
Jimmy
How is the story of the Titanic a good example
of stratification?
Share with a neighbor

What is Social Stratification?

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION - A system by
which a society ranks individuals or
categories of people on the basis of unequal
access to scarce resources and social rewards.
By definition, it implies inequality.

In what ways are these people equal? What
do they have in common?

How are they different? Unequal?
1.
A trait of society, not just individual
differences like talent or effort
Social inequality stands as a basic dimension of
how society is organized.
CHANGES OVER TIME
2.
Persist over Generations
Social Position linked to family.
How has your family passed on their social position?
Are you stuck in your family’s social position?
Social Mobility- (Changes in social position-horizontal,
vertical)
Does social mobility look the same in every country?
Every state? Every town?
3.
Universal but variable
Stratification is found everywhere, but
characteristics vary from one society to
another... what is unequal and how unequal
varies from one society to another.
Come up with some examples of some
different ways society creates inequality.
4.
Involves not just inequality but beliefs.
The explanation of why people should be
unequal varies from one society to the next.
So why does there have to be inequality in
society?
What does this statement mean to you?
Systems of inequality affect what a person
does and when and how he or she does it.

Caste System - Social stratification based on
ascription.

Pure caste system - Birth alone determines
one's destiny.
NO SOCIAL MOBILITY

How it affects people's lives?
1) Specific Occupations
2) Marrying within categories
3) Stay in company of own kind
4) Rest on powerful cultural beliefs

South Africa ~ Apartheid system of
Government

India ~ Caste system as part of Hindu beliefs

Class System - Social stratification based on
both birth and individual achievement.
MORE SOCIAL MOBILITY

How it affects people's lives
1) Personal choices
2) Equal standings before the law
3) Greater opportunities

EX) United States, How?

1. Davis-Moore Thesis (Structural-Functional
Paradigm)
 Social Stratification has beneficial consequences
to a society.
 Society is a complex system
 Works towards a stable society

Society has many different occupational positions

Easier Jobs
 More common than others
 Less Training or Education
 Rewards are less ($ or prestige)

High Daily Responsibility Jobs




Special abilities are required
More training needed (education)
Functional importance of job
Rewards are more ($ or prestige)

2. Karl Marx (Class Conflict) - Social Conflict
Paradigm
 Society is a collection of inequalities (promotes
conflict and change)
 Social Stratification favors some at the expense of
others
 Struggle between classes of people over valued
resources
Two Social Classes
1. Bourgeoisie (Capitalists)- Owners of land and
industry = Profit
2. Proletariat (Workers)- Taken advantage of to
maximize profit wages = conflict

Conflict will end when Capitalism is abolished!


ADAM SMITH – FOUNDER
Means of production are privately owned
Private ownership of property
 factories, real estate, natural resources
2. Pursuit of personal profit
 encourages accumulation of wealth
3. Free competition
 No government interference (laissez-faire)
1.


KARL MARX- FOUNDER
Means of production are collectively owned
Collective ownership
 limits the right to private property
 housing to all
 seeks to lessen economic inequality (classless
society)
2. Pursuit of collective goals
 private trading is illegal (black market)
3. Government control of economy
1.

End result of process starting with capitalism
and socialism
1.


Hypothetical economic and political system
all members are equal
not yet achieved
And collars

On your post-it note write out your social
class? Choose from the following options
 Upper class
 Middle class
 Working class
 Lower class



Are we an industrialized country? Or beyond
that?
Can you survive with just a high school
degree?
What is happening to the middle class?

Movement of individuals between social classes:





Horizontal Movement: same social class
Vertical Movement: class change
Intergenerational Mobility
Intragenerational Mobility
Trends in mobility
 After WWII
 Today
-
Effects of downward mobility
Class
Size
(% of pop.)
$$$
Education
UPPER
5%
160K & 
Ivy-League
upper-upper
1%
lower-upper
4%
MIDDLE
40-45%
upper-middle
14%
80K-160K
average-middle
30%
40k-80K
WORKING
33%
25K-40K
LOWER
20%
25K
Job
“Old Money”
Inherited
“Working Rich”
CEO, celebrity
2/3 college &  Hi-White Collar
Lo-White Collar
1/2 college
Hi-Blue Collar
Typical
1/3 college
Blue Collar
1/4 college
Min. wage, part
1/2 high school time, welfare

Class consciousness- being aware of your
social class

We will break into groups and watch a couple
of video clips that deal with issues in
stratification



White- professional or an educated worker
who performs semi-professional office,
administrative, and sales coordination tasks
Blue- manual labor
New- middle-class wage earners holding jobs
in a service industry




Gold- highly-skilled knowledge workers who
are essential to business operations; higher
form of white collar
Green- employed in the environmental
sectors
Pink- domestic work or “women’s work”
Grey- sometimes used to describe those who
work beyond the age of retirement, or those
who don’t fit white or blue

