THE AMERICAN DREAM
We can do anything as
long as we try!
Rags to Riches
Land of opportunity
Anyone can become rich
and powerful!
Work hard, and you’ll make a
better life for yourself and
your family!
Meritocracy: skill + effort = reward
Austrian immigrant – governor of
California
Grew up poor – richest women in
America
Lived in his car – billion-dollar
food empire
Russian immigrant
– fashion
billionaire
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of
Happiness.”
created
SOCIAL MOBILITY
DEFINITION: the movement of families up and
down the economic ladder
STATISTICS:
40% of incomes stay the same.
Only 37 of America’s 400 wealthiest people
inherited their money from their family.
20% about the same
27% somewhat better
39% much better
86% think they are doing
the same as or better than
their parents
58% agree in 1983
80% agree in 2005
more and more
people think that you can
start poor and become rich
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
DEFINITION: the study of systematic inequality
between groups of people.
IN TERMS OF:
Class
Race
Gender
SOCIAL CLASS
DEFINITION: the hierarchical distinctions
between individuals or groups in societies.
KEY FEATURES:
Wealth: income, savings, investments, property
Power: the ability to do what you desire, even
if others oppose
Prestige: respect and deference for a valued
position
SOCIAL CLASS: THE UPPER CLASS
0.5% of Americans belong to the upper class.
Wealth: VERY HIGH
Power: HIGH
Prestige: HIGH
Wealth:
Top 1% owns 33% of all net worth in the United States.
Their incomes come mostly from investments such as stocks and
bonds—so they keep making more and more money.
Power:
Their resources give them a lot of buying power.
Their wealth also gives them a lot of political power.
Prestige: Family names =“rich and powerful.”
Examples—Rockefeller, Carnegie, Gates.
SOCIAL CLASS: THE CORPORATE CLASS
0.5% of Americans belong to the
corporate class.
Wealth: HIGH
Power: HIGH
Prestige: HIGH
Wealth:
They are not as wealthy, but still earns a lot of money.
The median salary of a CEO is $10.8 million.
Power:
They tend to be heads of companies or in the government.
They have a lot of power over the people they direct and in society.
Prestige: They are in positions where they have a lot of influence.
They tend to be considered high-status.
SOCIAL CLASS: THE MIDDLE CLASS
43% of Americans belong to the
middle class.
Wealth: MEDIUM
Power: MEDIUM
Prestige: MEDIUM
Wealth:
They have some wealth, but less property and lower incomes.
The median salary is $34,000 for a teacher, $58,000 for an engineer.
Power:
They tend to work for other people and they have fewer resources.
They tend to have less power than the upper or corporate classes.
Prestige: They tend to work white-collar jobs.
This gives them respect and some status.
SOCIAL CLASS: THE WORKING CLASS
43% of Americans are in the working
class.
Wealth: MEDIUM TO LOW
Power: LOW
Prestige: LOW
Wealth:
They own and earn very little.
The median salary is $24,000 for a factory worker, $23,000 for a
machine operator.
Power:
They have few resources and work in low positions.
Sometimes, they can form unions to get some power.
Prestige: They tend to work in blue-collar jobs.
These jobs usually get less respect.
SOCIAL CLASS: THE LOWER CLASS
13% of Americans belong to the
lower class
Wealth: LOW TO NONE
Power: VERY LOW
Prestige: VERY LOW
Wealth:
They usually own nothing and work in very low-paying jobs.
They tend to be very poor, but only about 33% of them get
welfare.
Power:
They have few or no resources to help them bargain for power.
They tend to be excluded from political processes.
Prestige: They are often jobless or working menial jobs.
They get little respect.
CLASS DIFFERENCES
Upper class
Who goes to elite colleges and universities?
Lower class
Who lives longer?
Upper class
Who lives in worse neighborhoods?
Not everyone is mobile.
Intergenerational transmission of advantages and disadvantages
LIMITED MOBILITY
Least movement on the top and on the bottom
RACIAL INEQUALITY:
Whites and Asians have higher
incomes than Blacks and
Hispanics.
These
RACIAL GAPS are
substantial.
Median household income:
Whites vs. Blacks: +$15,417
Whites vs. Hispanics: +$12,319
INCOME
RACIAL INEQUALITY: LABOR MARKET
Another racial gap: how many in each racial group are
unemployed?
RACE
% unemployed in 2000
White
4.3%
Asian
5.1%
Black
11.8%
Hispanic/Latino
9.3%
American Indian
12.4%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
10.9%
RACIAL INEQUALITY:
HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE
All groups are improving, BUT…
Fewer Blacks
and Hispanics
are high school
graduates.
RACIAL INEQUALITY: COLLEGE DEGREE
Smaller improvements, AND…
Fewer Blacks
and Hispanics
are college
graduates.
GENDER INEQUALITY:
INCOME
Thinking about men and women who work full-time…
Median income
Male:
$29,458
Female:
$18,957
Difference: $10,501
For every dollar men make, women make only
64 cents
GENDER INEQUALITY: LABOR MARKET
Are differences because of…
Education?
Hours of work?
Occupation?
Both college graduates, women < men
Both full-time, women < men
Same occupation, women < men
GENDER INEQUALITY:
Families headed by
women are much
more likely to be
poor.
POVERTY
THE AMERICAN DREAM?
There is SOME mobility,
but it is LIMITED.
Rags to Riches?
Land of opportunity?
The really rich get richer, the
really poor get poorer.
Some groups—by race, by
gender—still get less even if
they work just as hard.
Meritocracy: skill + effort = reward?