c h a p t er
7
Stratification and
Social Class
Sociology Now
1st Edition (Brief)
Kimmel/Aronson
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What is Social Stratification?
– social stratification
– structured inequality
• wealth and power
• belief systems
– structure of social mobility
• Why Do We Have Social
Stratification?
– creates interdependence (Durkheim)
– oppression and exploitation (Marx)
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What is Social Stratification?
• Systems of Stratification
– Castes
• fixed and permanent
• ascribed status
– Feudalism
– Class
• social mobility
• economically-based
• achieved status
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009
Social Class
• Theories of Social Class
– Marx and Class
• bourgeoisie
• proletariat
– Weber and Class
• Class position
• Status
• Power
– socioeconomic status (“SES”)
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Social Class
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Social Class
• Socioeconomic Classes in the
United States
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Upper Upper Class
Lower Upper Class
Upper Middle Class
Middle Middle Class
Working Class
Lower Class
Underclass
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Social Class
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Social Class
• America and the Myth of the Middle
Class
– middle class has expanded
• home ownership
• income
• investments and retirement
• Income Inequality
• Class and Race
– class as transgenerational
– historical legacy
– obstacles to mobility
“Race may be a predictor of poverty, but
poverty know no race.”
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Social Class
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
– “Great Society”: Johnson’s War on
Poverty (1964)
– poverty Line
• calculations amazingly low
• cost of living varies by region
• doesn’t take into account
– child care
– medical care
– transportation
– dream line (Block)
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
• Who is Poor in America?
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Not all poor people are ethnic minorities
Not all poor people are unemployed
Children are more likely to be poor
Mothers are more likely to be poor
Elderly are less likely to be poor
• Feminization of Poverty
– lower wages
– childcare costs
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
• Explaining Poverty
– Personal Initiative
– The Culture of Poverty
– Structures of Inequality
• structural disadvantages of the poor
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Poor education
Higher rates of chronic diseases
poor or nonexistent health care
inferior housing
victim of crime/labeled as criminal
• Poverty on a World Scale
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
Table 7.2
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Poverty in the United States and Abroad
• Reducing Poverty
– welfare system: “blessed are the poor”
– reliance on “outside” help
• World Health Organization
• Red Cross
• Red Crescent
– creating infrastructure
– conditional cash transfer schemes (“CCTS”)
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Social Mobility
• intergenerational
• intragenerational
• Dynamics of Mobility
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structural mobility
downward mobility
underemployment
permanent or part-time work
within groups (not between)
affected by race/ethnicity/gender
• Social Mobility Today
– “Americans still believe . . . ”
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Global Inequality
– global inequality
• systematic differences
• rich countries get richer; poor
countries get poorer
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Global Inequality
• High-Income
Countries (40)
• Portugal
• Uruguay
• S. Africa
• Brazil
• Libya
• China
Low Middle
United States
Switzerland
Japan
Spain
High Middle
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• Middle-Income
Countries (90)
• Low-Income
Countries (60)
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Jamaica
India
Kenya
Somalia
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Global Inequality
• Explaining Global Inequality
– Market Theories
• modernization theory
– State-Centered Theories
– Dependence Theory
• colonialism
(Rostow)
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Global Inequality
– World System Theory (Wallerstein)
• global market
• population divided into economic
classes
• international political relations
• three economic zones
countries
– core
– periphery
– semi-periphery
• global commodity chains
– Global Mobility
– Class Identity and Class Inequality
in the 21st Century
Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2009