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Ch. 10- Social class

Explore the concepts of social class, wealth distribution, and the consequences of social class on physical and mental health, family life, education, religion, politics, and poverty.

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Ch. 10- Social class

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  1. Ch. 10- Social class • A large group of people who rank close to one another in wealth, power and prestige • One of 2 groups- capitalists who own the means of production, or workers who sell their labor • Wealth- property and income • Wealth vs. income

  2. Distribution of wealth- the wealthiest 1% of U.S. families are worth more than the entire bottom 90% • Distribution of income- the top 20% of the population receive almost ½ of all income in the U.S. • Power- the ability to get your way • Prestige- respect or regard • Displaying prestige important

  3. Two models for social class • Marx (then and now) • 2 classes (capitalists and workers) • Membership based solely on a person’s relationships to the means of production • 4 classes (updated model) • Capitalists • Petty bourgeoisie • Managers • Workers

  4. Weber (applies today) • 6 class model • Capitalist (1%- super rich) • Upper middle class (15%- professionals) • Lower middle class (34%- lower managers) • Working class (30%- supervised) • Working poor (16%- unskilled) • Underclass (4%- poverty)

  5. Consequences of social class • Physical health • The lower a person’s social class, the more likely that person is to die before the expected age (b/c of lifestyle and medical care) • Mental health • Greater mental problems are part of the stress that goes along w/ poverty

  6. Family life • Choice of spouse- capitalist class values family tradition • Divorce- children of poor more likely grow up in single parent homes • Child rearing- lower vs. middle class • Education • Education goes up as social class goes up • Parent expectations

  7. Religion • Lower class vs. middle/upper class in worship • Politics • Upper class= Republican • Lower class= Democrat • Social mobility • Intergenerational mobility (up or down) • Structural mobility

  8. Poverty • Lacking resources to meet basic needs • The poverty line (same all over country) • Who is poor? • About 13% of U.S. pop. is poor • 40% of poor are under 18 • 10% of poor are over 65 • 11% of whites are poor, 26% of blacks/Latinos, 13% of Asians

  9. The Feminization of Poverty • Single mothers average less than 2/3 the income of single fathers • Children in poverty • For women above poverty line, only 6% of births are to single women • For women below poverty line, 44% of births are to single women • Childhood poverty= more likely die in infancy, go hungry, develop more slowly, more health problems, drop out of school

  10. Why are people poor? • Social structure- features of society deny some people access to educ. or learning job skills • Characteristics of individuals- blame the indiv. • Welfare reform • 1996- The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

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