Social%20Class%20and%20Social%20Stratification

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Chapter 9

• Social Class and Social Stratification

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Chapter Outline

• Social Differentiation and Social Stratification
• Why Is There Inequality?
• The Class Structure of the United States
• Diverse Sources of Stratification
• Social Mobility
• Poverty

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Social Differentiation

• The process by which different statuses develop
  in any group, organization, or society.
• In a sports organization, players, owners,
  managers, fans, cheerleaders, and sponsors all
  have a different status within the organization.

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Social Stratification

• A relatively fixed, hierarchical arrangement in
  society by which groups have different access to
  resources, power, and perceived social worth.
• In a sports organization
• Owners control the resources of the teams.
• Players earn high salaries, yet do not control
  the team resources.
• Sponsors provide the resources.
• Fans provide revenue.

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Inequality in the United States

• Nearly 1 in 6 children in the U.S. live poverty
• 30 of African American children
• 29 of Hispanic children
• 12 of Asian American children
• 9.4 of White non-Hispanic children

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Inequality in the United States

• 15 of the U.S. population has no health
  insurance.
• The average cost of a days stay in the hospital
  is 1, 217two weeks pay for the average worker

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Inequality in the United States

• 1 of the U.S. population controls 38 of the
  total wealth in the nation.
• The bottom 20 owe more than they own.
• CEOs of major companies earn an average of 13.1
  million dollars per year.
• Workers earning the minimum wage make 10,712 per
  year, if they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks
  per year and hold only one job.

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Types of Stratification Systems

• Estate - Elite owns property and has control
  over resources.
• Caste - rigid hierarchy of classes.
• Class - status is partially achieved, there is
  some potential for movement between classes.

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Marx Class and Capitalism

• Defined classes in terms of their relationship to
  the means of production.
• Capitalist class owns the means of production.
• Working class sells their labor for wages.

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Weber Three Dimensions to Stratification

• Class - economic dimension
• Status - social dimension
• Party - political dimension

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Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Inequality
Functionalism Motivates people to fill positions that are needed for the survival of the whole.
Conflict Theory Results when those with the most resources exploit others.
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Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Class Structure
Functionalism Differentiation is essential for a cohesive society.
Conflict Theory Different groups struggle over resources and compete for social advantage.
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Functional and Conflict Theories of
Stratification
Life chances
Functionalism Those who work hardest and succeed have greater life chances.
Conflict Theory The most vital jobs in society are usually the least rewarded.
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Social Class in the U.S.

• Upper class
• Upper-middle class
• Middle class
• Lower-middle class
• Lower class

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Polling Question

• If you were asked to use one of the following
  four names for your parents' social class, which
  would you say they belong in?
• A.) Upper class
• B.) Middle class
• C.) Working class
• D.) Lower class

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The Laddered Model of Stratification
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Median Income by Race and Household Status
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Polling Question

• People who are rich don't care about those who
  are less rich.
• A.) Strongly agree
• B.) Agree somewhat
• C.) Unsure
• D.) Disagree somewhat
• E.) Strongly disagree

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The Double Diamond Model of Stratification
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Income Growth by Income Group Whites
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Income Growth by Income Group Blacks
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Income Growth by Income Group Hispanics
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Wealth and Income

• Wealth is the monetary value of everything one
  owns, minus debt.
• It is calculated by adding all financial assets
  and subtracting all debts.
• Income is the amount of money brought into a
  household from various sources during a given
  period.

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Distribution of Wealth and Income

• The wealthiest 1 own 38 of all net worth the
  bottom 80 control only 17.
• The top 1 also owns almost half of all stock
  the bottom 80 own only 4 of total stock
  holdings.

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Whos Got a Piece of the Pie?
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The Tax Burden For Whom?
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Diverse Sources of Stratification

• Race, class, and gender are overlapping systems
  of stratification.
• Class position is manifested differently,
  depending on race and gender.
• Example A Black middle-class man who is stopped
  by police when driving through a White
  middle-class neighborhood may feel his racial
  status is his most outstanding characteristic,
  but his race, class, and gender always influence
  his life chances.

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Poverty Among the Old and Young
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Class Consciousness

• The perception that a class structure exists,
  along with the feeling of shared identification
  with others in ones class.
• There are two dimensions to the definition of
  class consciousness
• the idea that a class structure exists
• ones class identification

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Defining Social Mobility

• Social mobility is a persons movement over time
  from one class to another.
• Social mobility can be up or down, although the
  American dream emphasizes upward movement.
• Mobility can also be either intergenerational,
  occurring between generations or
  intragenerational, occurring within a generation.

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Social Mobility

• Mobility is a collective effort that involves kin
  and sometimes community.
• Upward Mobility
• People who are upwardly mobile are often expected
  to distance themselves from their origins.
• Downward Mobility
• As income distribution is becoming more skewed
  toward the top, many in the middle class are
  experiencing mobility downward.

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Poverty in the U.S.
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Who are the Poor?

• In 2002, there were 34.6 million poor people in
  the U.S.
• The poor
• 31 of Native Americans
• 24 of African Americans
• 22 of Hispanics
• 10 of Asians and Pacific Islanders
• 10 of Whites

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Who are the Homeless?

• Battered women
• Elderly
• Disabled
• Mentally Ill (20-25)
• Veterans
• AIDS victims

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Who are the Homeless?

• A 2001 survey of 27 cities found that the
  homeless population is
• 50 African American
• 35 White
• 12 Hispanic
• 2 Native American
• 1 Asian

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Reasons for Homelessness

• Unemployment and/or eviction
• Reductions in federal support for affordable
  housing
• Eroding work opportunities
• Inadequate housing for low-income people

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Reasons for Homelessness

• Reductions in public assistance
• Inadequate health care
• Domestic violence
• Addiction

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Poverty Status by Family Type and Race
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Explanations of Poverty

• Culture of poverty - poverty is a way of life
  that is transferred from generation to
  generation.
• Structural causes of poverty - poverty is caused
  by economic and social transformations taking
  place in the U.S.

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Arguments Against The Culture of Poverty

• Fewer than 5 of the poor are chronically poor.
• 41 of the able-bodied poor work.
• The pattern of welfare cycling is promoted by
  wages too low to support a family.

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Quick Quiz
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• 1. Karl Marx defined classes in terms of their
  relationship to
• a. capitalism
• b. life chances
• c. the infrastructure of society
• d. the means of production

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Answer d

• Karl Marx defined classes in terms of their
  relationship to the means of production.

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• 2. The monetary value of everything one actually
  owns is defined as one's
• a. income
• b. cumulative income
• c. wealth
• d. net worth

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Answer c

• The monetary value of everything one actually
  owns is defined as one's wealth.

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• 3. Which of the following statements is false
  regarding social class?
• a. Class is a structural phenomenon.
• b. Class can be directly observed.
• c. Class influences access to societal
  resources.
• Class influences how one is served by social
  institutions.

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Answer b

• The statement, class can be directly observed, is
  false regarding social class.

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• 4. According to the functionalist perspective,
  differentiation is essential for a cohesive
  society.
• a. True
• b. False

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Answer True

• According to the functionalist perspective,
  differentiation is essential for a cohesive
  society.