Class and Stratification in the U.S.GS 138: Intro. to Sociology

Questions for you… How much is “social class” a factor in people’s lives? How many social classes are there in the United

States? Is there still a “middle class,” given the economic

challenges of today? Can individuals change their social class location?

Common myths about social class There are 3 social classes.Class is multi-dimensional, involving wealth, power, and prestige, dimensions

that are always changing.• The amount of money you earn determines your social

class. Some people don’t earn money at all. Mitt Romney has a net worth of $200

million, yet did not work in 2010. (link) Your social class depends on your individual effort.Not all societies, at all times, are 100% meritocratic (in other words, there

are no obstacles to mobility).

Social Stratification

Definition: “Hierarchy of social groups based on differential control over resources”

In 3rd grade geology, you learned that the earth has multiple layers. So does a society.

Social Class as Type of Stratification System

Slavery Five major examples of slave societies from history:

ancient Greece Roman Empire United States Caribbean and Brazil.

There are an estimated 27 million people held as slaves worldwide.

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 American South prior to the 1960’s has been

described as a unofficial caste system

The Class System• A type of stratification based on the ownership and control of

resources and on the type of work people do.

• Horizontal mobility occurs when people experience a gain or loss in position and/or income that does not produce a change in their place in the class structure.

• Vertical mobility is movement up or down the class structure is.

• Sociologists analyze class systems by observing ‘life chances’ and socioeconomic statuses

Life Chances Access to resources such as food, clothing, shelter,

education, and health care.

Affluent people have better life chances because they have greater access to:

quality education safe neighborhood nutrition and health care police protection

Socioeconomic Status (SES), Wealth, & Income

A combined measure that, in order to determine class location, attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, wealth occupation, and education.

Income - wages, salaries, government aid, and property

Wealth - value of economic assets, including income and property.

Measuring Social Class

AKA Socioeconomic status

AKA Social class

Measuring Class in the U.S. Go to New York Times “Class Matters” Website

Let’s analyze the class of several people:-Barbara, a 43 year old social worker, holds a Master’s degree, earns $44,000 per year, and has $60,000 in assets (banking accts., car, possessions in her house) -Tim, a 25 year old construction worker, has a high school diploma, earns $28,000 per year, has $4,000 in assets -Mitt, a 55 year old venture capitalist, has a J.D. degree, earns $3 million per year, has $2 billion dollars in assets -Sandy, a 58 year old senior editor, has a Bachelor’s degree, and earns $70,000 per year

Measuring Class in the U.S. – Discussion

• What are the components of the socioeconomic status? Why use the term socioeconomic status instead of social class?

• Compare the life chances of any one of the 4 people in the exercise. How would these life chances affect their ability to:• Send their children to college?• Purchase a home?• Leave an inheritance for their children?• Rebound from the personal consequences of a

recession?

StratificationEXAMPLES:

Upper-Upper Class: Rockefeller FamilyLower-Upper Class: Oprah Winfrey (worth only $2 billion)Upper-Middle Class: Physicians, LawyersMiddle Class: LibrariansWorking Class: Factory workersWorking Poor: Fast Food EmployeesUnderclass: Homeless, Long-Term or Routinely Employed

1. Physical Health2. Mental Health3. Family Life

Parents must approve choice of spouse in upper classes. Field of “eligible” partners is narrow for upper classes.Divorce more likely in lower classes.Children in lower classes more likely to grow up in “broken” homes.4. Cultural valuesTolerance and gratification – it is easy to be tolerant of others when they do not threaten you… and it is easy to delay gratification when you know you will get what you want.5. PoliticsWealthy people are involved in politics because they can see tangible results.Wealthy are economically conservative but socially liberal.Lower classes are economically liberal but socially conservative.6. ReligionClass is correlated with denominational affiliation:

Upper and Middle classes: EpiscopalianMiddle class: MethodistLower classes: Baptist

Consequences of Social Class in the United States

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life 2009 Survey

Highlights:• Over 4 in 10 Hindus

and Jews make over $100,000

• Nearly half of Jehovah’s Witnesses

and Members of Black Protestant

churches make less than $30,000

Why do you think that evangelicals and Black protestants make less than Jews, Hindus, or mainline protestants?

Defining Poverty Sociologists distinguish between absolute and

relative poverty. Absolute poverty exists when people do not have the

means to secure the most basic necessities of life. Relative poverty exists when people may be able to afford

basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living.

Official Poverty Line• The federal income standard that is based on what is considered

to be the minimum amount of money required for living at a subsistence level.

• “Minimally Nutritious Diet”▫ Set in the early 1960s▫ The amount of food necessary to keep a human alive.

• Since it is known how much of what type of food it takes to provide a minimally nutritious diet, if we actually purchase that food we know how much it costs to feed a person.

