SOC-109 Chapter.11 ClassSlidePresentation

8/17/2019 SOC-109 Chapter.11 ClassSlidePresentation

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Chapter XI

Stratification and Social Class

Social stratasurplus value

Class

market situation

Slavery Caste

blue-collar

Estate

access

proletariat

class status party

WEBER

embourgeoisement

work situation

Social ranking

genteel poverty

The death of class?

stratification

class

conflict

inequalities

White-collar

Middle-

Under-

Marginaliation

gender

dangerous

mobility

downwardly upwardly Vertical

lateral

generationalintra

inter Geographical

Middle East Technical University

Sociology DepartmentSOC - 109 Week – 12

24 December2015

Instructor

Text Book: Anthony Giddens, Sociology (6th Edition) – 2009.

Dr. Besim Can ZIRH

SOC 109


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SOC - 109 Stratification and Social Class

Opening Scene

Left: Vice-Chancellor Nigel Thrift.Centre: Sir Gulam Noon,.

Right: Nigel Sykes, Warwick Business School.

In 2005: now more than 100 different Noon dishes, produced inthree plants, operated by 1,100 employees. Between 250,000 and300,000 meals are made every day.

In the Sunday Times Rich List 2006 hewas placed in 888th position with an

estimated fortune of £65 million.

Gulam Noon was born in India in 1936. His family

owned a sweet shop in Bombay: 'Royal Sweets'.

He established Noon Products in 1987 in London.

Motivation: “All the pre-packaged Indian ready meals availablefrom the supermarkets were insipid and frankly unacceptable.”


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Hamdi Ulukaya

established his first cheese

business in 2002 in New York,

left for political reasons, to the US in 1994

studied political sciences at AnkaraUniversity during the early 1990s,

Chobani, the best-selling yogurtbrand in the U.S., has given Ulukayaa net worth of $1.1 billion,according to the Bloomberg

Billionaires Index (2012).

born in Erzincan in 1972,

“Yargılanmadım. Sorguya alındım. Polis tabii.Gözaltı... Ama çok kısa bir süre. Belki bir gün. Ozaman anladım yani. Ya susacaksın. Ya şiddetekarışacaksın. Ya da geçip gideceksin. Üçünden birtanesi... İşte biz geçip gitmeyi seçtik. Sene 1994...”

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Sociological Questions

Why do economicinequalities exist in

contemporary societies?

Are your chances anydifferent if you are a

woman?

How does theglobalization of the

economy affect yourlife chances?

The study of inequalities in society is one of the most importantareas of sociology, because our material resources determine a

great deal about our lives.

What social factors willinfluence your

economic position insociety?

What do you think about Noon and Ulukaya?

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Systems of Stratification

Sociologists use the concept of social stratification to describe inequalitiesthat exist between individuals and groups within human societies.

assets or property (economic), but also gender, age, religiousaffiliation or military rank (cultural, social and symbolic capitals).

It is useful to think of stratification as rather like thegeological layering of rock in the earth's surface.

Individuals and groups enjoydifferential (unequal) access torewards based on their positionwithin the stratification scheme.

Societies can be seen as consisting of 'strata' in a hierarchy: the

more favored at the top and the less privileged nearer the bottom.

Which strata are

you from?

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All socially stratified systems sharethree basic characteristics:

People's life experiences and opportunities dependheavily on how their social category is ranked.

The ranks of different social categories tend tochange very slowly over time.

The rankings apply to social categories ofpeople who share a common characteristic

without necessarily interacting oridentifying with one another.

1

2

3

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Stratified societies have changedthroughout human history.

In the earliest human societies, which werebased on hunting and gathering, there was

very little social stratification - mainly because

there was very little by way of wealth or otherresources to be divided up.

Middle ClassToday, industrial and post-

industrial societies are extremelycomplex; their stratification is

more likely to resemble a teardrop. Lower Class

Upper-Middle Class

Upper-ClassHistorically, four basic systems of stratification can be

distinguished: slavery, caste, estates and class.

King of Gourma & his wives (Burkina Faso - 1910)

Sir Tasker Watkins, the Deputy ChiefJustice of England (the UK - 1940s)

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1. Slavery

Slavery is an extreme form of inequality, in which certain

people are owned as property by others.

The legal conditions of slave-ownership have variedconsiderably among different societies.

Their position was more akin to that ofservants, were literate and could work as

government administrators

Sometimes slaves were deprived of almostall rights by law

Ancient Greece

Colonial America

Slavery is simply not economically efficient.

Today, slavery is illegal in every country of the world, but it

still exists in some places.From enslaved brick-makers in Pakistan to sex slaves in

Thailand and domestic slaves in relatively wealthy countrieslike the UK and France.

