Chapter 7

1. Chapter 7 Stratification: Rich and Famous—or Rags and Famine? Soc 100 Dr. Santos

2. The Importance of Stratification • Social stratificationrefers to how individuals and groups are layered or ranked in society according o how many valued resources they possess • An ongoing sorting process • Legitimated by cultural beliefs

4. Three main assumptions underlie the concept of stratification • People are divided into ranked categories • There is an unequal distribution of desired resources • The criteria societies uses to rank others depends on: • The society’s history • Its geographic location • Level of development • The society’s political philosophy • The decisions of those in power

5. Micro-level factors: Prestige and Influence • Cultural capital – knowledge and access to important information in society • Social capital – networks with others who have influence • Individual qualities also influence cultural and social capital

6. Meso-level factors: Access to resources • The family reinforces status though the socialization process • Educational organizations treat children differently according to their social status • Religious affiliation reflects one’s social status • Political systems reinforce the stratification system through laws, courts, and policing • Access to healthcare depends on one’s position in the stratification system

7. Macro-level factors influencing stratification • The economic system • The geographic location of nations • Resources • Strong educational system • Well-paying jobs • Productive land • Ample supply of water • Access to technology

8. Theoretical Explanations of Stratification • Symbolic Interaction • Individuals learn their social position through socialization • Cultural capital influences children’s school and home environments • Symbols also often represent social positions • Conspicuous consumption is displaying goods in a way that others will notice and that will presumably earn the owner respect

9. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Structural Functionalism • Stratification within societies is an inevitable—and probably necessary—part of the social world • The stratification system provides each individual a position in the social world • The stratification system motivates individuals to carry out their roles

10. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Structural Functionalism • Davis and Moore • Some positions are more highly valued because people feel they are very important to society • Societies must motivate talented individuals to occupy the most important positions • Differential rewards must be offered to attract the most qualified individuals into the most valued positions • As a result, stratification is inevitable

11. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Conflict Theory • How do societies produce necessities? • How are relationships between rich and poor people shaped by this process? • How do many people become alienated in their routine, dull jobs in which they have little involvement and no investment in the end product?

12. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Marxism • Marx saw four possible ways to distribute wealth: • According to each person’s needs • According to what each person wants • According to what each person earns • According to what each person can take

13. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Marxism • Marx thought there were two economically-based social classes • The bourgeoisie are the capitalist class; the haves • Control the means of production, or the necessary resources to create capital • Control the norms and values of society • Use their power to make the distribution of resources seem “fair” and justified • Use social control to maintain their control in society

14. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Marxism • Marx thought there were two economically-based social classes • The proletariats are the working class; the have-nots • The proletariats will remain exploited as long as they do not develop a class consciousness, or a shared awareness of their poor status in relation to the means of production • Intellectuals in society could help the proletariat develop a class consciousness and to mobilize to overthrow the bourgeoisie to create a classless society where all wealth is shared

15. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Recent conflict stratification theorists argue that there are 5 social classes: • Capitalists • Managers • Petty bourgeoisie • Workers • Underclass

16. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Evolutionary Theory, a synthesis • The basic assumptions of evolutionary theory are: • To survive people must cooperate • Conflicts of interest occur over important decisions that benefit one over another • Valued items are always in demand and in short supply • There is likely to be a struggle over these scarce goods • Customs and traditions determine the distribution of scarce resources

17. Meso- and Macro-level Theories of Stratification • Evolutionary Theory, a synthesis • Structural functionalism • Talented individuals need to be motivated • Conflict theory • Individuals will attempt to control as much wealth, power, and prestige as possible, resulting in potential conflict • The importance of exploitation in creating inequality • It results in only some amount of inequality may be useful in highly complex societies

18. Individual Life Chances and Lifestyles • Life chances refer to one’s opportunities, depending n their achieved and ascribed status in society • Important institutions that impact life chances are: • Education • Health, social conditions, and life expectancy • Family life and child rearing patterns • Lifestyles • Attitudes toward Achievement • Religious membership • Political behavior

19. Social Mobility: The Micro-Meso Connection • Social mobility refers to the extent and direction of individual movement in the social stratification system • Three issues affect mobility: • Variations in times of social mobility • Factors that affect social mobility • Whether there is a “land of opportunity”

20. Types of Mobility • Intergenerational mobility refers to change in status compared to your parents’ status, usually resulting from education and occupational attainment • Intragenerational mobility refers to the change in position in a single individual’s life • Vertical mobility refers to movement up or down in the hierarchy, which sometimes involves changing social classes

21. Factors Affecting Mobility • Mobility depends on micro-level factors • Socialization • Education • Mobility depends on macro-level factors • Occupational structure • Economic status of the society • Population changes • Importance of ascribed status • The global economic situation

22. Major Stratification Systems: Macro-Level Analysis • In ascribed stratification systems characteristics individuals are born with determines ones position in society • In achieved stratification systems individuals are allowed to earn positions through their ability and effort

23. Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate Systems • Caste systems are the most rigid ascribed systems and are maintained by cultural norms and social control mechanisms that are deeply imbedded in religious, political, and economic institutions • Importance of socialization • Stability maintained by ideology

24. Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate Systems • Castes predetermine: • Occupational positions, marriage partners, residences, social associations, and prestige levels • Castes are recognized though: • Clothing, speech patterns, family name and identity, skin color, r other distinguishing characteristics

25. Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate Systems • Estate systems are ascribed pre-industrial systems characterized by the concentration of economic and political power in the hands of a small minority of political-military elite, with the peasantry tied to the land • Peasants receive protection and enough food to survive from the nobility • Estate systems are based on: • Ownership of land • Position one is born into • Military strength

26. Achieved Status: Social Class Systems • Social class systems of stratification are based on achieved status • Members of the same social class have similar income, wealth, and economic position • They share comparable styles of living, levels of education, cultural similarities, and patterns of social interaction • Social class position is based on three main factors: property, power, and prestige

27. Achieved Status: Social Class Systems • Property, or wealth, refers to owning or controlling the means of production • Power is the ability to control or influence others • Power elite • Pluralism • Prestige involves the esteem and recognition one receives, based on wealth, position, or accomplishment

28. Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants and Policy • Absolute poverty, or not having resources to meet basic needs, means no prestige, no access to power, no accumulated wealth, and insufficient means to survive • Relative poverty refers to those whose income falls below the poverty line, resulting in an inadequate standard of living relative to others in a given country

29. Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants and Policy • Social costs of poverty • Loss of talent and abilities • Financial cost of addressing needs of and regulating the poor • Cultural contradiction of values

30. Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants and Policy • The “functions” of poverty • Convenient scapegoat for societal problems • Creates jobs for those who are not poor • Provide an easily available, exploitable group of laborers • Reinforce and legitimate our lives and institutions • Constantly reaffirm the values of the affluent

31. Eliminating Poverty: Some Policy Considerations • “Women, Infants, and Children Program” or WIC • Head Start • Workfare • Are there jobs available at a “living wage”? • Cutting taxes reduces our ability to help • Prisons absorb public funds

32. Macro-Level Stratification: National and Global Digital Divide • The global social world is increasingly based on producing and transmitting information through digital technology • Individuals with insufficient access to computers and lack of technical skills face barriers to many professions and opportunities • Computer and Internet use is largely stratified in the world