when losing direction in society. Example: during periods of
profound social change.
• Kai Erikson’s study of Puritans illustrated boundary-maintenance
functions of deviance.
b.
Merton’s Theory of Deviance
• Adapted Durkheim’s notion of anomie to explain why people
accept or reject the goals of society, and/or the socially approved
means for fulfilling their aspirations.
• People adapt in certain ways by either conforming to or deviating
from cultural expectations.
• Merton’s anomie theory of deviance posits five basic forms of
adaptation. See Table 7-1
• Merton’s theory has had relatively few applications.
2.
Interactionist Perspective
• Emphasis on everyday behavior that is the focus of the interactionist
perspective offers two explanations of crime: cultural transmission theory
and routine activities theory.
a.
Cultural Transmission
• Humans learn how to behave in social situations. Example:
chapter-opening excerpt from Wallbangin, by Susan A. Phillips.
• Edwin Sutherland’s differential association describes the process
through which exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts
leads to violation of rules.
• Whether a person engages in an activity deemed proper or
improper depends on frequency, duration, and importance of two
types of social interaction (those endorsing deviant behavior and
those promoting acceptance of social norms). People are more apt
to engage in norm-defying behavior if they belong to a group or
subculture that stresses deviant values (e.g., a street gang).
• Critics charge Sutherland’s theory fails to explain first-time,
impulsive deviance.
b.
Routine Activities Theory
• Contends that criminal victimization increases when motivated
offenders and suitable targets (victims) converge.
Examples: theft of car from an airport parking lot; thefts at ATM
machines and at tourist hot spots.
c.
Labeling Theory
• Seeks to explain why certain people are viewed as deviant,
while others engaging in the same behavior are not. Example:
Chambliss study of the Saints and Roughnecks.
• Also called the societal-reaction approach. It is the response to
an act, not the behavior itself, that determines deviance. Example:
assigning a “trouble-maker” to a program for the learning
disabled.
• Labeling theory focuses on regulatory agents (police, probation
officers, psychiatrists, judges, teachers, etc.), who play a
significant role in creating the deviant identity by designating
certain people as deviant. Example: racial profiling.
• Labeling does not fully explain why some people accept a label
and others do not.
• Labeling theory influenced the emergence of the social
constructionist perspective, which suggests deviance is the
product of the culture we live in. Examples: deadbeat dads or
child abductors.
3.
Conflict Theory
• People with power protect their own interests and define deviance to suit
their own needs.
• Richard Quinney suggests the criminal justice system serves the interests
of the powerful. Lawmaking is an attempt by the powerful to coerce
others into their own morality. Example: victimless crimes.
• Differential justice: Conflict theory suggests criminal suspects are treated
differently on the basis of race, ethnicity, or social class. African
Americans and Latinos are at a disadvantage in the justice system, both
as juveniles and as adults. See Social Policy Section on application of the
death penalty.
• Differential justice may lead to increased violence and crime, as those
who view themselves as victims of unfair treatment strike out, not against
the powerful so much as against fellow victims.
4.
Feminist Perspective
• Some suggest that existing approaches to deviance and crime developed
with only men in mind. Example: earlier legal views on spousal rape,
reflecting overwhelming male composition of state legislatures at the
time.
• Rise of women’s movement has led to important changes in societal
notions of criminality. Example: Domestic violence is now considered a
serious crime.
• Society tends to treat women in a stereotypical fashion. Cultural views
and attitudes toward women influence how they are perceived and
labeled. Example: Women with numerous/frequent sexual partners are
subjected to greater scorn than promiscuous men.
• Deviance, including crime, flows from economic relationships.
Example: Traditionally, men have greater earning power, so wives
may
be reluctant to report abuse.
• As women assume more active and powerful roles, gender differences in
deviance and crime should narrow.
III.
Crime
• Crime is a violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies
formal penalties.
•Index crimes are the eight types of crime that are tabulated each year by the FBI. They
include murder, rape, robbery, and assault (all of which are violent crimes committed
against people) and property crimes of burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
A.
Types of Crime
1.
Victimless Crimes
• The willing exchange among adults of widely desired, but illegal, goods
and services. Examples: prostitution, drug abuse, gambling.
• Proponents of decriminalization are troubled by attempts to legislate a
moral code for adults. These crimes are impossible to prevent, and
an overburdened criminal justice system should concentrate on offenses
with real victims.
• Critics of decriminalization object to the notion that these crimes are
“victimless.” Examples: Over-drinking, compulsive gambling, and
illegal drugs cause personal and property damage. Prostitution reinforces
idea that women are “toys.” Alcohol and drug abuse can lead to domestic
violence, etc.
2.
Professional Crime
• Professional criminal (career criminal) is a person who pursues crime
as
a day-to-day occupation. Example: burglary or safecracking.
• They devote their entire working time to planning and executing crimes.
They develop skilled techniques and enjoy a certain degree of status
among other criminals.
