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.