social class
a group of people with similar backgrounds, incomes, and ways of living
Items that can change social class
1. Property
2. Power
3. Prestige
property
something owned
wealth
The total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts
Difference between wealth and income
Wealth is all your assets while income is just what you earn from your job (wage/salary)
power
the ability of one person to get another person to act in accordance with the first person's intentions
power elite
those who make big decisions in US Society (C Wright Mills)
prestige
recognition or respect from others
status consistency
ranking high or low on all three dimensions of social class
status inconsistency
ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others
status
the position that someone occupies in a social group
anomile
a deviation from what is normal or expected
contradictory class location
occupying more than one social class at the same time
Wright's Modifcation of Marx's model of Social Class
1. Capitalist
2. Petty bourgeoisie (small business owners)
3. Managers
4. Workers
Marx's Model of theSocial Classes
1. Capitalists (bourgeoisie)
2. Workers (proliterait)
3. Inconsequential Others (beggars)
Kahl and Gilbert
developed a six-tier model for class structure
Capitalists (Kahl and Gilbert)
1 percent, old and new money
Upper Middle Class (Kahl and Gilbert)
15 percent, most shaped by education
Lower Middle Class (Kahl and Gilbert)
34 percent, slightly more prestige and income than workers
Working (Kahl and Gilbert)
30 percent
Working poor (Kahl and Gilbert)
15 percent, poor, unskilled, low paying
Underclass (Kahl and Gilbert)
5 percent, no connection to the job market
Reasons a decrease on status ladder leads to poor physical health
1. Social classes open and shut doors to medical care
2. Lifestyle (smoke, eat fatty food, decrease in exercise)
3. Life is hard on the poor
Five types of social mobility
1. Structural Mobility
2. Horizontal Mobility
3. Vertical Mobility
4. Intergenerational Mobility
5. Intragenerational Mobility
intergenerational mobility
upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents
structural mobility
movement up or down the social class ladder that is due to changes in the structure of society, not to individual efforts
horizontal mobility
The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank.
vertical mobility
a change upward or downward in occupational status or social class
intragenerational mobility
a change in social position occurring during a person's lifetime
poverty line
a level of personal income defining the state of poverty
geographic poverty
The southern states are poorer than the northern states- people that live in rural areas are poorer than people that live in urban areas
rural poverty
occurs in nonmetropolitan areas with populations below 50,000; there are more single-guardian households, and families often have less access to services, support for disabilities and quality education opportunities
urban poverty
occurs in metropolitan areas with populations of at least 50,000 people; urban poor deal with a complex aggregate of chronic and acute stressors (crowding, violence, noise) and are dependent on often-inadequate large-city services
Poverty based on Ethnicity, in regards to total US population
12% white
13% Asian
25% Latino
26% African American
27% Native American
46% of all poor are ________
White
Poverty based on education
1 in 4 high school dropouts are poor
3 in 100 college graduates
The Feminization of Poverty
refers to the situation that most poor families in the U.S. are headed by women
culture of poverty
a way of life that perpetuates poverty from one generation to the next
poverty triggers
dramatic life changes
Why are people poor?
1. Social structure
2. Characteristics of individuals
3. Poverty triggers
Horatio Alger myth
the belief that due to limitless possibilities anyone can get ahead if he or she tries hard enough
Social stratification
the condition of being arranged in social strata or classes within a group
social class characterized by . . .
1. The characteristics of society
2. Persistance over generations
3. Universal but variable
4. Involvement inequality and beliefs
In US, we have put more prestige on ______________ rather than _____________.
mental labor
physical labor
Closed social mobility system
No ability for mobility. Social class is ascribed. Ex-India. Caste System
Caste System
a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity
Open social mobility system
Ability for social mobility. Social class is based on acheived status. You have control over where you will be in sociey. Ex--USA
social mobility
movement up or down the social class ladder
Herbert Gans - Functional analysis of poverty
1. Poverty allows for society's dirty work to be performed at a low cost
2. Poverty creates jobs for occupation and professions which service the poor.
3. The identifcation and punishment of the poor as deviants uphold the legitimacy of conventonal norms
Conflict analysis of poverty
A. Thesis - current condition
1 Two classes (haves and have nots)
2. Social class (wealthy benefit)
B. Antithesis
1. Worker discontent
2. Owner resistance
3. Conflict
4. Worker revolution
C. Synthesis (result of conflict)
1. Victory for the workers
2. Dev
Flaw in Marx's theory
Rise of the middle class. Workers made better money and benefits. Unions are established.
Workers of the world unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains.
Karl Marx
life chances
the opportunities that people have to fulfill their potential in society
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
domino effect
the fear that if one nation falls to communism, its neighbors will soon follow