• Edward Sutherland (1937) offered pioneering insights into behavior of
professional criminals by publishing an annotated account written by a
professional thief.
3.
4
Organized Crime
• The work of a group that regulates relations between various criminal
enterprises involved in illegal activities, including smuggling and sale of
illegal drugs, prostitution, and gambling.
• Organized crime is a secret activity that evades law enforcement. It takes
over legitimate business, gains influence over labor unions, corrupts
public officials, intimidates witnesses, and taxes merchants for protection
services.
• The global nature of organized crime can be found in the acts of
transnational organized crime affiliates, whose criminal activities
include drug and arms smuggling, money laundering and trafficking in
illegal immigrants and stolen goods.
White-Collar and Technology-Based Crime
• White-collar crime: Illegal acts committed in the course of business
activities by affluent, “respectable” people. Examples: income tax
evasion, embezzlement, bribery.
• Edwin Sutherland coined the term “white-collar crime” in 1939 in
reference to individuals. The term has been broadened to include
offenses by businesses and corporations.
• Corporate crime is any criminal act by a corporation that is punishable
by the government. It takes many forms and includes individuals,
organizations, and institutions among its victims. Examples: stock fraud
and manipulation, accounting fraud, production of unsafe goods,
environmental pollution, anticompetitive behavior, public health
violations, and bribery and corruption.
• Convictions for such illegal acts does not generally harm a person’s
reputation, status, or career aspirations as much as conviction for a street
crime.
•Computer crime: High technology allows criminals to carry out
embezzlement or electronic fraud, often leaving few traces. 2004 study
by the FBI and Computer Security Institute found 74 percent of
companies relying on computer systems reported some type of related
crime (computer viruses the most common).
5.
B.
Transnational Crime
•Crime that occurs across multiple national borders. Rather than
concentrating on specific countries, international crime spans the
globe. Examples: terrorism, trafficking in human beings (includes sex
trade), trafficking in endangered species, drugs, and stolen art/antiquities.
See Table 7-3 for types of transnational crime.
• Not exclusive of other types of crime. Organized criminal networks are
increasingly global. Technology facilitates illegal activities. Example:
child pornography
Crime Statistics
• Crime statistics not as accurate or reliable as social scientists would like.
1.
Understanding Crime Statistics
a.
Crime Rates
• There has been a significant decline in violent crime nationwide.
Some suggest as the reasons for the decline: a booming economy,
community-oriented policing, gun control laws, and an increase
in the prison population.
• The proportion of major crimes committed by women has
increased. In a recent 10-year period (1995-2004), the
Department of Justice found female arrests for major reported
crimes increased 9 percent, while comparable male arrests
declined by 9 percent.
b.
Measuring Crime Rates:
• Measuring of crime rates is conducted several ways.
• Crime Index: published annually by the FBI as part of the
Uniform Crime Reports: Includes statistics on murder, rape,
robbery, assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and
arson. Disproportionately devoted to property crimes.
• Limitation of official crime statistics: They include only crimes
actually reported to law enforcement agencies.
• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). Initiated in 1972,
it is an annual report compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
•
Based on interviews of over 84,000 U.S. households, asking
ordinary people whether they were victims of specific crimes
during the preceding year.
2.
International Crime Rates
• Violent crime rates are higher in the United States than in Western
Europe. U.S. may place a greater individual emphasis on economic
achievement. And, culture of the U.S. has long tolerated many forms of
violence.
• England, Italy, Australia, and New Zealand have higher rates of car theft.
• Russia has experienced an increase in violent crime since the overthrow
of the Communist party rule.
IV.
Social Policy and Social Control: The Death Penalty in the United States and
Worldwide
A.
The Issue
• The appropriateness of the death penalty as a form of punishment.
B.
The Setting
• Worldwide, fewer than half of all nations allow the death penalty.
• Ninety-seven percent of all know executions in 2004 took place in China, Iran,
Vietnam, and the United States.
• In the U.S., 38 states, the military, and the federal government impose the death
sentence. On the state level, more than 1,010 prisoners have been executed since
1977.
• In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled capital punishment is constitutional if
administered in compliance with certain guidelines. Yet, state laws still vary
widely.
C.
Sociological Insights
1.
Functionalist View
• Sanctions against deviant acts reinforce society’s standards of proper
behavior; thus, the death penalty should deter serious crimes.
• In addition, the worst criminals deserve to die.
• Dysfunctions: Life sentences are expensive.
2.
Conflict View
• The death penalty is unfair and reflects social and economic inequality
prevalent in U.S. society.
• Black defendants (42 percent of all death row inmates in 2006) are more
likely to face execution than Whites in the same legal circumstances.
• The death penalty is more likely to be applied when the victim is White
rather than Black.
• Unequal resources: The poor can’t hire the best lawyers, and depend on
court-appointed lawyers who are overworked, underpaid, and in some
cases, racist.