11.09.2011

07.12.2009

SOC - 109

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/24-men-held-slaves-rescued-british-police-north-london-article-1.955391http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2760391/Sex-slave-sold-for-3k-on-Londons-Oxford-Street.htmlhttp://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2760391/Sex-slave-sold-for-3k-on-Londons-Oxford-Street.htmlhttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/24-men-held-slaves-rescued-british-police-north-london-article-1.955391


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A caste system is a social system in which one's social position isgiven for a lifetime, are therefore believed to be unchangeable.

Everyone's social status is based on personalcharacteristics, parental religion or parental caste.

Jews were frequently treated as a separate caste,forced to live in restricted neighborhoods

In caste systems, intimate contact with members of other

castes is strongly discouraged: strongly endogamic.

Caste societies can be seen as a special type of classsociety, in which class position is ascribed at birth.

2. Caste

24.01.2012

VIDEO

SOC - 109

http://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/cuneyt_ozdemir/turk_ordusunda_kast_sistemi_bitiyor-1076581http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxvr9g1or9Ehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxvr9g1or9Ehttp://www.radikal.com.tr/yazarlar/cuneyt_ozdemir/turk_ordusunda_kast_sistemi_bitiyor-1076581


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Estates were part of European feudalism, but also existed in manyother traditional civilizations.

In Europe, the highestestate was composedof the aristocracy and

gentry.

Those in what cameto be called the 'third

estate' were the

commoner

A certain degree of intermarriage and mobilitywas tolerated between the estates.

The clergy formedanother estate, having

lower status but

possessing variousdistinctive privileges.

3. Estate

Estates were closely bound up with themanorial community, they formed a local,

rather than a national, system of stratification.

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Class systems differ in many respects from slavery, castes or estates.

We can define a class as a large-scale grouping of people who share common economicresources, which strongly influence the type of lifestyle they are able to lead.

Class positions are in some part achieved. Anindividual's class is not simply given at birth.

Class is economically based. Classes depend oneconomic differences between groups of individuals

Class systems are fluid. Unlike the other types of strata,classes are not established by legal or religious provisions.

3. Class

Class systems are large-scale and impersonal , and operatemainly through large -scale, impersonal associations.

1

2

3

4

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Theorizing Class: Will caste give way to class?

There is some evidence that globalization may hasten the end of legallysanctioned caste systems throughout the world.

Modern industrial production requires that people move about freely, workat whatever jobs they are suited or able to do, and change jobs frequently

according to economic conditions.

The rigid restrictions found in caste systemsinterfere with this necessary freedom.

Migration, global awareness of the notionrights, social and interactions beyond

national borders.

Wage slavery or starvation? That’snot a choice. It’s a TREAT!

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Industrialization transformed societies, arguably, for the better.But it also led to protests and revolutionary movements.

Why have workers protested evenas societies became more wealthy?

For Marx, a social class is a group of people who

stand in a common relationship tothe means of production.

The relationship between classes is an exploitative one

Industrial capitalism was founded in an exploitativesystem of class relations that led to the oppression ofthe majority of working people.

Theorizing Class: Karl Marx's theory of class conflict

BUT

The proletarius, a citizen of the lowest class.

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In feudal societies, exploitation often took the form ofthe direct transfer of produce from the peasantry to

the aristocracy.

Theorizing Class: Karl Marx's theory of class conflict

Estate Third EstateLAND

Capital LabourMeans of Production

Wage

Production

In modern capitalist societies, the source of exploitation is less obvious andbased on surplus value.

Labour

Production

Market

Money

Profit

Surplus Value

The Capital earns more than how much is invested.

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Max Weber: class, status and Party

Weber's approach to stratification was built on the analysisdeveloped by Marx, but he modified and elaborated on it.

Three overlapping elements (Class, Status, Party) of stratification producean enormous number of possible positions within society, rather than the

more rigid bipolar model proposed.

According to Weber, class divisionsderive not only from control or lack of

control of the means of production, butfrom economic differences that havenothing directly to do with property.

Weber argued that an individual's market position strongly influences his orher overall life chances.

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can change independently of classdivisions and multidimensional.

Purely economic. For instance, Genteel Poverty.

Little Lord Fauntleroy is the first children's novel written by Englishplaywright and author Frances Hodgson Burnett. (1888).

Marx Weber

is determined by the class divisionbased on control of the means of

production.

What determines yourSTATUS?

Social and cultural aspects: life-styles.

Ah Güzel İstanbul (1966), Haşmet İbriktaroğlu

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3pWLFGsUIAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3pWLFGsUIA


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Weber also argues that party formation isan important aspect of power, and can

influence stratification independently ofclass and status.

Party defines a group of individuals whowork together because they have

common backgrounds, aims or interests.

