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Stratification Systems
The Root of all. . .?
Social Stratification
Hierarchy of social groups based on control
over resources.
examine social groups that make up
hierarchy to determine how inequalities
persist over time.
Life Chances
Access to resources such as food, clothing, shelter,
education, and health care.
Affluent people/nations typically have better life
chances because have greater access to:
quality education
safe neighborhoods
nutrition and health care
police protection
Social Construction of Inequality
Division of Labor
Social Evaluation
Differential Rewards
Stratification
Social Class Caste
Systems of Stratification
Open system - boundaries between hierarchies
may be influenced by achieved statuses.
Closed system - boundaries between hierarchies
rigid,
people’s positions set by ascribed status.
No stratification system is completely open or
closed.
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.
The Class System
The class system is a type of stratification
based on the ownership and control of
resources and on the type of work people
do.
How Many Classes?
Informal
3 – Rich, Middle Class, Poor
Formal
6 – two divisions for each of the above
America’s Class System
Upper-Upper
Lower-Upper
Upper Middle
Lower-Middle
Upper-Lower
Lower-Lower
Classes - % of Population
Upper-Upper
Lower-Upper
Upper Middle
Lower-Middle
Upper-Lower
Lower-Lower
1%
2%
11%
33%
33%
20%
Classes - % of Population
Capitalist
Upper Middle
Lower-Middle
Working Class
Working Poor
1%
15%
34%
30%
15%
5% Underclass
Distribution of Wealth
76%- Wealthiest 20%
15%-Next highest
6%-3rd
highest
2%-Next
to
Lowest
Poorest 5th
0.2%
Occupational Stratification
Owners of the Means of Production
CEO’s, Upper Level Managers
Professionals – Dr’s, Lawyers, Small
Business Owners
White Collar-Middle Mgmt
Blue Collar-Skilled Labor,
Farmers
Unskilled Labor, Working
Poor
Determinants of Class
The Big Three
Money
Occupation
Education
Other Indicators
History
Religion
Ethnicity
Income Gap: World’s Richest and
Poorest People
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Perc
en
tag
e
74.9%
54.7%
84.9%
65.5%
86.3%
13.3% 10.3%
42.2%
9.3%
26.2%
High School Graduate College Graduate
African Americans
Hispanic Americans
Asian Americans
American Indians
Euro- Americans
Source: US Bureau of the Census, 1995, pp. 48-51
Education by Race & Ethnicity
Income By Race-Ethnicity
0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
African Americans
Hispanic Americans
Asian Americans
American Indians
Euro- Americans
Median Family Income
Source: US Bureau of the Census, 1997, pp. 51
$50,000
Families Below the Poverty Line, 1970-1993
5
10
15
20
25
30
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1997
35
African Americans
Euro-Americans
Pe
rce
nta
ge
Be
low
Po
ve
rty L
ine
Source: US Bureau of the Census, 1997, p. 479.
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