• Through 2005, DNA analysis and other new technologies had exonerated
119 death row inmates.
D.
Policy Initiatives
• In 2004, support for the death penalty was at 74 percent.
• Only about 125 death sentences are handed out for the more than 15,000
murders that occur each year. How can the death penalty be administered in a
judicially fair manner?
• Policymakers show little concern regarding the fairness issue. Federal and
state legislatures have added to the list of crimes punishable by death, curtailed
appeals by death row inmates, and reimbursed far fewer lawyers for defending
condemned criminals.
• Internationally, attention has focused on nations where executions are relatively
common, raising the issue of human rights violation.
KEY TERMS CHAPTER 7
Anomie Durkheim’s term for the loss of direction felt in a society when social control of
individual behavior has become ineffective.
Anomie theory of deviance Robert Merton’s theory of deviance as an adaptation of socially
prescribed goals or of the means governing their attainment, or both.
Conformity Going along with one’s peers—individuals of our own status who have no special
right to direct our behavior.
Control theory A view of conformity and deviance that suggests that our connection to
members of society leads us to systematically conform to society’s norms.
Crime A violation of criminal law for which some governmental authority applies formal
penalties.
Cultural transmission A school of criminology that argues that criminal behavior is learned
through social interactions.
Deviance Behavior that violates the standards of conduct or expectations of a group or society.
Differential association A theory of deviance proposed by Edwin Sutherland that holds that
violation of rules results from exposure to attitudes favorable to criminal acts.
Differential justice Differences in the way social control is exercised over different groups.
Formal social control Social control carried out by authorized agents, such as police officers,
judges, school administrators, and employers.
Index crimes The eight types of crime reported annually by the FBI in the Uniform Crime
Reports: murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson.
Informal social control Social control carried out casually by ordinary people through such
means as laughter, smiles, and ridicule.
Labeling theory An approach to deviance that attempts to explain why certain people are
viewed as deviants while others engaged in the same behavior are not.
Law Governmental social control.
Obedience Compliance with higher authorities in a hierarchical structure.
Organized crime The work of a group that regulates relations among various criminal
enterprises, including prostitution, gambling, and the smuggling and sale of illegal drugs.
Professional criminal A person who pursues crime as a day-to-day occupation, developing
skilled techniques and enjoying a certain degree of status among other criminals.
Routine activities theory The notion that criminal victimization increases when motivated
offenders and vulnerable targets converge.
Sanction A penalty or reward for conduct concerning a social norm.
Social constructionist perspective An approach to deviance that emphasizes the role of culture
in the creation of the deviant identity.
Social control The techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any
society.
Societal-reaction approach Another name for labeling theory.
Stigma A label used to devalue members of certain social groups.
Transnational crime Crime that occurs across multiple national borders.
Victimization survey A questionnaire or interview given to a sample of the population to
determine whether people have been victims of crime.
Victimless crime A term used by sociologists to describe the willing exchange among adults of
widely desired, but illegal, goods and services.
White-collar crime Illegal acts committed by affluent, “respectable” individuals in the course
of business activities.
CHAPTER 8 SUMMARY
The term social inequality describes a condition in which members of a society have different
amounts of wealth, prestige, or power. When a system of social inequality is based on a
hierarchy of groups, sociologists refer to it as stratification. This is a structured ranking of entire
groups of people, which perpetuates unequal economic rewards and levels of power in a society.
To help understand stratification systems, one must discern between ascribed and achieved
statuses. An ascribed status is a social position assigned to a person without regard for that
person’s unique characteristics or talents. Race, gender, and ethnicity are examples of ascribed
statuses. An achieved status is a social position attained by a person largely through his or her
own efforts, such as becoming a corporate executive or graduating from college.
The most extreme form of legalized social inequality is slavery. Castes are hereditary systems of
social inequality. They are usually religiously dictated. The estate system, also known as
feudalism, was a stratification system in which peasants were required to work the land of a
noble in exchange for military protection and other services. A class system is a social ranking
based primarily on economic position. Some sociologists have suggested that only 1 to 2 percent
of the people in the United States are in the upper class, whereas the lower class consists of
approximately 20 to 25 percent of the population. The lower class is disproportionately
comprised of Blacks, Hispanics, single mothers, and people with low-paying jobs.
Karl Marx viewed class differentiation as the crucial determinant of social, economic, and
political inequality. Marx focused on the two classes that emerged as the estate system declined;
the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie is the capitalist class that owns and controls
the means of production, and the proletariat is comprised of working-class people who are
exploited by the capitalist class. Unlike Marx, Max Weber insisted that no single characteristic
totally defines a person’s social position. Weber identified three components of stratification:
class, status, and power.
