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Class and Stratification

Sociology. Class and Stratification. Lesson Outline. Understanding Social Stratification Social stratification and inequality Systems of stratification Social classes in the United States Theories of Social Class Socioeconomic status and life chances Social mobility

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Class and Stratification

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  1. Sociology Class and Stratification

  2. Lesson Outline • Understanding Social Stratification • Social stratification and inequality • Systems of stratification • Social classes in the United States • Theories of Social Class • Socioeconomic status and life chances • Social mobility • Defining poverty • Inequality and the ideology of the American Dream Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  3. Understanding Inequality Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality • Inequality is the unequal access to scarce goods or resources. • It is found in most, if not all, societies. • It is a question of how unequal a society is. • How unequal is the United States? • Can it be seen from space?

  4. International Comparison of Poverty Rates among Wealthy Countries Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  5. Understanding Social Stratification Social stratification is the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy based on access to wealth, power and prestige. Ex: slavery, caste and social class Where people rank in stratification system influences every part of their lives in profound ways. • What food they eat, where they shop, clothes they wear, schools they attend, income they earn, how long (and quality of life) they live, occupation. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  6. Social Stratification • Every society has some form of social stratification, but societies group people on different criteria (such as race, class, and gender). • Social stratification is a characteristic of society; it persists over generations, and it is maintained through beliefs (and ideologies) that are widely shared by members of society. • By definition inequality is unequal; this contradicts basic American values. • How are we ok with some having more than others? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  7. Systems of Stratification (Cont’d) • Social class refers to a system of stratification based on access to resources such as wealth, property, power, education and prestige. • Sociologists often refer to it as socioeconomic status (or SES). • By the way, what’s the difference between income and wealth? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  8. Social Classes in the United States • The upper class (capitalist class): • Wealthiest people in a class system • Make up about 1% of the U.S. population • Possess most of the wealth of the country • The ratio of CEO pay to factory worker pay rose from 42:1 in 1960 to as high as 531:1 in 2000, at the height of the stock market bubble. • It was at 411:1 in 2005 and 344:1 in 2007, according to research by United for a Fair Economy. • By way of comparison, the same ratio is about 25:1 in Europe. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  9. Social Classes in the United States • The upper-middle class: • Professionals and managers • Make up about 14% of the U.S. population • Benefited the most from college • The middle class consists primarily of • “White collar” workers • Have a broad range of incomes • Make up about 30% of the U.S. population Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  10. Social Classes in the United States • The working (lower-middle) class: • “Blue-collar” or service industry workers • Less likely to have college degrees • Make up about 30% of the U.S. population Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  11. Social Classes in the United States • The lower class (the working poor): • Many poor people who typically have lower levels of literacy than other classes • Make up about 20% of the U.S. population Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  12. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  13. CEOs' average pay, production workers' average pay, the S&P 500 Index, corporate profits, and the federal minimum wage, 1990-2005 (all figures adjusted for inflation)

  14. Distribution of income in the United States, 1982-2006 Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  15. How unequal are we? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  16. Distribution of Net Worth (assets – liabilities), 2001 Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  17. How unequal are we? • The top-earning 20 percent of Americans -- those making more than $100,000 each year -- received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent made by the bottom 20 percent of earners, those who fell below the poverty line, according to the new figures (late 2010). • That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  18. At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year. • Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower. • Lower-skilled adults ages 18 to 34 had the largest jumps in poverty last year. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  19. Americans Vastly Underestimate Wealth Inequality • A recent report shows across ideological, economic and gender groups, Americans thought the richest 20% of our society controlled about 59 percent of the wealth, while the real number is closer to 84%. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  20. Americans Vastly Underestimate Wealth Inequality Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  21. Theories of Social Class • Karl Marx believed that there were two main social classes in capitalist societies: • Capitalists (or bourgeoisie), who owned the means of production • Workers (or proletariat), who sold their labor for wages • He believed that the classes would remain divided and social inequality would grow. • Has social inequality grown? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  22. Theories of Social Class • Max Weber offered a similar model that also included cultural factors. • He argued that class status was made of three components: • Wealth (or Privilege, inherited assets) • Power • Prestige Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  23. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  24. What does your living room/neighborhood say about you? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  25. Theories of Social Class • More recently, Pierre Bourdieu argued each generation acquires cultural capital (tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, etc.) that help us to gain advantages in society • This cultural capital either helps or hinders us as we become adults. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  26. Lareau’s “concerted cultivation’ and ‘natural growth’ • How does social reproduction (tendency for social classes to remain stable across generations) occur? • Research indicates class more important than race and that child-rearing practices reproduce class-based advantages • Concerted cultivation – involves high levels of extracurricular activities (which prepare children for success in the middle class adult world, but requires time and money, usually by mom) • Accomplishment of natural growth - which emphasizes loving children and providing for them and giving children much more leisure time that is self-directed and unstructured. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  27. Concerted Cultivation Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  28. Theories of Social Class • Symbolic Interactionists examine the way we use status differences to categorize ourselves and others. • As Erving Goffman pointed out, our clothing, speech, gestures, possessions, friends, and activities provide information about our socioeconomic status. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  29. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  30. Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances • Belonging to a certain social class has profound consequences for individuals in all areas of life including: • Education • Employment • medical care Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  31. Brain and Lung Cancer Statistics What’s different about how one gets which type of cancer? Lung cancer is strongly impacted by health behaviors whereas brain cancer is generally viewed as less predictable or preventable Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  32. Social Mobility • Social mobility is the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchal system of social classes. • America technically has an open system (it is legal and permissible for people to move between classes) but there are structural patterns where people tend to stay very close to the class they were raised in. • If we have an open system, why do we see a lack of opportunities to move between classes? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  33. Poverty • In the United States, the federal poverty line (an absolute measure of annual income) is frequently used to determine who should be categorized as poor. • In 2005, about 37 million people (12.6% of the population) in the United States were considered poor. • Recent estimates show this is now about 14% of the population; and the pop is larger now than in 2005. • Why are we so unaware of the poor? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  34. Number of Poverty and Poverty Rate, 1959-2007 Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  35. Poverty • The culture of poverty refers to learned attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their situation. • What is missing from this theory? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  36. Inequality and the Ideology of the American Dream • The ideology of the American Dream (that anyone can achieve material success if they work hard enough) explains and justifies our social system, but it has been criticized for legitimizing stratification by telling us that everyone has the same opportunity to get ahead. This Alger novel features a newsboy who rises to Newspaper editor. Are most Americans today likely to achieve upward mobility? Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  37. The Problem with the American Dream • It is predicated on a “meritocracy” (that hard work is justly rewarded). • This notion tells us that success or failure depends on the person, when in reality we know that there are structural advantages and disadvantages that also contribute to an individual’s success or failure. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

  38. Take Away Points: • Inequality is intentional; moreover it is rising. The U.S. now has higher rates of inequality and poverty than other industrialized countries. • It is legitimated by the ideology of meritocracy and the American Dream. • Social class profoundly effects every facet of your life. Introduction to Sociology: Social Class and Inequality

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