• “Human Needs” ▫ Food▫ Clothing▫ Shelter▫ If, as is STILL taught in high schools, we only need three equally valued things and we know how

much one of them costs, then simple math (i.e., food $ x 3) will produce an estimate of the money necessary to attain those three things.

Feminization of Poverty The trend in which women are disproportionately

represented among individuals living in poverty. Women bear the major economic and emotional burdens

of raising children when they are single heads of households but earn 70 and 80 cents for every dollar a male worker earns.

More women than men are unable to obtain regular, full-time, employment.

Marx’s View of Stratification (Conflict)

The Conflict Perspective Exemplified

Discussion Questions • In this video, who would be the proletariat? Who would be the

bourgeoisie? • What would be the ‘means of production’ at the Smithfield plant?• Do you think that the owners of Smithfield enjoy the profits at the

expense of the workers?• Marx stated that in capitalism, workers owned their labor and nothing

else. • What threat might a union pose to Smithfield? Do they pose a threat

to capitalist order?

Weber’s Multidimensional Approach to Social Stratification

Functionalist Perspective: Davis-Moore Thesis

1. Societies have tasks that must be accomplished and positions that must be filled.

2. Some positions are more important for the survival of society than others.

3. The most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people.

4. The positions that are the most important for society and that require scarce talent, extensive training, or both must be the most highly rewarded.

5. The most highly rewarded positions should be those that are functionally unique (no other position can perform the same function) and on which other positions rely for expertise, direction, or financing.

Testing the Davis-Moore ThesisThe Occupation Outlook Handbook, compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides comprehensive statistics on average earnings, educational requirements, and years of on-the-job training for different occupations.

Let’s visit the site and look up some occupations.

Librarians ($54,000-requires Master’s degree)Post-Secondary Instructors ($62,050-requires Masters or PhD)Mechanic ($34,000-requires H.S. diploma)Animal Care & Service Workers-$19,000-no educational requirements)Firefighters ($45,000-requires H.S. diploma)

The ‘Functions’ of Poverty According to Herbert GansTaken from “The Positive Functions of Poverty” (1972)

• Poverty ensures that society's 'dirty work' will get done.

• subsidize a variety of economic activities that benefit the affluent.

• Poverty creates jobs for many occupations that serve the poor: police, gambling, peacetime army, etc.

• The poor buy goods others do not want and thereby prolong their economic usefulness.

• The poor can be identified and punished as alleged or real deviants to uphold the legitimacy of conventional norms.

• The poor help to keep the aristocracy

busy as providers of charity.

• The poor, being powerless, can be made to absorb the costs of change and growth in American society (e.g., 'urban renewal' vs. 'poor removal').

• The poor facilitate and stabilize the American political process because they vote and participate less than other groups.

• The poor aid the upward mobility of groups just above them in the class hierarchy

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective• Focuses on how people perceive their social

class and other social classes-several polls suggest that 90% of Americans consider themselves working class or middle class (Link)

• The study of relative poverty lends itself well to the S-I perspective • Example-The ‘War on Poverty’ in the midst of the

rapidly growing economy of the 1960’s • Symbolic interactionists also study the nature

of interactions to detect ways in which members of different class interact with one another• Example-Servers in a country club

Symbolic Interactionist PerspectiveData taken from a January 2012 survey at the Pew Research Center

Sociological Explanations of Social Inequality in the U.S.

Functionalist Some social inequality is necessary for the smooth functioning of society and thus is inevitable.

Conflict Powerful individuals and groups use ideology to maintain their favored positions in society at the expense of others. Wealth is not necessary in order to motivate people.

Symbolic interactionist

The beliefs and actions of people reflect their class location in society.

U.S. Stratification in the Future Many social scientists believe that trends point to an

increase in social inequality in the U.S.: The purchasing power of the dollar has stagnated or

declined since the early 1970s. Wealth continues to become more concentrated at the top

of the U.S. class structure. Federal tax laws in recent years have benefited

corporations and wealthy families at the expense of middle and lower-income families.

Disappearance of middle-income jobs (‘bifurcated labor market’)

Income Share of Top 1%

Income Share of Top 0.1%

“The Sound of Inequality”

Quick Quiz True or False?1. The conflict perspective analyzes people’s subjective perceptions of

their social standing?2. The poverty level in the U.S. is determined by the cost of a minimally

adequate diet multiplied by 3. Anyone earning below that amount is considered poor.

3. Social stratification is synonymous with social class.4. Socioeconomic status is a more precise definition of social ranks

than social class. 5. Karl Marx measured class by three factors: wealth, power, and

prestige.6. It is possible to be wealthy and lack prestige OR to hold a

prestigious rank in society but have little wealth.