Interactionists are interested in how class shapes a person’s lifestyle at the micro level. Thorsten
Veblen introduced the concept of conspicuous consumption to describe how the well-off convert
some of their income into extravagant consumer goods. The functionalist view of stratification
suggests that society must distribute its members among a variety of social positions. Social
stratification is deemed necessary so that people will be motivated to fill functionally important
positions. Contemporary conflict theorists believe that human beings are prone to conflict over
scarce resources such as wealth, status, and power. Conflict theorists argue that stratification will
inevitably lead to instability and social change.
By all measures, income in the United States is unevenly distributed. In 2004, the top 20 percent
of the population received incomes of $88,029 or more, compared to the bottom 20 percent who
received just $18,500 or less. The income gap between the richest and poorest groups in the
United States is widening. Approximately one out of every nine people in the United States lives
below the poverty line. Absolute poverty refers to a minimum level of subsistence that no family
should be expected to live below. Relative poverty is a floating standard of deprivation by which
people at the bottom of a society are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as
a whole. Some sociologists have used the term underclass to describe long-term poor people
who lack training and skills.
Social mobility is the movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society’s
stratification system to another. In an open system, the position of each person is influenced by
his or her achieved status. In a closed system, there is little or no possibility of individual social
mobility. The belief in upward social mobility is an important aspect of U.S. society. Vertical
mobility can be both upwards and downwards. Occupational mobility such as intergenerational
or intragenerational has been common among White males. Education, gender, and race are
important factors in one’s upward mobility.
LECTURE OUTLINE CHAPTER 8
Introduction
• Social inequality describes a condition in which members of a society have different amounts
of wealth, prestige, or power.
• Stratification is a structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal
economic rewards and power in a society.
• Income refers to salaries and wages.
• Wealth is an inclusive term encompassing all of a person’s material assets, including land,
stocks, and other types of property.
I.
Understanding Stratification
A.
Systems of Stratification
• Ascribed status is a social position assigned to a person by society without
regard for that person’s unique talents or characteristics.
• Achieved status is a social position attained by a person largely through his or
her own efforts.
1.
Slavery
• A system of enforced servitude in which enslaved individuals are owned
by other people, who treat them as property.
• Slaves in Ancient Greece were captives of war or piracy, but their status
was not necessarily permanent or passed on to the next generation. In the
U.S., slavery was an ascribed status, and racial and legal barriers
prevented their being freed.
2.
Castes
• Hereditary system of rank usually religiously dictated. Example: four
major castes, or varnas, in India.
• Urbanization and technological advancement have brought more change
to India’s caste system in the past two decades than the government was
able to effect since formally outlawing the practice in 1950.
3.
Estates
• Also known as feudalism.
• In the estate system, peasants worked land leased to them by nobles in
exchange for military protection or other services.
4.
Social Classes
• A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which
achieved status can affect or influence social mobility.
• One can move from one stratum to another.
• Income inequality is a basic characteristic of a class system. Example:
Daniel Rossides’s five-class model of the class system in the U.S.
• Social class is one of the variables most frequently used by sociologists.
B.
Perspectives on Stratification
• Karl Marx viewed class differentiation as the crucial determinant of social,
economic, and political inequality. Max Weber was critical of Marx’s emphasis
on economic factors, and argued that stratification had many dimensions.
1.
2.
Max Weber’s View of Stratification
• Identified three distinct components of stratification: class, status,
and
power.
• Weber argued that the actions of individuals and groups could not be
understood solely in economic terms.
• Individuals gain status through membership in a desirable group (status
group).
• Power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others.
• Each of us has not one rank in society, but three, in which each rank
influences the other two. Example: John F. Kennedy.
3.
C.
Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation
• Differential access to scarce resources shapes the relationship between
groups. Controlling the primary mode of economic production is key.
• Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are
largely in private hands, and the major incentive for economic activity is
making a profit.
• Bourgeoisie—the capitalist class—owns the factories and machinery and
controls most production.
• Proletariat—the working class—whose members are exploited by the
capitalist bourgeoisie.
• Marx predicted the exploited proletariat would eventually revolt and
destroy the capitalist system. They would need to develop class
consciousness (a subjective awareness of their plight and of the need for
collective action to effect change). Often, this meant overcoming false
consciousness (an attitude held by members of a class that does not
accurately reflect its objective position).
• Marx failed to anticipate the emergence of labor unions and did not
foresee individual workers striving for improvement within free societies
offering substantial mobility.
Interactionist View
• Interactionists want to understand how social class influences a person’s
lifestyle.
• Thorsten Veblen’s concepts of conspicuous consumption and
conspicuous leisure can still be applied to the behavior of wealthy people
today.
Is Stratification Universal?
• Inequality exists in all societies.
1.
Functionalist View
• A differential system of rewards and punishments is needed for society
to operate efficiently.
• Society must distribute its members among a variety of social positions
(Davis and Moore). Positions are filled with people with the
appropriate talents and abilities.
• Money and rewards are based on the scarcity of qualified personnel.
• Stratification motivates people to fill critical positions.