Three million open jobs in U.S., but who's
qualified? - 60 Minutes - CBS News

Share with someone next to you, what does
being poor mean to you?
Poverty Thresholds for 2011 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years
Related children under 18 years
Size of family unit
Eight
None
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
or more
One person (unrelated individual).…..
Under 65 years....................………
11,702
65 years and over.................………
10,788
Two
people.........................…………………….
Householder under 65 years...........
15,063
15,504
Householder 65 years and over...….
13,596
15,446
Three people.......................………………
17,595
18,106
18,123
Four people.................……………………….
23,201
23,581
22,811
22,891
Five people..................………………………
27,979
28,386
27,517
26,844
26,434
Six people.......................………………..
32,181
32,309
31,643
31,005
30,056
29,494
Seven people.........................…………..
37,029
37,260
36,463
35,907
34,872
33,665
32,340
Eight people.......................…………………
41,414
41,779
41,027
40,368
39,433
38,247
37,011
36,697
Nine people or more................……………
49,818
50,059
49,393
48,835
47,917
46,654
45,512
45,229
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Absolute Poverty: a minimum level of subsistence below which no family should be expected to live
43,487

Relative Poverty: a floating standard by which
people at the bottom of a society are
considered deprived or disadvantaged, in
comparison to the rest of society, regardless
of the specifics of their lifestyle.

How many people are in Poverty?
 11.8% or 32.3 million people in 1999
 12.5% or 40 million people in 2006
 ~ around 45-50 million without health care in the
US
Location
CITY
SUBURBS
% of population in poverty
18.8 %
9.0%
RURAL
15.9%
(i.e. Appalachian area)

Of all the poor in America:
 - 2/3 are white
 - 1/4 are African American
Racial/Ethnic
Group
(# of poor in racial group/
total # in racial group
# of Poor in the
US
White
African American
Hispanic
Asian
8.6%
26.5%
27%
14%
16.5 million
9.1 million
8.3 million
1.5 million

% Poverty
African Americans are three times as likely as
non-hispanic whites to be poor.




The data presented here are from the Current Population Survey (CPS), 2011 Annual Social and
Economic Supplement (ASEC), the source of official poverty estimates. The CPS ASEC is a
sample survey of approximately 100,000 household nationwide. These data reflect conditions
in calendar year 2010.
 The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent — up from 14.3 percent in 2009. This
was the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. Since 2007, the poverty
rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points, from 12.5 percent to 15.1 percent.
 In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009—the fourth
consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
 Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 9.4
percent to 9.9 percent), for Blacks (from 25.8 percent to 27.4 percent), and for Hispanics
(from 25.3 percent to 26.6 percent). For Asians, the 2010 poverty rate (12.1 percent) was
not statistically different from the 2009 poverty rate.1
 The poverty rate in 2010 (15.1 percent) was the highest poverty rate since 1993 but was
7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which
poverty estimates are available.
 The number of people in poverty in 2010 (46.2 million) is the largest number in the 52
years for which poverty estimates have been published.
 Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 (from 20.7
percent to 22.0 percent) and people aged 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent to 13.7 percent),
but was not statistically different for people aged 65 and older (9.0 percent).2
Footnotes:
1 The poverty rate for Blacks was not statistically different from that of Hispanics in 2010.
2 Since unrelated individuals under 15 are excluded from the poverty universe, there are 422,000 fewer children in the poverty universe than in the total civilian noninstitutionalized population.

As of November 14th 2012, there are 50
million people living in poverty

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/d
ata/incpovhlth/2010/table4.pdf

It’s the Individual:






Lack of Education/skills
No initiative- Lazy (a strong American belief)
Culture of Poverty (socialized over generations)
Handicapped, Elderly, Sick
Substance Abuse
It’s the Society:







Discrimination (women, African American, inner-city)
Less Opportunity
Lack of Jobs (related to skills)
Business has left town
Education for high technology not present
Disintegration of Family
Childcare costs (single moms can’t afford to work)
The history of welfare in the U.S.

Puritans: work = salvation + virtue
 no government help

Church and community provide help for
those in severe need
 widows, sick, handicapped


Families help each other
Stress is on self reliance
 work ethic/pioneer spirit = not a lot of help

Private Relief and still no government help
 Hull House (Chicago), Salvation Army, YMCA,
Immigrant Aid Societies
▪ Minimal help: adjust to U.S. culture, learn English, some
job training, some food help

Church and community help in small towns,
rural areas


Local and state relief not enough
Uncle Sam steps in with Social Security
 first significant federal assistance “welfare” type
program
 assist with seniors, widows...

Major involvement of Federal Government
 AFDC (Aid for Families with Dependent Children)
▪ 1935-1997
▪ took care of children whose family was poor
▪ 1st large scale program to help women (divorced/single), kids,
seniors (80s)
▪ $400/family average payment (doesn’t go far)
▪ Replaced by the TANF

Other Programs
 Headstart, Job Corps, Food Stamps, Unemployment
assistance, FHA loans
Shift to “Workfare”- less federal role
1996: Shift AFDC money away from national and
to states to make up qualifications and
distribution
 TANF: Temporary Assistance to Needy Families


 took the place of the AFDC
 Wisconsin pioneers this program
 People receiving aid must enroll in job training or
work
 Dramatic drop in welfare numbers
 Many enter low paying jobs


Mortgage Deductions
Tax write-offs
 individuals and corporations

Subsidies
 farmers
 corporations


Pell Grants: low income college students
Severance packages

A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains
1/5 -YouTube