Dr. Seuss and Social S tratificaton

1. Dr. Seuss and Social Stratificaton The “Sneetches And Other Stories” by Dr. Seuss is a story about two groups of “sneetches”. One group has stars on their bellies, and the other doesn’t. The star-bellied sneetches are looked at as superior to the inferior plain-bellied sneetches, and as a result of this, plain-bellies are shunned from picnics, parties, and events that star-bellies regularly attend. However having a star or not has no technical advantage, so should they stratify their society as such? “When the Star-Belly children went out to play ball,Could a Plain Belly get in the game? Not at all.You only could play if your bellies had starsAnd the Plain-Belly children had none upon thars.”-The Sneetches and other Stories

2. ANIMAL FARM • In the beginning of the book, the author says "All animals are created equal.” • In the end of the book, the author says “All animals are created equal but some are more equal than others.” • The pigs take over the classless barnyard and make it their own, with their rules. • They mock the tendency of humans to form ranks. • They write their rules against humans • “Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy, No animal shall wear clothes. No animal shall sleep in a bed. No animal shall drink alcohol.” • Whoever goes against it is outlawed from the group, and seen as inferior to the rest of the group. • The pigs are seen as superior and never seem to make mistakes and can bend the rules themselves.

3. Social Stratification • Ranking of people or groups according to their unequal access to scarce resources. • Most important resources are: • Income • Wealth • Power • Prestige

4. What is social stratification? A hierarchy of relative privilege based on power, income,wealth, and prestige Lots of power, property, and prestige Some power, property, and prestige Very little power, property, or prestige.

5. Social Class Max Weber argued that class was a combination of property, prestige, and power. Is this a better way of thinking about social class? Why do you need all three in order to understand social class? Usually, if you have one, you can get the others… Property Prestige Power

6. Bill Gates - Property He has property - $58 billion as of 2008 Does he have prestige? Just spoke at TED What about power? Prestige Property Power

7. Bill Clinton - Power He had power as president Does he have property? Made $35,000 per year as governor of Arkansas prior to running for president Standard speaking fee today - $150,000; makes around $10 million per year What about prestige? Prestige Power Property

8. Michael Phelps - Prestige Gained prestige as an Olympic athlete Does he have property? Makes millions via endorsements Net worth is somewhere around $6-$10 million His contract with Speedo, which has been extended through 2009, is estimated to be worth about $9 million. What about power? Property Prestige Power

9. Consequences of Social Class Does social class matter? How? Physical Health Poorer are less likely to have health insurance (Brian) This reduces access to healthcare Reduces life expectancy Also tend to have poorer eating and exercising habits Mental Health Greater stresses in life translate into worse mental health Poorer classes have worse mental health than wealthier classes

10. Consequences of Social Class Family Life Choices of husbands and wives is particularly important Prestige, respect, and tradition matter This also helps maintain money among the moneyed Divorce Higher odds of divorce among the poorer classes Result of stresses Child Rearing Talked about different socialization – working class push obedience; upper classes push creativity

11. Consequences of Social Class How does class affect education? How are primary and secondary education funded in the U.S.? What significance does this have for educational attainment and quality of education? What about college and graduate school? How are they funded? What significance does this have for educational attainment and quality of education? Think about it in terms of a race…

12. The Runner Example Student in wealthy district has a head start If equally skilled, the student in the poorer district never catches up So, is the educational system in the US fair? To catch up, the only option available to the poorer student is to run faster

13. Consequences of Social Class Religion Some connection to class, but diminishing – we’ll talk more about this later For now, just note that more conservative religious groups (e.g., Pentecostals, Baptists) tend to attract people from lower classes… Politics Higher social classes tend to vote conservative and Republican – Why? Intriguing interaction – more conservative religious groups tend to attract lower socioeconomic classes, who then vote conservatively Why is this not in their best interest? Why do they do it?

14. Consequences of Social Class Crime and the Judicial System The lower your social class, the higher your odds of being arrested for a crime Social Class and the Changing Economy Does globalization – the spreading of a global culture and the development of a world economy – equally affect the different classes? Why/Why not? Who are the lower classes competing with for jobs? What does this do to their wages? Increasingly it isn’t the lower classes competing…

15. Income Th amount of money or its equivalent received during a period of time in exchange for labor or services, from the sale of goods or property, or as profit from financial investments.

16. Wealth -The greater amount of money or the valuable items possessed by an individual or group.

17. Power Definition: the ability to control the behavior of others, even against their will Can be given( through elections for example) and/or inherited (monarchy system) There is some form of power in every society Those in power often use corrupt ways to push their policies and beliefs

18. Prestige • 1.reputationorinfluence arising from success, achievement, rank,orotherfavorableattributes. • 2. distinction or reputation attaching to a person or thing and thus possessingacachetforothersorforthepublic: An Example: The system, run by the Jordanian king himself, enjoys an unlikely prestige.

19. Why does Social Stratification Happen ?Structural Functionalism Why is social stratification “universal”? Davis and Moore’s Explanation Society must make sure all necessary positions are filled (e.g., garbage collector) Some positions are more important than others Is this true? More important positions are filled by more qualified people Again, is this true? And, what is meant by “qualified”? To motivate qualified people, they must be rewarded Is this true? Evidence from Soviet Union Tumin’s Critique of Davis and Moore How do we know which positions are most important? Stratification should lead to an actual meritocracy Stratification should to benefit everyone Do we need stratification?

20. What is it? • It explains that social, political, and material inequality exists because some people are willing to exploit others Inequal people

21. Social Class in America • Social class is a controversial issue in the United States, having many competing definitions, models, and even disagreements over its very existence. Many Americans believe in a simple three-class model that includes the "rich", the "middle class", and the "poor". More complex models that have been proposed describe as many as a dozen class levels; while still others deny the very existence, in the strict sense, of "social class" in American society. Most definitions of class structure group people according to wealth, income, education, type of occupation, and membership in a specific subculture or social network.