• Functionalists fail to explain the wide disparity between rich and poor.
II.
2.
Conflict View
• Competition for scarce resources results in significant political,
economic, and social inequality.
• Contemporary conflict views include conflicts based on gender, race,
age, and other dimensions. Example: Ralf Dahrendorf’s work on
authority.
• Dominant ideology describes a set of cultural beliefs and practices that
helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.
• Stratification is a major source of societal tension and conflict, and will
inevitably lead to instability and social change.
3.
Lenski’s Viewpoint
• Economic systems change as the level of technology becomes more
complex.
• The emergence of surplus resources expands the inequality in status,
influence, and power. Allows for a well-defined rigid social class system.
Stratification by Social Class
A.
Measuring Social Class
1.
Objective Method
• Researchers assign individuals to social classes on the basis of criteria
such as occupation, education, income, and residence.
• Prestige rankings of occupations are commonly used for class position.
See Table 8-2.
• Esteem refers to the reputation a person has earned within an occupation.
• A person may have esteem but lack high levels of prestige.
2.
Gender and Occupational Prestige
• Difficulty of judging class or status for women in dual-career families.
• Continuing undercounting of unpaid labor by women (largely in child
care, housework, and agriculture) and its contribution to a family and an
entire economy means that virtually all measures of stratification need to
be reformed.
3.
Multiple Measures
• Criteria such as value of homes, sources of income, assets, years in
present occupation, neighborhoods, and dual careers have been added
to income and education as determinants of class under the
objective
method.
B.
Wealth and Income
• Income in the United States is distributed unequally. See Figure 8-3.
• In 2004, the richest 20 percent earned $88,029 or more; the poorest 20 percent
earned $18,500 or less.
• Tax policies favor the rich.
• Census Bureau reports that income inequality rose substantially from 1967
through the end of the century.
• Only 38 percent of people in the U.S. believe the government should take steps
to reduce income disparity between the rich and the poor.
• Wealth in the U.S. is much more unevenly divided between rich and poor than
income. In 2001, the richest 20 percent held 84.5 percent of the nation’s wealth.
See Figure 8-4.
C.
Poverty
• One out of every nine people in the U.S. lives below the poverty line. Example:
37 million in 2004.
• A contributing factor is the large number employed at minimum wage. In terms
of real value, adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage has often failed to keep
pace with the cost of living. See Figure 8-5.
1.
Studying Poverty
• Absolute poverty refers to a minimum level of subsistence that no
family should be expected to live below.
• Poverty line serves as an official indicator of which people are poor.
• In 2004, a family of four with a combined income of $19,157 or less fell
below the poverty line.
• Relative poverty is a floating standard of deprivation by which people
are judged to be disadvantaged when compared to the nation as a whole.
• Even if today’s poor are better off in absolute terms than the poor of the
1930s or 1960s, they are still seen as deserving special assistance.
2.
Who Are the Poor?
• Many of the poor live in urban slums, but the majority live
outside these
poverty areas.
• Since World War II an increasing number of poor people have been
women.
• By 2004, families with female householders accounted for 59 percent of
the nation’s poor. See Table 8-3.
• In 2004, 28 percent of U.S. households headed by single mothers lived in
poverty, compared to 5.5 percent of married couples.
• The feminization of poverty is not just a U.S. phenomenon, but a
worldwide one.
• William Julius Wilson describes the long-term poor as the underclass
who lack training and skills.
• In central cities, about 49 percent of the underclass are AfricanAmerican, 29 percent are Hispanic, 17 percent are White, and 5 percent
are of other classifications.
• The overall composition of the poor changes continuously, as some
move above the poverty line and others slip below it. African Americans
and Latinos are more likely than Whites to be persistently poor.
• African Americans and Hispanics are less likely than Whites to leave
the welfare rolls.
3.
D.
III.
Explaining Poverty
• Using the functionalist analysis, Herbert Gans suggests that the presence
of poor people serves a number of social, economic, and political
functions.
Life Chances
• Max Weber saw class as related to life chances. Poor people spend more limited
resources on the necessities of life.
• In times of danger, the affluent and powerful have a better chance of surviving.
Example: the Titanic tragedy.
• Class position affects people’s vulnerability to natural disasters. Example:
Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the poor of New Orleans.
• The digital divide: Many poor are not linked to the Internet.
Social Mobility
• Refers to the movement of individuals or groups from one position of a society’s
stratification system to another.
A.
Open versus Closed Stratification Systems
• Open systems encourage competition and imply that a person’s position is
influenced by achieved status.
• Closed systems, such as slavery or caste systems, allow little or no possibility of
moving up. Social placement is based on ascribed status.
1.
B.
Types of Social Mobility
• Horizontal mobility refers to a person moving from one social position to
another of the same rank.
• Vertical mobility is the movement from one social position to another of
different rank. Can be upward or downward.