Parties may appeal to concerns cuttingacross class differences; for example,

parties may be based on religiousaffiliation or nationalist ideals.


WealthPrestige

Power

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Erik Olin Wright's theory of class

Erik Olin Wright has developed an influential theory of class which combinesaspects of both Marx's and Weber's approaches.

There are three dimensions of control over economicresources in modern capitalist production

control over the physical means of production.

control over investments or money capital.

control over labor power.

WorkingClass

CapitalistClass

have control over allhave control over none

White-Collar

able to influence some

contradictory class location

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Erik Olin Wright's theory of class

White-collar and professional employees have tocontract their labor power to employers in order to

make a living in the same way as manual workers do.

At the same time they have a greaterdegree of control over the work setting

than most people in blue-collar jobs.

The relationship toauthority.

YES

BUT

The possession of skillsor expertise.

contradictory class location

MilliyetSOC - 109

http://www.milliyet.com.tr/fotogaleri/a/47176-yasam--plazalar-akvaryum--biz-de-yemin-pesindeki-baliklariz-/http://www.milliyet.com.tr/fotogaleri/a/47176-yasam--plazalar-akvaryum--biz-de-yemin-pesindeki-baliklariz-/


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Measuring class

The relationship between class position and other dimensions of sociallife, such as voting patterns, educational attainment and physical health.

How to measure class which has no clear-cut borders?

For instance, to map the class structure of society.

Operationalization: transforming abstract concepts into measurable variables.

Sociological Importance

BUT

What do you think?

What kinds of things can be indicators of class?Made in Chelsea

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYaIk56DCCshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYaIk56DCCs


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Measuring classMost class schemes are based on the occupational structure.

Descriptive Schemes: reflect the shape of the occupational and classstructure in society without addressing the relations between social classes.

There are difficult to apply to the economically inactive groups.

Explanatory Schemes: are more theoretically informedand concern the relations between classes in society .

BUT

Class schemes based on occupational distinctions are also unable toreflect the importance of property-ownership and wealth to social class.

rapid economic transformations occurring in industrial societieshave made the measurement of class even more problematic.

New categories of occupations are emerging and mobility and change thatare provoked by such social transformations.

Moreover,

What was the Question ?

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Goldthorpe's Class Scheme

What is the connection between the jobs we do - our occupations- and our social class position?

Is class simply the same thing as occupation?

Two main factors, market situation and work situation, determinethe class position.

The market situation concerns thelevel of pay job security and prospects

for advancement.

The Goldthorpe class scheme was designed not as a hierarchy butas a representation of the 'relational' nature of the contemporary

class structure.

Qs

Operationalization

Explanation

The work situation focuses onquestions of control, power andauthority within the occupation.

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Goldthorpe's class Scheme

Goldthorpe's comparative research encompassed a project on socialmobility known as the CASMIN project (Comparative Analysis of Social

Mobility in Industrial Societies).

Professional, administrative and managerial employees higher grade.

Routine non-manual employees, higher grade.

Skilled manual workers.

Professional, administrative and managerial employees, lower grade;technicians, higher grade.

Small employers and self-employed workers.

Supervisors of manual workers; technicians, lower grade.

Routine non-manual workers, lower grade.

Semi- and unskilled manual workers.

I

II

IIIa

IV

V

VI

IIIb

VII

Service Class Intermediate Class Working Class

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The Death of Class

Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters argue that class is no longer thekey to understanding contemporary societies.

status conventionalism: Inequalities are the result of differences in status(prestige) and in the lifestyle and consumption patterns.

an increase in consumer power, an 'ascriptivelydisprivileged underclass' - is their inability to engage in

'status consumption.'

The processes of globalization: a new international

division of labor.

property-ownership is now less restricted.

1996

AND WHY?

What does the death of class mean to you?.

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Some further issues

Underclass.

Distribution of wealth The growing middle-class.

The embourgeoisement thesis

Dangerous Class.Gender-Class

Embourgeoisement by Terry Castle (2011)

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Mobiliti(es)

We have to consider not only the differencesbetween economic positions or occupations, but alsowhat happens to the individuals who occupy them.

The term social mobilityrefers to the movement of

individuals and groupsbetween different soda-

economic positions.

V e r t i c a l M o b i l i t y

Upwardly

Downwardly

Lateral Mobility

Generational (Time) Dimension

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Thank you for your attention…

Chapter XI


Middle East Technical University

Sociology DepartmentWeek – 6.1

24 December 2015

Instructor

Text Book: Anthony Giddens, Sociology (6th Edition) – 2009.

Dr. Besim Can ZIRH

SOC 100

SOC - 109

Documents

SOC-109 Chapter.11 ClassSlidePresentation