Class and Stratification - Sociological Imagination - Lecture Slides, Slides of Sociology

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Chapter 7 Class and Stratification in the United States docsity.com Questions for you… • How much is “social class” a factor in people’s lives? • How many social classes are there in the United States? • Is there still a “middle class,” given the economic challenges of today? • Can individuals change their social class location? docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream? • True or False? – A number of people living below the official poverty line have fulltime jobs. docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream? • True. – Many of those who fall below the official poverty line are referred to as the “working poor” because they work full time but earn such low wages that they are still considered to be impoverished. docsity.com How Much Do You Know About Wealth, Poverty, and the American Dream? • True or False? – About 5 percent of U.S. residents live in households whose members sometimes do not get enough to eat. docsity.com Social Stratification • Hierarchy of social groups based on differential control over resources. • Sociologists examine social groups that make up the hierarchy in a society, to determine how inequalities persist over time. docsity.com Life Chances • Access to resources such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care. • Affluent people have better life chances because they have greater access to: – quality education – safe neighborhood – nutrition and health care – police protection docsity.com Polling Question • The poor are poor because the American way of life doesn't give all people an equal chance. A. Strongly agree B. Agree somewhat C. Unsure D. Disagree somewhat E. Strongly disagree docsity.com Characteristics of Slavery in the U.S. 1. It was for life and was inherited. 2. Slaves were considered property, not human beings. 3. Slaves were denied rights. 4. Coercion was used to keep slaves “in their place”. docsity.com Caste System • Status is determined at birth based on parents’ ascribed characteristics. • Cultural values sustain caste systems and caste systems grow weaker as societies industrialize. • Vestiges of caste systems can remain for hundreds of years after they are officially abolished. docsity.com The Class System • A type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work people do. • Horizontal mobility occurs when people experience a gain or loss in position and/or income that does not produce a change in their place in the class structure. docsity.com Marx’s View of Stratification {€)2012 Cengage Learning Capitalists © Own and control means of production e Achieve wealth through capital Workers e Work for wages e Vulnerable to displacement by machines or cheap labor docsity.com Max Weber: Wealth, Prestige, and Power • Wealth is the value of a person’s or family’s economic assets, including income, personal property, and income- producing property. • Prestige is the regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others. • Power is the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition docsity.com Socioeconomic Status (SES) • A combined measure that, in order to determine class location, attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education. docsity.com Weber’s Multidimensional Approach to Social Stratification High level —— Mid-range ————> Low level rr (92012 Cengage Learning ® docsity.com Stratification White-collar, highly skilled blue-collar jobs Temporary, seasonal, part-time jobs; public or private assistance {€)2012 Cengage Learning docsity.com Middle Class and the American Dream • Four factors have eroded the American Dream for this class: 1. Escalating housing prices 2. Occupational insecurity 3. Blocked mobility on the job 4. Cost of living squeeze that has penalized younger workers, even when they have more education and better jobs than their parents. docsity.com Wright’s Criteria for Placement in the Class Structure • Wright assumes that these criteria can be used to determine the class placement of all workers, regardless of race/ethnicity, in a capitalist society: 1. Ownership of the means of production 2. Purchase of the labor of others (employing others). 3. Control of the labor of others (supervising others on the job). 4. Sale of one’s own labor (being employed by someone else). docsity.com Wright’s Four Classes 1. The capitalist class 2. The managerial class 3. The small-business class 4. The working class docsity.com Median Income by State @ ee Hawaii Alaska ( Less than $35,000 [I $35,000 to $39,999 HE $40,000 to $44,999 MN $45,000 or more (0)2012 Cengage Learning docsity.com Average After-Tax Family Income in the United States $1,100,000 $1,000,000 $950,000 $900,000 $800,000 $700,000 $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 $100,000 $75,000 $50,000 $25,000 0 Bottom Fourth Third Second Top Top fifth fifth fifth fifth fifth 1% Income percentiles {0)2012 Cengage Learning docsity.com Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity in the United States docsity.com % U.S. Population Without Health Insurance 65 and |g 1.5% over 1.9% 19.8% 40.0% Under 1.0% 18 17.6% (c)2012 Cengage Learning ® docsity.com 18-64 % Distribution of Poverty in the U.S. Education All Races White African American Hispanic No diploma 21.8 15.7 34.8 26.7 High School Graduate 11.9 9.4 22.0 15.4 Some college 8.5 7.0 11.5 10.6 College degree (or more) 4.3 3.7 7.1 7.5 docsity.com % Distribution of Poverty in the U.S. Age All White African American Hispanic Under 18 17.8 10.5 33.6 28.9 18–24 18.1 14.5 28.1 22.6 25-44 11.2 7.8 20.2 18.4 45-64 8.8 7.0 16.8 14.4 65 and above 9.8 7.5 23.9 18.7 docsity.com Percentage of Persons in Poverty by Age: 1959-2008. 5A Percent Recession 45 40 35 "os. a years and older 30 wae 25 |S “~ Under 18 years ———_—____ 0 =. awa eo 15 75 10 = 5 18 to 64 years OULLt terre te tp peep peepee pe epee pe pe pe pp peep pe pp pepe pe et ppt ttt 1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2008 (2012 Cengage Learning 19.0 percent 11.7 percent 9.7 percent docsity.com Functionalist Perspective: Davis-Moore Thesis 1. Societies have tasks that must be accomplished and positions that must be filled. 2. Some positions are more important for the survival of society than others. 3. The most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people. docsity.com Functionalist Perspective: Davis-Moore Thesis 4. The positions that are the most important for society and that require scarce talent, extensive training, or both must be the most highly rewarded. 5. The most highly rewarded positions should be those that are functionally unique (no other position can perform the same function) and on which other positions rely for expertise, direction, or financing. docsity.com Meritocracy • A hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people’s ability and credentials. docsity.com Quick Quiz docsity.com 1. Those that are poor typically have fewer life chances, which means they also have fewer opportunities to obtain: A. all of the choices B. money C. medical care D. property docsity.com Answer: A o Those that are poor typically have fewer life chances, which means they also have fewer opportunities to obtain money, medical care and property. docsity.com • 3. According to Karl Marx, social classes are defined by – A. relationship to the economic means of production. – B. relative control over power, wealth, and prestige. – C. gender – D. income docsity.com Answer: A • For Marx, people’s relationship to the means of production determines their class position. Weber developed a multidimensional concept of stratification that focuses on the interplay of wealth, prestige, and power. docsity.com • 4. About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are – A. Elderly – B. Black – C. Women – D. Unemployed docsity.com