• Intergenerational mobility involves changes in social position relative to
one’s parents. Example: film star whose parents were factory workers.
• Intragenerational mobility involves social changes within one’s adult
life. Example: teacher’s aide becoming a superintendent.
Social Mobility in the United States
1.
Occupational Mobility
• More common among males than females. Sixty to 70 percent of sons
are employed in higher-ranked occupations than their fathers.
• Most mobility covers a very short distance.
2.
The Impact of Education
• Education has a greater impact than family background (although, family
background influences the likelihood that one will receive a higher
education).
• Three-fourths of college-educated men achieved some upward
mobility.
• B.A./B.S. degrees serve less as a guarantee of upward mobility than in
the past, because more people have them.
3.
The Impact of Race and Ethnicity
• Black men with good jobs are less likely than White men to see their
children attain the same status.
• Black children are less likely to receive financial support from parents.
• Downward mobility is significantly higher for blacks than for whites.
• The typical Hispanic has less than 10 percent of the wealth that a White
person has. Continuing immigration accounts for part of the disparity, as
most new arrivals are very poor.
4.
The Impact of Gender
• Women are more likely to withdraw from the labor force if their job
skills exceed the jobs offered them.
• Large range of clerical occupations open to women offer modest salaries
and little chance to advance.
• Women find it harder to secure financing to start self-employment
ventures than men do.
• Women are unlikely to move into their father’s positions.
VII. Social Policy and Stratification: Rethinking Welfare in North America and
Europe
A.
The Issue
• Government subsidies to poor people.
B.
The Setting
• The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was
passed in 1996. Set a lifetime limit of five years for welfare benefits and
required able-bodied adults to work after two years of receiving benefits.
• Most other industrialized nations devote more money to social service programs.
C.
Sociological Insights
• Welfare scapegoating ignores handouts going to affluent portions of society.
• Cost of tax breaks exceeds benefits paid to welfare recipients.
• Corporate welfare and airline bailout passed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks.
D.
Policy Initiatives
• Studies suggest that as workers were moved off of welfare rolls into low-paid
jobs, they lost health insurance.
• Government assistance is being reduced in European governments, as in North
America.
• Focus on keeping taxes low at the expense of reduced services for the poor.
• People turning to private investments. It only works if you have a job and
money to save.
KEY TERMS CHAPTER 8
Absolute poverty A minimum level of subsistence below which no family should be expected
to live.
Achieved status A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts.
Ascribed status A social position that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the
person’s unique talents or characteristics.
Bourgeoisie Karl Marx’s term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of
production.
Capitalism An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private
hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.
Caste A hereditary rank, usually religiously dictated, that tends to be fixed and immobile.
Class A group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income.
Class consciousness In Karl Marx’s view, a subjective awareness held by members of a class
regarding their common vested interests and need for collective political action to bring
about social change.
Class system A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved
characteristics can influence social mobility.
Closed system A social system in which there is little or no possibility of individual social
mobility.
Corporate welfare Tax breaks, direct payments, and grants that the government makes to
corporations.
Dominant ideology A set of cultural beliefs and practices that help to maintain powerful social,
economic, and political interests.
Estate system A system of stratification under which peasants were required to work land leased
to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Also known as
feudalism.
Esteem The reputation that a particular individual has earned within an occupation.
False consciousness A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a
class that does not accurately reflect their objective position.
Horizontal mobility The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the
same rank.
Income Salaries and wages.
Intergenerational mobility Changes in the social position of children relative to their parents.
Intragenerational mobility Changes in a person’s social position within his or her adult life.
Life chances The opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive
living conditions, and favorable life experiences.
Objective method A technique for measuring social class that assigns individuals to classes on
the basis of criteria such as occupation, education, income, and place of residence.
Open system A social system in which the position of each individual is influenced by his or
her achieved status.
Power The ability to exercise one’s will over others.
Prestige The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society.
Proletariat Karl Marx’s term for the working class in a capitalist society.
Relative poverty A floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society,
whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a
whole.
Slavery A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people.
Social inequality A condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth,
prestige, or power.
Social mobility Movement of individuals or groups from one position of a society’s
stratification system to another.
Status group People who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent of their class
positions.
Stratification A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal
economic rewards and power in a society.
Underclass The long-term poor people who lack training and skills.
Vertical mobility The movement of a person from one social position to another of a different
rank.
Wealth An inclusive term encompassing all of a person’s material assets, including land,
stocks, and other types of property.
CHAPTER 9 SUMMARY
A few centuries ago, global inequality was not nearly as significant as it is today. The Industrial
Revolution and rising agricultural productivity produced explosive economic growth whose
benefits were not evenly distributed across the world.
Colonialism is the maintenance of political, social, economic, and cultural domination over a
people by a foreign power for an extended period of time. By the 1980s, colonialism had largely
disappeared. Neocolonialism is the dependence of former colonies on foreign countries.
