Social Class in the United States Chapter 8

1. Social Class in the United States Chapter 8

2. After studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following Explain the factors that affect a person’s chances of upward social mobility. Describe the distribution of wealth and income in the United States. Summarize the functionalist and conflict theory views of social stratification. Describe the characteristics of each of the social classes in the United States. Describe differences in the poverty rate among various groups in American society. Compare poverty rates in the United States with those of other industrialized countries. Describe some of the personal and social consequences of a person’s position in the class structure.

3. The American Class Structure

4. Social class A category of people who share similar opportunities, similar economic and vocational positions, similar lifestyles, and similar attitudes and behaviors.

5. Class System of stratification A society that has several different social classes and permits social mobility

6. The Upper Class Great wealth Recognize one another by reputation and lifestyle. have high prestige and a lifestyle Often influence society’s basic economic and political structures. Usually isolates itself from the rest of society.

7. The Upper-Middle Class Made up of successful business and professional people and their families. Usually just below the top in an organizational hierarchy but still command a reasonably high income. Often have a college education, own property, and have a savings reserve. They usually live in comfortable homes in the more exclusive areas of a community, are active in civic groups, and carefully plan for the future. They very likely belong to a church.

8. The Lower-Middle Class Shares many characteristics with the upper-middle class, but its members have not been able to achieve the same kind of lifestyle because of economic or educational shortcomings. Usually high school graduates with modest incomes, they are semiprofessionals, clerical and sales workers, and upper-level manual laborers. Emphasize respectability and security, have some savings, and are politically and economically conservative. Often are dissatisfied with their standard of living, jobs, and family incomes.

9. Family Income by Quintile, 2007

10. The Working Class Made up of skilled and semiskilled laborers, factory employees, and other blue collar workers. Keep the country’s machinery going. They are assembly-line workers, auto mechanics, and repair personnel. Most likely to be affected by economic downturns. Working-class people live adequately but have little for luxuries. They are less likely to vote than the higher classes, and they feel politically powerless.

11. The Lower Class Bottom of the economic ladder. Have little in the way of education or occupational skills and consequently are unemployed or underemployed. Families often have many problems, including broken homes, illegitimacy, criminal involvement, and alcoholism.

12. Personal Responsibility of Government

13. Poverty • Refers to a condition in which people do not have enough money to maintain a standard of living that includes the basic necessities of life. • People living in certain regions of the United States are much more likely to live in poverty than those living elsewhere.

14. Poverty Rates by Race, 1959 to 2007

15. The Feminization of Poverty The feminization of poverty is both not as bad as, and much worse than, the previous statement suggests. Families headed by divorced mothers are doing better than the 50% figure, while families headed by never-married mothers are doing much worse. Single mothers without a high school diploma often have difficulty finding a job that pays enough to cover child-care costs, leading to a dependence on welfare programs

16. How Do We Count the Poor? The federal government has devised a poverty index of specific income levels, below which people are considered to be living in poverty. Poverty today is measured today based on a 1965 study by the economist at the Social Security Administration, Mollie Orshansky.

17. Orshansky • Took the cost of a basic low cost nutritionally adequate diet. • She then multiplied it by three, because at the time, food accounted for one third of a family’s expenses. • Using this formula there has been little change in the poverty rate since the 1970s.

18. Three major Criticism of the Povery Index First, when the federal government developed the poverty index in 1964, about one-quarter of federal welfare benefits were in the form of goods and services. Second, the poverty measure looks only at income, not assets. If the value of a home or other assets were included, the poverty rate would also be lower. Third, many believe that the poverty threshold is unrealistically low. Rather than use an absolute number, poverty status should be determined by comparing a person’s financial situation with that of the rest of society.

19. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rates, 1959-2007

20. Five Myths about the Poor People Are Poor Because They Are Too Lazy to Work Most Poor People Are Minorities, and Most Minorities Are Poor Most of the Poor Are Single Mothers with Children Most People in Poverty Live in the Inner Cities Welfare Programs for the Poor Are Straining the Federal Budget

21. Government-Assistance Programs Government programs that provide benefits to families or individuals can be divided into two categories: Social insurance and cash benefits going to people of all income levels Means-tested programs and cash assistance going only to the poor.

22. The Changing Face of Poverty How has it happened that the United States has made progress in combating poverty among the elderly but not among other groups?

23. Is being poor a sociological issue or a personal issue?

24. Poverty Rate for People over 65 and Under 18, 1960-2006

25. The Functionalist Theory Functionalism Based on the assumption that the major social structures contribute to the maintenance of the social system.

26. Davis and Moore Different positions in society make different levels of contributions to the well-being and preservation of society Filling the more complex and important positions in society often requires talent that is scarce and has a long period of training Providing unequal rewards ensures that the most-talented and best-trained individuals will fill the roles of greatest importance

27. Conflict Theory Karl Marx -conflict theory of stratification Max Weber developed many of his ideas in response to Marx’s writings. Karl Marx Believed one must look at the economic conditions centering around producing the necessities of life. Stratification emerged from the power struggles for scarce resources.

28. Marx believed wealth should be delivered in four ways: To each according to need. To each according to want. To each according to what is earned. To each according to what can be obtained—by whatever means.

29. Max Weber expanded Group conflict is a basic ingredient of society. People are motivated by self-interest. Those who do not have property can defend their interests less well than those who have property. Economic institutions are of fundamental importance in shaping the rest of society. Those in power promote ideas and values that help them maintain their dominance. Only when exploitation becomes extremely obvious will the powerless object.

30. He rejected the notion that conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat was the only, or even the most important, conflict relationship in society.

31. Weber believed that there were three sources of stratification: Economic class Social status Political power. Economic classes arise out of the unequal distribution of economic power, a point on which Marx and Weber agreed

32. Five AspectsModern Conflict Theory Social inequality emerges through the domination of one or more groups by other groups. Those who are dominated have the potential to express resistance and hostility toward those in power. Conflict will most often center on the distribution of property and political power. What are thought to be the common values of society are really the values of the dominant groups. Because those in power are engaged in exploitative relationships, they must find mechanisms of social control to keep the masses in line.