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Focus on Rich and Poor People. Approximately 6.4 billion people live on the planet269 of the 554 richest people live in the U.S.World Bank states there are 49 poorest countries in the world with the Democratic Republic of the Congo being the poorestThis chapters helps to explain why disparity exists in the world.
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1. Social Stratification By
Dr. John Brenner
Southwest Virginia Community College
3. Social Stratification This is the social process where individuals, groups and places are categorized and ranked on a scale of social worth
Effects your life chances the potential social advantages and disadvantages a person receives
Chances to live the first year of life, to be healthy, and live a life free of crime with educational opportunities
4. Social Stratification Place—a geographical region with formal or informal boundaries
Includes countries, provinces, states, cities, towns, villages, neighborhoods, and streets
In Sweden 3.44 of every 1,000 babies die before age one
In Angola 200 of every 1,000 babies die before age one
5. Social Stratification Per capita income is the average income for every man, woman, and child living in a country
Low-income countries per capita income is $775 or less
High-income countries per capita income is $9,266 or more per year
6. Social Stratification Consumers in high-income countries account for 86% of the total private consumption
Poorest 20% of the world only account for 1.3% of consumption
Clearly there are large disparities in income and consumption depending on the place where you are born
7. Social Stratification Comparing the richest 10% to the poorest 10% of the population in a country
USA richest 10% has 30.5% of all the income
USA poorest 10% earn 1.8%
Nambia richest 10% earns 129 more than poorest 10%
Honduras richest earns 92 times the poorest
USA has the greatest gap between the richest and the poorest
Valued goods are unequally distributed in all countries
8. Social Categories Every society places people into categories and ranks them
Ascribed characteristics—things we are born with—sex, skin color, race, ethnicity
Achieved characteristics—earned through personal choice, effort, or ability
Consider—26.9 million people under 18 in the USA live in poverty
59.5 million youths under 14 are malnourished
How does this factor effect life chances
9. Social Categories Status value—refers to how individuals are treated in a society
Some individuals are treated as worth more than others
Compensations values of victims of 9/11 shows
*People were valued from $250,000 to $7.1 million
*Least valued were single, childless 65 and over
*Most valued were married persons 30 and younger with children
10. Social Categories Sociologists are concerned with the classification scheme used by societies
Each society has a scheme that states that some characteristics are more important others
Abilities—athletic or intellectual
Social traits—criminal record or aggression
Cultural practices—dress, appearance, language
Some people believe the traits are genetic not social
11. Social Systems Caste system—”closed” system because people have no control over their position
Class system—”open” because people are ranked due to merit, talent, ability and past performance
Characteristics of the two
Rigidity of the system—can people change positions
Value of ascribed and achieved status
Restrictions placed on people in each system
12. Social Systems Caste—comes from India where prior to World War II there were 4 basic categories with many sub-categories
People had to keep a physical distance from each other
People were ranked over characteristics they had no control over
Lower castes were seen as innately inferior
Higher castes felt superior
It was a situation that was absolute and never doubted
Social restrictions were severe
13. Social Systems Caste system was also seen in the South African system
Apartheid—system of laws that placed every one in the country into a racial category and each had an identity card
Categories were Black, colored, Indian, or white
Determined where you could play, travel, learn, work, eat, sleep or be buried
Apartheid—means apartness
14% of the whites dominated 86% of non-whites
14. Social Systems Class systems—this system that people rise and fall in the system based on their own abilities, talents, and past performances
Inequality is not systematic
People can rise up or down during their own lifetimes
Focus on education, income and standard of living
15. Social Systems Social mobility—movement for one class to another
Vertical—a change in class status (up or down)
Upward mobility—a gain in rank
Downward mobility—loss in rank
Intragenerational—up or down in your lifetime
Intergenerational—change in rank compared with one or more generations
16. Social Systems Class systems are difficult to determine where a person is in a society
A person may have designer clothes and a fashionable car but work in a low income job
People in the world living in absolute poverty has declined
The number of billionaires in the world has increased
People can change class position through marriage, graduation, inheritance, or job performances
17. Social Systems In the United States
Our Constitution states we are all created equally
85% of Americans believe we have a true class system meaning you can be what you want to be
Inequality does exist
The lowest income groups in our society:
13.8% white h households
27.4 black households
19.2% Hispanic households
12.1% of Asian households
18. Social Systems In a real class society the differences would be equal
Please note in the percentages that the greatest number of people in our society are white so they have the greatest numbers in the lowest group
Occupations are separated by gender, race and ethnicity
A person’s ascribed characteristics may overshadow competence
Society may favor males over females in our families and in society as a whole
19. Theories of Stratification Functionalist Theory by Davis and Moore
Social inequality and unequal distribution ensures the most functionally important occupations are filled by the best qualified
Looks at the degree to which the occupation is functionally important to society
Those occupations that require more talented are more rewarded
20. Theories of Stratification They note that the system can be weakened when
Capable individuals are overlooked
Elite groups control the avenues of training
Parents influence and wealth determine status
Societies must adjust to get people into the needed occupations
Societies have to do this to compete with other societies and maintain survivalibility
21. Theories of Stratification Critique of functionalism
Inequality may be necessary but at what price
Functionalist say some jobs require special skills
NBA athlete earns $4.1 million because he can generate income for owners, advertisers and media giants
First year teachers make $30.496 a year
Does this mean society does not care about it’s children like it does special athletes?