Drawing on the conflict perspective, Immanuel Wallerstein views the global economic system as
divided between nations that control wealth, and those from whom capital is taken. Wallerstein
advanced a world systems analysis to describe the unequal economic and political relationships
in which core nations exploit periphery nations. Wallerstein’s world systems analysis is the most
widely used version of dependency theory. Dependency theory proposes that even as developing
countries make economic advances, they remain weak and subservient to core nations and
corporations, and this interdependency allows industrialized nations to continue to exploit them.
Globalization is the worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements,
and financial markets through trade and exchange of ideas. The term multinational corporation
refers to commercial organizations that are headquartered in one country but do business
throughout the world. Functionalists view multinational corporations as helping developing
nations, whereas conflict theorists view multinational corporations as exploiters of a nation’s
cheap labor. Modernization refers to the far-reaching process by which peripheral nations move
from traditional to more developed societies. Modernization theory, a functionalist approach,
proposes that modernization and development will gradually improve the lives of people in
developing countries. In contrast, conflict theorists view modernization as a dominating force
over core nations, which facilitates further exploitation.
The gap between the rich and poor nations is widening. In at least 26 nations around the world,
the most affluent 10 percent of the population receives at least 40 percent of all income. Studies
of intergenerational mobility in industrialized nations have found substantial similarities in the
ways that the stratified position of parents is transmitted to their children. Structural factors and
immigration continue to be significant factors in shaping a society’s intergenerational mobility.
Mexico has been called a polarized society with enormous gaps between rich and poor, town and
country, north and south, and white and brown. The country is divided along lines of class, race,
religion, gender, and age. The subordinate status of Mexico’s Indians is a reflection of the
nation’s color hierarchy. Women comprise 42 percent of the labor force in Mexico, but are mired
in more low paying jobs than their counterparts in industrial nations. The term borderlands
refers to the area of common culture along the border of Mexico and the United States. Foreign
established companies (maquiladoras) are now experiencing the same type of challenge from
global trade as U.S. manufacturing did. Conflict theorists note that unregulated growth allows the
owners to exploit the workers.
LECTURE OUTLINE CHAPTER 9
I.
The Global Divide
• World inequality is significant. Disparities in life chances are so extreme that in some
areas of the world, the poorest of the poor may not even be aware of them.
• Rising productivity, economic growth, and living standards that began with the
Industrial Revolution were not evenly distributed across the world.
• The current level of world inequalities is a historical new phenomenon.
II.
Stratification in the World System
A.
The Legacy of Colonialism
• Colonialism occurs when a foreign power maintains political, social, economic,
and cultural domination over a people for an extended period of time. Example:
British Empire in North America and India.
• By the 1980s, colonialism had largely disappeared. But, colonial domination had
established patterns of economic exploitation that continued after nationhood
was achieved.
• Neocolonialism is the subservient status of continuing dependence on foreign
nations, including former colonial masters.
• Immanuel Wallerstein’s world systems analysis describes the domination of
industrialized nations (e.g., U.S., Japan, and Germany), and their global
corporations over countries with marginal economic status.
• Core nations control and exploit developing nations.
• Periphery nations are those exploited by the world system. Example: nations of
Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• The division between core and periphery nations is remarkably stable.
• Dependency theory suggests that, as subservient countries make economic
advances, they remain weak compared to the core nations. The vast share of
their resources is redistributed to core nations.
• Globalization is the integration of government policies, cultures, social
movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.
• Emergence of World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as major
players in the global economy..
B.
Multinational Corporations
• Multinational corporations are commercial organizations that are headquartered
in one country, but do business throughout the world.
• They don’t just buy and sell overseas; they also produce goods all over the
world.
• The total revenues of multinational businesses are on a par with the total value
of the total goods and services exchanged in entire nations.
C.
III.
1.
Functionalist View
• Multinational corporations help developing nations by bringing jobs and
industry.
• They provide a combination of skilled technology and management.
• They facilitate the exchange of ideas and technology around the world,
making the world more interdependent.
2.
Conflict View
• Multinational corporations exploit local workers to maximize profits.
Example: Starbucks.
• The pool of cheap labor in the developing world encourages
multinationals to move factories out of core countries, destabilizing labor
there.
• Trade unions are discouraged in the developing world. If labor demands
become too threatening, multinationals just move elsewhere. .
• Over all, multinationals have a negative social impact on workers in both
industrialized and developing nations.
• Upper and middle classes benefit the most in developing nations.
Modernization
• Term used to describe the far-reaching process by which periphery nations
move from traditional or less developed institutions to those characteristic of
more developed societies.
• Modern society is more urban, literate, and industrial, and has sophisticated
transportation and media systems.
• Modernization theory suggests that modernization will gradually improve the
lives of people in developing nations.
• Conflict theory suggests that modernization perpetuates the dependency of
exploited nations and is an example of contemporary neocolonialism.
