Chapter 7

Social Stratification- division of large numbers of people according to power, property, gender and prestige.

This applies to nations, societies, sexes and other groups

Social stratification is universal- some societies have greater inequalities than others

Three systems of social stratification: slavery, caste and class

Has been common throughout history

Most common in agricultural societies

Not based on racism but on debt, war, crime

In some cases slavery was temporary and not inheritable

In almost all cases slaves owned no property and had no power

Slaves used for labor. Indians were tried first but this failed so the Europeans turned to Africans

Racism did not lead to slavery but slavery led to racism. Finding it profitable to keep slaves, slave owners developed an ideology to justify owning human beings

Slave states passed laws that made slavery inheritable. Civil War did not end legal discrimination in the US, lasted until the 1950’s and 60’s

Slavery exists today in West Africa. Many of these countries have outlawed slavery but continues unofficially

Status determined by birth, is lifelong Boundaries remain firm. Practice

endogamy, marriage within their own group

Ritual pollution reduces contact between classes, contact with inferior castes contaminate superior castes

India best example of the caste system, based on religion not race existed for over 3000 years.

Four main castes are divided into thousands of other castes. Indian government officially abolished system in 1949, tradition are hard to change

Caste based ceremonies remain part of everyday life (birth, marriage, death)

Racial Caste system developed in America after the Civil War where African Americans were treated as inferior to all whites and this was written into law

Social Class is less rigid than caste or slavery

Based on money and material possessions Begins at birth when individuals acquire their

ascribed status, as life progresses people can change social class by what they achieve in life. No laws prohibit intermarriage or occupation

Class system has fluid boundaries-it allows social mobility. The ability to move up or slide down this ladder is what motivates people to be successful in life

Gender is the basis for stratification in all societies- it cuts across all systems of social stratification. It provides or denies access to the things available in society

These distinctions always favor males

Nations are stratified by property, prestige and power Divided in to three categories: Most Industrialized,

Industrializing, Least Industrialized Many Middle Eastern countries do not fit into any of

these categories (oil rich nations), even though they are non- industrialized. They buy technology from other countries and workers from other countries and use immigrant workers from other nations to do unpleasant, mundane tasks

Based on measures of life expectancy, access to education, medical care, GDP, GNP, electricity, telephones, internet access and many other factors

Controlling ideas, information and technology through ideology is a means of social control to maintain stratification

Three theories to how the nations of the world became stratified- colonialism, world system theory, culture of poverty

Colonialism- is the process in which one nation takes over another to exploit natural resources and labor

Countries that industrialized first took over the other countries.

Used industrial profits to build armies to invade weaker nations.

Took over these countries they left behind police and administrative force to govern the people and exploit the resources

In the 1800’s Europe divided up the entire continent of Africa

Economic colonies established to benefit the mother country.

US established corporate colonies and let companies dominate the territories government

Colonialism shaped many of the Least Industrialized Nations, seen in their map boundaries and the ethnic and tribal violence

Immanuel Wallerstein developed the world systems theory that explains the economic and political ties that connect the world’s countries

Industrialization led to four groups of nations- core nations, semi periphery, periphery, external area nations

Core nations- countries that industrialized first Semi periphery- countries stagnated because they

were dependent on trade with core nations Periphery- sold cash crops to core nations External nations- left out of the development of

capitalism altogether. As capitalism expanded relationship among these

nations changed Globalization of capitalism created extensive ties

among world’s nations.

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith claimed cultures of Least Industrialized Nations hold them back.

Some nations are crippled by culture of poverty, the way of life that perpetuates poverty from one generation to another. These groups possess different values and behaviors

Cultural components include: religion, agricultural practices

This theory places blame on the victim (nation)

Functionalist Perspective Explains why stratification is universal Inequality is universal and this inequality helps societies

survive Kingsley Davis, Wilbert Moore concluded stratification is

inevitable because: 1. Society must make sure certain positions are filled 2. Some positions are more important than others 3. Important positions are filled by more qualified people 4. To motivate qualified people, society must offer them greater

rewards

Concluded that society offers the greatest rewards for the more demanding and accountable positions

Explains why stratification is universal- does not justify it How do we know that highest rewards are the most important? If society worked this way it would be a meritocracy Does not benefit everyone

Conflict is the reason for social stratification Karl Marx believed that human history is the story

of class struggle. Those in power use society’s resources to benefit themselves and keep others oppressed

Groups compete for the world’s resources and powerful nations try to maintain power

These groups use economic, social institutions, military to maintain power

According to Marx social class is based on peoples relationship to the means of production (tools, factories, land , capital used to produce wealth)

Marx argued access to means of production created class distinctions

People were divided into the bourgeoisie and proletariat

These groups developed class consciousness, a shared identity based on position in society and access to means of production.

