Download Sociology Chapter 8 Notes

Sociology: Chapter 8 Sec 1
“Social Inequality”
“Systems of Stratification”
Standards: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1,
4.2, 4.3
Types of Stratification
 Social Stratification: ranking of individuals
or categories of people on the basis of
unequal access to scarce resources and
social rewards
 Social Inequality: The unequal sharing of
scarce resources and social rewards
 Types…
 1. Caste System
 2. Class System
Caste System
 -Usually occurs in an area where resources are
scarce for a variety of reasons
 -Ascribed Status: Status that is assigned based on
factors that one can not control
 -One can not marry outside of one’s own Caste
 -Endogamy: Marriage w/in one’s own social group
 -Exogamy: Marriage outside of one’s own group
 -Think about it… If your arm was in a “CASTE”
you would not be able to “MOVE” it
 *It is impossible to move between Castes
Indian Caste System: 187
 19th Century
 1. Brahman: Priests
 2. Kshatriya: Warrior, Landowner, Ruler
 3. Vaishya: Merchants
 4. Shudra: Artisans, Agriculturalists
(Farmers)
 5. Harijan: “Outside” the Caste System
 “Untouchables”
The Class System
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Class System: Based on ACHIEVED status
Achieved Status: Variable; can change
-People judged by accomplishments
-Based on who owns the Means of Production:
Tools, Buildings, Materials needed to produce
goods
 Bourgeoisie: Own the means of production
 Proletariat: Workers who sell labor
 Social Class: Grouping of people with similar
levels of wealth, power, and prestige
Socioeconomic Status
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Socioeconomic Status: Rating of individuals
based on
 1. Educational Level
 2. Occupational Prestige
 3. Income
 4. Place of Residence
Dimensions of Stratification:
1. Wealth: Individual’s Assets
2. Power: Ability to control the behavior of others
3. Prestige: Respect, Honor and Recognition one
receives from other members of society (See p.
209)
Explaining Stratification
 Functionalist Perspective: Stratification is
necessary for social order
 Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore
 -Reward must match the task
 Ex: Doctor: $100,000+ Janitor: $25,000+
 Conflict Perspective: Karl Marx: Competition
over scarce resources causes social inequality. In
equality will lead to “friction” between classes
 Both have good points: Neither FULLY Explains
Efforts at “Synthesis”
 Both conflict and functionalist perspective have
valid points, but they ignore other important
details.
 Ralf Dahrendorf: They explain specific problems,
but do not speak to the entire system.
 Gerhard Lenski: Usefulness depends on society
being studied
 Eg: Functionalist: Better at explaining “smallgroup” structure
 Conflict: Better at explaining “Large” group
structure
Sociology: Chapter 8 Sec 2
“The American Class System”
Standards: 3.1-3.5, 4.1-4.3
The American Class System
 -Social Inequality exists in all class systems
 -U.S. has a “fairly” open system
 Determining Social Class
 -Some Sociologists see three classes
 1. Upper
 2. Middle
 3. Lower
Determining Social Class
 Other Sociologists
 1. Upper-Upper
 2. Lower-Upper
 3. Upper-Middle
 4. Lower-Middle
 5. Upper-Lower
 6. Lower-Lower
Determining Social Class
 Most Sociologists agree on a six category
system: P 194
 1. Upper Class- 1%
 2. Upper Middle Class-14%
 3. Lower Middle Class- 30%
 4. Working Class-30%
 5. Working Poor-22%
 6. Underclass- 3%
Techniques for Ranking People
 1. Reputational Method: Individuals in
community rank others in community based
on characteristics and life styles
 2. Subjective Method: Individuals asked to
determine own rank (Shy away from lower
and upper)
 3. Objective Method: Class defined by
income, occupation, and education
 *Most Scientific
Social Classes
 1. Upper Class: Own a sizable portion of the
nation’s wealth
 -Prestigious Universities
 -Upper-Upper: “Old” Money
 Kennedy, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt
 Born into
 -Lower-Upper: New Money
 Acquired wealth through own work
 Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption:
 -Rich buy goods for status
 -Control Gov’t
 -Help Needy
 - Tend to be Politically Conservative
Social Classes
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2. Upper Middle Class: High income professionals
-College or University (4-10YR)
-Career oriented
-Power on the local levels
3. Lower-Middle Class: Lower income “White
Collar” (no manual labor)
 -High School
 -Some College (2-4 YR)
 Live Comfortable life, but must work hard to
maintain (Nurses, Teachers…etc)
Social Classes
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4. Working Class: Largest segment of population
-High School/Trade School
-Work “blue-collar” jobs (manual labor)
-trades people
* “pink-collar” (lower level clerical, sales, service
jobs) *Few financial reserves
 5. Working Poor:
 -Some High School
 -Laborers
 -Service workers
 6. Underclass:
 -Some/No High School
 -Undesirable/low paying jobs
Social Mobility
 Social Mobility: Movement between classes
 -Vertical Mobility: Upward or downward
movement BETWEEN classes
 Ex: Job promotion/ Demotion
 -Horizontal Mobility: Person moves to s different
job within the same class
 Ex: Teacher who switches school
 -Intergenerational Mobility: status differences
between members of the same family
 Ex: Son of a mechanic becomes a doctor
 -Intragenerational Mobility: status change during a
person’s life
Social Mobility: Causes
 Upward Mobility
 -Technology
 -Change in merchandising patterns
– 1940: 31% White Collar 2009: 77% White Collar
 -Increase in Education-Society
– 1940: 75% No Diploma 2009: 15% No Diploma
• 26% of people over 25 have at least a Bachelor’s Degree
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Downward Mobility
-Illness
-Divorce (Temporary)
-Widowhood (“
“)
-Retirement
-Economic changes: Ex LTV Steel
Sociology Chapter 8 Sec 3
“Poverty”
Standards: 5.3, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.6,
7.7, 7.8
Poverty: Page 198
 Poverty: A standard of living that is below
the minimum level considered “Descent and
Reasonable” by Society
 Poverty Level: Minimum income to survive
 “relative term”
 -Calculate cost of diet and multiply by three
since 1/3 of income spent on food
 U.S. 12.6% Live BELOW poverty line
Variations in American Poverty
 -Factors of Poverty
 -Age: Largest % of people living below the
poverty line = children
 -Two times higher in black/latino vs. white
families
 -Women: make up 57% of poor over age 18
– 40% homes headed by minority women in
poverty
– 25% homes headed by white women in poverty
Effects of Poverty
 Life Chances: Opportunities to succeed
 -greatly reduced in the lower classes
 Life Expectancy:
 -Infant mortality: Twice as high with poor
 -Behavior:
 -Low income: High divorce rates and high
crime rates
Government Responses to
Poverty: P. 201
 1960’s: LBJ “War on Poverty”
 -% of elderly poor went down
 1. Transfer Payments: Gov’t redistributes money
over various social classes
 -Social Security
 -Welfare
 -Aid to families w/ dependent children (tax
breaks)
 2. Subsidies: Transfer of goods and services; NOT
MONEY (Directly)
 Ex: Food stamps, Head Start, Meals on Wheels