22. Theories of Stratification Comparable worth says that each person should receive the same compensation for the same job
Male nurses are paid more than female nurses
Why should child care workers get $314 a week and auto mechanic get $588 a week?
CEO of Wal-Mart received $11.5 million in 2002 while the average worker gets $7.22 an hour
Functionalists should be questioned about a system that assists all of society
23. Theories of Stratification Herbert Gans said that poverty has at least 15 functions for a society, like
Taking the unskilled and dangerous jobs that are menial and low paying
Cheap labor runs our society as about 5.3 million undocumented workers live here to do low pay jobs
Many poor women work for the wealthy as nannies and housekeepers
Poor agree to be guinea pigs for new drugs
Jobs for social workers, border guards, police to take care of the poor
Purchase cheap and out of date good
24. Colonialism and Neocolonialism Colonialism is the process where the European (and later others) forced local populations to cultivate crops and extract raw materials
Industrial revolution increased the demands to remote parts of the world
By 1914 84% of the world was affected by colonization
By then estimated 500 million people lived in colonies
25. Colonialism and Neocolonialism Colonialism defined
Domination by a foreign power that uses it’s military to impose political, economic and cultural institutions on native populations
Dominating their resources, labor and markets
Democratic Republic of Congo was a colony that became independent in 1960 but only had 17 people with a college degree
Neocolonialism—being a producer of primary products for processing in the west—this includes about 90.4% of the African continent
26. World Systems Theory This Wallerstein’s modern theory of capitalism—a theory that is 500 years old and evolving—6 responses to change
1. lowering production by hiring low wage people
2. getting raw materials at lowest price
3. creating new products
4. improving existing products
5. expanding the world boundaries with new markets
6. offering higher wages or credit to get new customers
27. World Systems Theory Three types of economies
Core—wealthiest and most diversified—makes decisions about what others will do—an economy that effects all others
Peripheral—rely on a few commodities like coffee, peanuts, tobacco or a mineral—low paying jobs and when they have a good crop the price goes down--Vietnam
Semiperipheral—moderate wealth and economies but depend on the above for cheap labor—six Persian Gulf countries with workers from other countries
28. Analysis of Social Class Sociologists use the term class to refer to a person’s overall standing in a society and stratification system
Karl Marx—he was concerned with class struggle between the three classes; wage laborers, capitalists and landlords
class conflict between the classes propels society from one class to another
He categorized people on their sources of income
29. Analysis of Social Class Reality of class is very complex but has useful ideas
Marx makes us aware of the percentage of people who are unemployed and living in poverty
Marx makes us aware of the sources of income and how people maintain a social class: inheritance, credit, capital gains, rent etc
Marx makes us look at the conditions that lead to revolt, for example in South Africa it was losing UN status, sanctions and the end of the Cold War
Thus we see the complexities of social class
30. Analysis of Social Class Weber agreed economics effected social class but also includes one’s marketable abilities, access to consumer goods, control and ability to invest
Negatively privileged—unskilled, no property, dependent on seasonal work, at the bottom
Positively privileged—can purchase goods, socially advantageous education, high positions, live on income from property and investments, at the top of the social ladder
31. Analysis of Social Class Status group: people who are held together by a lifestyle which would include education, family background, occupation and a way of living that is distinct
Political Parties: planned acquisition of power to influence social action groups:
National Organization of Women, AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, Kurdistan Workers Party,
All mean parties created for a purpose
32. Analysis of Social Class Weber viewed social class like steps on a ladder with the top classes being the positively privileged for example:
7.7 million people in the world are high net worth individuals—this is 1 tenth of 1 percent of the world’s population
Negatively privileged—poverty in the USA is from 12.8 to 15.5% in a year with people moving in and out of it
UN says that 1.2 billion people live on less than $1 dollar a day and 1.8 billion on 1-2 dollars a day
33. Analysis of Social Class Changes in the economic structure has effected people in the USA
Restructuring of the economy from manufacturing to service and information-based economy
Women entered the labor market making changes since the 1970s
Exodus of jobs from the cities to the suburbs
Transfer of low-skilled jobs overseas
All this has created an urban underclass who are people in the inner city left out of the mainstream society and jobless
34. Analysis of Social Class The ghetto poor are the most visible and publicized underclass in USA
Other information about the underclass
50% of the poor are white
2.6 million rural children are underclass
48 of the 50 US counties with the highest rate of poverty rate are rural
More than 2/3rd (70%) of the less visible poor are white
Declining farming, mining, and timber industries and transfer of manufacturing to overseas have left these people out of the mainstream
35. Analysis of Social Class To live below poverty means that a family of four will earn less than $18,810 a year
This definition means that 35.9 million Americans live below the poverty level
Most Americans believe that a family of four would need about $40,000 a year
Social class has many facets that need constant exploration