Ideal Culture
Calls for equal opportunity for all
Real Culture
Social forces make it very difficult for some people to improve their lot
Social Stratification
The ranking of people into a hierarchy in which the resources considered valuable by society are unequally distributed
Poverty
An uneven distribution of the resources available
Absolute Definition of Poverty
Establishes a fixed economic level below which people are considered poor, and this level does not necessarily change as society on the whole becomes more affluent
Relative Definition of Poverty
People are poor relative to some standard, and that standard is partially shaped by the lifestyles of other citizens
Cultural Definition of Poverty
Views poverty not only in terms of how many resources people have but also in terms of why they have failed to achieve a higher economic level
Structural Unemployment
Unemployment is a part of the very structure of the economy
Social Mobility
The movement of people from one social position to another in the stratification hierarchy
Cultural Analysis of Poverty
The values, attitudes, and psychological orientations that may emerge among groups of people who live under conditions of poverty
Full Employment
A situation in which everyone or nearly everyone who wants to work can find a job
Social Insurance
Programs offering benefits to broad categories of people, such as the elderly or injured workers, who presumably were working and paying for the insurance before becoming eligible for it
Public Assistance
Programs in which a person must pass a "means" test to be eligible; welfare