Stratification within Nations: A Comparative Perspective
• The gap between rich and poor nations is widening, as is the gap between rich and poor
within nations..
• Foreign investment tends to increase economic inequality
A.
Distribution of Wealth and Income
• In more than 26 countries, the most affluent 10 percent of the population
receives at least 40 percent of all income.
• Women in developing countries are the most exploited. Example: female
infanticide.
B.
IV.
Social Mobility
1.
Mobility in Industrialized Nations
• Studies indicate similarities in the ways that parents’ positions in
stratification systems are transmitted to their children.
• Influence of structural factors lead to the rise or decline in the social
hierarchy.
• Immigration continues to be a significant factor.
2.
Mobility in Developing Nations
• Macro-level social and economic changes often overshadow micro-level
movement from one occupation to another.
• In large developing nations, the most significant mobility is the
movement out of poverty. Example: China and India.
3.
Gender Differences and Mobility
• Effects of development on women’s social standing and mobility are not
necessarily positive.
• As a country modernizes, women’s vital role in food production
deteriorates, jeopardizing women’s autonomy and material well-being.
Case Study: Stratification in Mexico
• Colonialism, neocolonialism, and the domination and exploitation of a peripheral
developing country can be seen in the history of Mexico.
• Comparing Mexico to the U.S.: In 2004, the gross national income per person in
the
U.S. was $39,710; in Mexico, it was $9,590. In the U.S., about 87 percent of
adults have
a high school diploma, compared to Mexico’s 13 percent.
• The gap between the richest and poorest citizens is one of the widest in the world.
A.
Race Relations in Mexico: The Color Hierarchy
• The subordinate status of Mexico’s Indians is a reflection of the nation’s color
hierarchy, which links social class to the appearance of racial purity.
• At the top of the hierarchy are the 10 percent of the population who are criollos
(white, well educated with roots in Spain).
• In the middle are the large impoverished majority of mestizo, most of whom
have brown skin and mixed racial lineage.
• At the bottom are the destitute, full-blooded Mexican Indian minority and a
small number of Blacks.
V.
B.
The Status of Women in Mexico
• Women constitute 42 percent of Mexico’s labor force, but they are mired in the
lowest-paying jobs.
• Politically, Mexican women are rarely part of top decision-making processes,
although they have increased their representation in the national legislature, to
24 percent.
• Even when they work outside the home, they are often are not recognized as
active and productive household members, and find it hard to get credit .
C.
The Borderlands
• The area of common culture along the border between Mexico and the U.S.
• Day laborers cross border daily to work in the U.S.
• Foreign-based companies (maquiladoras) are exempt from Mexican taxes and
do not pay benefits for their workers.
• Conflict theorists note that maquiladoras have exploited the work force.
• In recent years, some companies have begun shifting their operations to China,
where labor costs are even lower.
• Some suggest that immigration problems in the borderlands are more of a labor
market issue than a law enforcement issue.
• Many Mexicans who have come to the U.S. send part of their earnings to family
members in Mexico. These remittances (or migradollars), are estimated to be at
least $17 billion a year, surpassed only by oil as a source of income.
Social Policy and Stratification
A.
The Issue
• Universal human rights.
B.
The Setting
• 1990s brought the term “ethnic cleansing” into the world’s vocabulary (Serbian
cleansing of Muslims).
• Many killed and uprooted from their homes. For the first time, sexual assault
was treated as a war crime under international law.
• U.S. war on terrorism has raised additional concerns about human rights, both at
home and abroad.
C.
Sociological Insights
• In 1993 the U.S. rejected cultural relativism in an attempt to establish Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Example: condemnation of female genital
mutilation.
• Functionalists point out how quickly we become embroiled in “human rights”
when oil is at stake.
D.
Policy Initiatives
• Most initiatives come from international organizations such as the U.N. and
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as Médecins sans Frontières
(Doctors without Borders) and Amnesty International
have assisted in highlighting human rights issues.
KEY TERMS CHAPTER 9
Borderlands The area of common culture along the border between Mexico and the United
States.
Colonialism The maintenance of political, social, economic, and cultural dominance over a
people by a foreign power for an extended period.
Dependency theory An approach that contends that industrialized nations continue to exploit
developing countries for their own gain.
Globalization The worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements,
and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas.
Gross national product (GNP) The value of a nation’s goods and services.
Human rights Universal moral rights possessed by all people because they are human.
Modernization The far-reaching process by which peripheral nations move from traditional or
less developed institutions to those characteristic of more developed societies.
Modernization theory A functionalist approach that proposes that modernization and
development will gradually improve the lives of people in developing nations.
Multinational corporation A commercial organization that is headquartered in one country but
does business throughout the world.
Neocolonialism Continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries.
Remittances The monies that immigrants return to their families of origin. Also called
migradollars.
World systems analysis A view of the global economic system as one divided between certain
industrialized nations that control wealth and developing countries that are controlled and
exploited.