Property determines lifestyles, shapes ideas and establishes relationships

Weber critic of Marx. Social class made up of three components property, prestige, power, all interrelated

Property- ability to control the means of production, power can be used for their benefit

Prestige- people with prestige are admired, power and property can come from prestige

Power- ability to control others. Property is a form of power

Primary dimension of social class is property

Two types- wealth and income

Wealth- total value somebody owns

Income- money received from job, business or assets

70% of nations wealth owned by 10% of nations families, 1% own one third of nations assets

Those at the top of the income scale and those at the bottom experience vastly different lifestyles

Jobs that pay more, require more education, entail more abstract thought, offer greater autonomy

Job prestige brings power- power elite term by C. Wright Mills for the top people in corporations, military, politics that make nations major decisions

Different occupations have different levels of prestige (7.4 pg. 208)

Social Class is a fact of life influences attitudes, life chances, friends, outlook on the world

Each person tries to maximize their status. Mixture of high and low status creates status inconsistency (pgs 208-209)

Displaying Prestige- people want others to acknowledge their prestige (saluting, zip codes, standing when somebody enters the room

Sociologist Joseph Kahl, Dennis Gilbert developed six tier model to portray the class structure of the United States. Each rung of this ladder is determined by wealth, power, prestige, education

Six classes are Capitalist, Upper Middle, Lower Middle, Working, Working Poor, Underclass

Each class is a subculture with different approaches to life. Class influences family life, education, religion, political views, health

Family Life- choice of husband or wife in capitalist class influenced by parents, lower classes tension of everyday life leads to more divorce

Education- increases as one goes up the ladder in social class, privileged classes more likely to graduate from college

Politics- Rich and poor have different political views, people at the bottom of the social structure less likely to be politically active

Religion- Classes cluster around different denominations. Lower classes more attracted to expressive worship services. People often change their religion when they move up in social class

Physical health- lower social class, shorter life expectancy. Two tier medical system in the US higher social class can afford better medical care, lower classes have more unhealthy lifestyle, rich have more resources to deal with problems

Mental Health- more stress on lower classes they have more mental health problems, upper classes have greater control over their lives, key to good mental health

Why do people climb the social ladder and what affects their chances?

Three types of social mobility Intergenerational mobility- change family

members make from one generation to the next. It can be upward or downward

Structural mobility- movement on the social ladder due to changes in the structure of society

Exchange mobility- when the same number of people move up and down the social ladder so the class system shows little change

Twenty percent of the US population finds the “American Dream” elusive

US government determines poverty line as less than three times of a low cost food budget, this is the official measure of poverty and is an inadequate measure of poverty

Poverty is determined by many factors- geography, race- ethnicity, education, age, family structure

Poverty is greater in the south and in rural areas than other areas of the country

Whites less likely to be poor than Latinos or African- Americans, but whites are higher in number

Elderly are less likely than other groups to live in poverty

Children more likely than elderly or adults to live in poverty

Only two percent of people that finish college end up in poverty, 20% for high school dropouts

Families least likely to be poor have two parents

Households headed by single mothers have higher rates of poverty

Association of poverty and single women is known as the feminization of poverty

Poor tend to get trapped in a culture of poverty, attitudes and beliefs keep them poor

Most poor in America are poor for a year or less and eventually move out of poverty

Sociologists have two theories- 1.social structure denies access 2.characteristics of individuals contribute

to living in poverty (blames victim)

Horatio Alger Myth- late nineteenth century author wrote rags- to- riches stories about the belief that limitless possibilities exist for everyone. If you don’t make it is your own fault

Myth help’s stabilize society, makes it an individual problem- not society’s

Reduces pressure to change