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Chapter 8
Social Stratification and the U.S. Class System
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Slides by Michael Miller
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Key Terms
Social Differentiation• Process by which we are set apart for differential treatment
Social Inequality• Condition under which we have unequal access to resources
Social Stratification• Form of inequality based on our access to valued resources
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Slave System• Two distinct strata:
category of free people and a category who are the legal property of others
Caste System• Rank is heredity and
permanent• Marriage between
members of different categories is prohibited
Systems of Stratification
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Estate System• Centered on
monopoly of power and ownership of land
Class System• Achieved statuses
are the principal means of ranking
Systems of Stratification
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Determining Social Class Ranking
Power
Prestige
Wealth
IncomeAuthority
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Measuring social class• Reputational method• Subjective method• Objective method (preferred by U.S. sociologists)
Socioeconomic status• A ranking that combines income, occupational prestige,
education, and neighborhood to define social class
Socioeconomic Status
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U.S. Social Classes
Upp
er-M
iddl
e
Upp
er
Low
er-M
iddl
e
Wor
king
Low
er
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Absolute Poverty• Being below the minimum level of subsistence and
unable to function as members of society
Relative Poverty• A lack of resources relative to others and the overall
standards of society
Poverty
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Media Images • Influence assumptions about who is poor
The Reality• In 2005, 33 million Americans (12%) had poverty incomes• Poverty rates vary by age, race, and gender• Feminization of poverty: women and girls are majority
Who Are U.S. Poor?
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Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Culture of Poverty
• Set of norms, beliefs, values, and attitudes that trap poor in permanent cycle of poverty
• Most sociologists disagree with idea that poor people remain poor because of defective culture
Poverty and Culture
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Class is a powerful predictor of life outcomes...
Opportunities for securing resources• Like eating nutritious food, getting decent housing,
going to college, etc.
Advantages begin early and persist throughout life
Life Chances
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Vertical movement within class structure
Intergenerational & Intragenerational
Structural mobility • large-scale changes causing movement in hierarchy• major basis of movement in U.S.
Social Mobility
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Functionalist
Davis and Moore
1. Inequality is created by needs of system
2. Some positions are more important to society and require more training and skills
3. Differential reward motivates people to fill important jobs
Sociological Perspectives
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Conflict Marx
1. History = class struggle where elites gain most benefits
2. Bourgeoisie (capitalists) vs. Proletariat (working class)
Sociological Perspectives
Would you agree that mass media are instruments of ruling class?
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Interactionist
We use symbols to differentiate ourselves from those in other classes
Lifestyle displays rank
VeblenWealth becomes prestige through conspicuous consumption
Sociological Perspectives
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