Social Stratification
A concept involving the classification of people into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions.
A relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions.
ex.) lower, middle, upper class
Slavery
A form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others as their property
ex.) Africans were brought to America and forced to work on plantations.
Caste system
a social system in which one's social status is given for life
ex.) the status of a queen in England is for life
Caste Society
a society in which different social levels are closed, so that all individuals must remain at the social level of their birth throughout life
ex.) Communism
Endogamy
the forbidding of marriage or sexual relations outside one's social group
ex.) prince william could marry Kate Middleton because one is of the Royal family and the other isn't
Means of Production
the means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but the social relations between producers
Capitalists
People who own companies, land, or stocks/shares and use these to generate economic returns
ex) someone buys property at a low price while the market is struggling and then sells it when the market is on the rise and sells it for a profit.
Status
the social honor/prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of society
Pariah groups
groups who suffer from negative status discrimination. They are looked down on by most members of society. People of these groups are prevented from taking advantage of opportunities open to others.
Ex.) Africans when they were forced into slavery when th
What are the three shared characteristics of socially stratified systems?
1.) The rankings apply to social categories of people who share a common characteristic
2.) People's life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is ranked.
3.) The ranks of different social categories tend to change very
How is the concept of class different from that of caste?
Class and caste differ because one is born into a caste system and from their rank they cannot move up or down. In class, one's rank is usually determined by socioeconomic stats and they have the ability to move up or down in rank.
According to Karl Marx, what are the two main classes and how do they relate to one another?
The two main classes are Labour and Capital. Labour includes anyone who earns their livelihood by selling their labor power and being paid a wage or salary for their labor time. Capital includes anyone who gets their income from a surplus value. They rela
What concept did Max Weber develop to describe the opportunities an individual has for achieving economic prosperity?
(Life chances) Weber explained that the best chance an individual has at being wealthy is to be born into wealth, and that people from more humble backgrounds have less of a chance of becoming wealthy.
Two main differences between Max Weber's and Karl Marx's theories of social stratification
Weber believed that class divisions occurred not only from control or lack of control of the means of production but from economic differences that have nothing to do with property. Weber had another aspect of social stratification other than class, which
How does social stratification contribute to the functioning society?
Davis and Moore provided a functionalist explanation of stratification, arguing that it has beneficial consequences for society. They claimed that certain positions or roles in society are functioning more important than others and these positions require
income
payment usually deriving from wages, salaries or investments
wealth
money and material possessions held by an individual or group
upper class
5% - social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, esp. those who have inherited wealth, own business, or hold large numbers of stocks.
middle class
40-45% - social class composed broadly of those working white-collar and lower managerial occupations
working class
20% - social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar and pink collar occupations
lower class
15% - social class comprised of those who work part time or not at all and whose income is typically low
underclass
a class of individuals situated at the bottom of the class system, normally composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds
Name components of social status. How do blacks and whites differ along these components in the U.S.?
Wealth, income, education, and occupation.
Races differ among these components in wealth.
What are the major social groups in the United States today?
The major class groups in the US today are defined by income, wealth, occupation, and is divided into the middle, lower, and upper class. Groups differ in their levels of education, income and occupation
Social mobility
movement of individuals or groups between different social postions.
ex.) someone born into a lower class and through hard work becomes wealthy
intragenerational mobility
movement up or down the social stratification hierarchy within the course of a personal career.
ex) movement of a business man up or down the corporate ladder in either direction.
intergenerational mobility
movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another
ex) a person from a lower class family graduates from med school and goes on to make a hefty salary then becomes wealthy and it affects the lives of their children.
downward mobility
social mobility in which individuals wealth, income or status is lower than what they or their parents once had.
ex) parents work hard have a lot of money, children do not work hard and are in a lower class than their parents.
according to Pierre Bourdieu, how does the family contribute to the transmission of social class from one generation to the next?
Pierre Bourdieu argued that among the factors responsible for social status, the most important is the transmission of cultural capital, or the cultural advantages that coming from a "good home" confers. Wealthier families are able to afford to send their
absolute poverty
the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence
ex) a family that cant get enough to eat, places of famine in poor countries
relative poverty
the deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more; lacks decent standard of living and housing
working poor
people who work but whose earnings are not high enough to lift them above poverty
ex) making min wage as your occupation
feminization of poverty
an increase in the population of the poor who are female
ex) a woman who is divorced and has no skills, works and has to take care of kids
social security
a government program that provides economic assistance to persons faced with unemployment, disability or old age
Medicare
a program under the US Social Security Administration that reimburses hospitals and physicians for medical care provided to qualifying people over 65 years old
Culture of Poverty
refers to the values, beliefs, lifestyle, habits and traditions that are common among people living under conditions of material deprivation
ex) someone with little money may cose to buy a large TV or car instead of paying rent.
Dependency Culture
a term popularized by Charles Murray. Argument that providing welfare erodes people of desire to work
social exclusion
the outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live
ex) an example of social exclusion would be immigrants that struggle to integrat
What is the poverty line and how does the US gov't calculate it?
the poverty line is an income that is equal to three times the cost of a nutritional adequate diet.
Why are women and children at high risk of becoming impoverished in the US today?
Women could be at risk because if they are single/divorced there isn't much income in their home. Also, if a women is unskilled or uneducated than the child will be the same and will most likely be in poverty as the mother as well.
Difference between culture of poverty argument and structural explanations for poverty
culture of poverty argues that poor people adapt lifestyles which differ from mainstream society. Poverty as structural says that poverty is the result of lack of income producing employment for all sectors in a capitalist society
Main reasons people become homeless
because they could have a drug/alcohol problem, having poor mental health, the number of beds in mental hospitals have diminished over years, and lack of family, relatives, or social networks, or getting suddenly getting laid of at work, cost of housing i