22. Functionalist Theory Of Stratification It recognizes that some jobs are more important than others, and that these jobs often require special training or special talents. Usually the more qualified people fill the most important positions.

23. The Upper Class • Only 1 percent population. • The top is “aristocracy” Represents the old-money families whose names appear in high society. • For membership its most elite in blood rather than sweat and tears. • Seldom marry outside their class. The rich is talking about how the poor man is nothing in society.

24. Lower Upper Class- New Money • This is the bottom end of the upper class. • Most people in the lower upper class have gotten there wealth from some type of athletic or business achievement. Being born into or inheriting wealth is not as common. • Certain jobs such as doctors, lawyers and business men can also be categorized in this class. • An average income for the lower upper class would be $100,000 and up.

25. Working-Poor Class According to the US Census Bureau, in 2010, 21 million people lived in working-poor families. 9.6 percent of all American families living below 100 percent of poverty have at least one family member working . Truck drivers unload trucks or small part time jobs.

26. The Working Class • The working class (sometimes called "proletariat") consists of all people who must work for someone else in order to make money with which to survive. This includes factory workers, maintenance people, programmers, cooks, dishwashers, secretaries, firemen, etc. • Usually work long hours for enough money to get by

27. The Working Class • Essentially, members of the working class work in unskilled or semiskilled professions for wages which are typically low. Typically, working class work environments are distinguished by very rigid schedules with penalties for workers who run late or slack on the job, and they are often organized in a very hierarchical way, with a clear delineation between workers, managers, and employers. The term also includes dependent family members of someone working in such an industry.

28. Underclass • Underclass are people, typically unemployed, who came from families that have been poor for generations. • They lack an education and skills • Many are single mothers with little to no income • Some underclass people work in part-time mental jobs (unloading trucks, picking up litter, etc.), in addition physical and mental disabilities are common. • There are many routes to this class- birth, old age, loss of a marriage, lack of education, alcoholism, physical or mental disabilities, however, there are very few paths out.

29. Absolute Poverty • The absence of enough money to secure life’s necessities like enough food, a place to live, clothing, etc. • Receive the minimum amount of income. • Poverty is measured in an annual income level. • People below the average income level are considered as “absolute poverty”

31. Relative poverty Jasmine Hoff

32. What is it • A relative measure of poverty is essentially a measure of inequality in the lower half of the income distribution.

33. How is it measered? • A nation’s relative poverty rate is determined largely by three things: wage inequality among individuals in the bottom half of the distribution, employment inequality among households in the bottom half, and the generosity of the public safety net.

34. Well… • Relative poverty measurements can sometimes produce odd results, especially in small populations

35. Poverty Cycle Endless continuationof poverty. Once a person or community falls below a certain level of resourcefulness, a chain of events starts to occur that tends to perpetuate the situation Leading to lack of employment opportunities. Effects (Snowball Effect)- Leads to criminal activity (such as sale of illegal drugs) for survival, leading to addiction, shattered health, early death, and breakup of family, leading to even bleaker future for the next generation ... and so on. This cycle continues until someone intervenes by providing worthwhile means (not handouts) for people to climb out of destitution, and by ensuring children's health and education. See also poverty trap.

36. Social Mobility • Refer to horizontal mobility • Denotes movement from one position to another • Within same social level • Change jobs without altering occupational status • Movement of individuals, families, groups through system of social hierarchy, stratification = American Culture

37. Percent of Population Living on Less than $1 per day - 2006

39. Horatio Alger • Influential writer who used his rags to respectability formula for many books that gave credence to the American dream.

40. Examples of social inequalities • Education: who has access to the best education possible • Health care: who gets the newest medicines and attention • Jobs: who has the best opportunities for the best jobs • Technologies: who has access to the newest devices to help in everyday life • Home ownership: who is able to own or rent a place to live

41. Has Welfare Reform Worked? In 1996 5.1 million families were on welfare by 2004 the amount of families dropped to less than 2 million. 63% of welfare receiving mothers got a job within 3 years of welfare reform. Former welfare recipiants averaged $8 dollars an hour wages which means many received over minimum wage.

42. Welfare Reform The process of reforming the framework of social security and welfare provisions

43. What is the nature of Welfare Reform? • 23% social security, 19% national defense, 12% Medicare, 11% Net Interest, 6% other means tested entitlements, 7% Medicaid, 6% Other Mandatory • Benefits to children of unwed teenage mothers are denied unless mother remains in school and lives with adult • Cash aid to able bodied adults will be terminated if they fail to get job after 2 years

44. 1 Example of a wealthy American who pays little taxes Warren Buffett One of America’s wealthiest men Upper 1% Only pays 11% tax Favors paying higher tax with Obama tax cuts Secretary currently pays more tax than him

45. Description An Open Class System is the stratification that facilitates social mobility, with individual achievement and personal merit determining social rank. The hierarchical social status of a person is achieved through their effort. Any status that is based on family background, ethnicity, gender, and religion, which is also known as ascribed status, becomes less important. There is no distinct line between the classes and there would be more positions within that status. Core industrial nations seem to have more of an ideal open class system.

46. Vertical Mobility Vertical Mobility When a person’s occupational status or social class moves upward or downward Example of upward: a cubical workers becomes a CEO Example of downward: a Doctor becomes unemployed

47. In many societies, norms about clothing reflect standards of modesty, religion, gender, and social status. Clothing may also function as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style.

48. Muslim men traditionally wear white robes and a cap during prayers

50. In some societies, clothing may be used to indicate rank or status. • In ancient Rome, for example, only senators were permitted to wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple.