Ch. 8-Stratification
Stratification: the division of a large group or society into ranked
categories of people with different access to resources. A system by
which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. Has a
significant effect on how valuable resources are allocated in American
society and globally.
Four principles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Stratification is a trait of society, not individual differences
Stratification carries over from generation to generation
Stratification is universal but variable
Stratification is not just inequality but beliefs.
Ideology: the belief that legitimizes existing patterns of structured
social inequality. Often based in religion
Classism: the ideology of competitive individualism; “people deserve
their fates.”
I.
Systems of Stratification:
Closed systems: ascribed status, little or no social mobility;
endogamous marriages:
Caste-agrarian societies
Occupation
Marriage
Limited interaction outside of caste
Cultural/religious beliefs legitimize system-“moral duty”
Open system: achieved status, social mobility:
Class system-meritocracy-personal merit-industrial societies
Social mobility-a change in position within the social hierarchy
II.
Why Does Stratification Exist?
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Functionalist-Davis/ Moore-ensures most qualified people fill
positions; Assumes that higher-level occupations are more
important to society than lower level occupations
Conflict-reflects class interests-Gans-we need people to do
society’s “dirty work”
III.
Measurement of Class:
Weber: 3 dimensions of stratification:
Wealth- the total amount of a person’s financial assets and
other property
Power- the ability to get others to do what you want them to do,
even if it is against their will.
Prestige-status
SES-socioeconomic status-education, occupation, income
Subjective measures
Problems using income alone to measure class
IV.
Social Class in the U.S.
ancestry, race & ethnicity, gender
Class differences-rich live 7 years longer; women of all races live
longer than men; values/attitudes-how children are socialized;
politics; family and gender
Upper: 1% of the population
Upper-upper-“blue-bloods”
Lower upper
Middle: Non-manual jobs that pay significantly over the poverty line
Upper-Middle
Average Middle
Income insecurity has increased for the middle class
Manufacturing has declined and replaced with low wage service work.
Working (lower middle)
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Lower (the poor)-under the federal poverty line
V.
Poverty:
a. condition of deprivation due to economic circumstance.
b. poverty line-the amount of money necessary to purchase bare
subsistence levels of food, clothing and shelter.
Poverty-line-2013-2014: (48 states):
1 person: $11,490
2 people: $15,510
3 people: $19, 530
4 people: $23, 550
Minorities suffer disproportionately from poverty. In 2010:
Non-Hispanic whites: 9.9% living in poverty
Asians: 12.5%
Blacks: 27.4%
Hispanics: 26.6%
Median Income: (2010-2012)
Men: $42, 800
Women: $34,700
c. absolute vs. relative poverty:
absolute poverty-only enough money for subsistence levels of food
clothing and shelter
relative poverty-a feeling of deprivation relative to others
d. feminization of poverty-disproportionate number of women below
the poverty line; Families headed by females with no husband present
have dramatically higher poverty rates than married couples; refers to
4
the degree to which women and children are overrepresented among
the poor. Global phenomenon.
Income Inequality: since the 1970s, there has been a substantial
increase in income inequality in many countries, with a few
individuals earning a great deal more and many earning little more. In
the US, the top 1% of Americans earned 23.5% of all income in 2007,
up from 9% in 1979 and earned 6% of the nation’s income in 2007, up
from 2% in 1988.
VI.
Explanations of Poverty
a. Culture of Poverty-Oscar Lewis-defense mechanism adapted by
poor in response to inequality; practices differ from middle-class
society
values or lack of values cause poverty
“short-term hedonism”-being unable to delay gratification
lack of future orientation
disdain for higher education
often criticized as “blaming the victim” but that was not his intent,
he saw it as a rational response to inequality
b. Structural causes of poverty:
Poverty is built-in to the capitalist system: it is in the interest of the
capitalist system to have a large number of unemployed (poor)
people because they serve as a readily available pool of people
who can be drawn quickly into the labor force when business
booms or when other workers go on strike; this keeps existing
workers in line and reluctant to demand much.
minimum wage- can work full-time at minimum wage and still be
below poverty line
poor schools-decrease future opportunities
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unemployment-inner city-good paying union jobs being lost, more
low-skilled service jobs with no benefits; downsizing
deindustrialization-a process in which the manufacturing sector of
the economies of developing nations decline while the service
sector expands; loss of many high paying industrial jobs led to
many being reduced from strong middle-class positions to jobs in
the lower-paying and less secure service jobs, or unemployment.
decline in power of labor unions.
William Julius Wilson (When Work Disappears):
Identifies three reasons why work disappears in the inner city:
a. deindustrialization
b. the globalization of the economy
c. shifting of jobs from the inner cities to the suburbs
This hits the poor, African-Americans and other minorities the hardest
Remedies:
a. create jobs that pay a living wage
b. training to learn new skills and understand the job market
c. a chance to move to racially and economically diverse
neighborhoods where there are more opportunities and healthier
cultural norms