Sociology 101
Chapter 7
Class & Stratification in the
U.S.
Stratification: Layering of
Society
 Slavery
 The
caste system
 The class system
Stratification Can Be Based
On:
 Achieved
Status
 Gender (Ascribed Status)
 Race/Ethnicity (Ascribed Status)
 Class (Ascribed Status)
Wealth Vs. Income

Wealth

Refers to property such as buildings, land,
farms, houses, factories and cars, as well as
other assets such as stock, bonds, bank
accounts, insurance policies




Computed by taking the value of all of the above and
subtracting all debt obligations
Americans were worth about $56.8 trillion in
2010
10% of the nation’s families owns 77% of all
available wealth in 2010
The richest 1% of the nation’s families are
worth more than the entire bottom 90% of
Americans
 Income
 Refers
to wages, salaries, governmental
aid, and money earned through
ownership of property (e.g. rent)
 The top 5% receive around 20% of all
income

This is more than the total that the bottom
95% receive
 The
income of the top 5% increased by
28% between 1980-1995
Source: Wealth, Income & Power (William Domhoff)
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html
Income Distribution in the United
States
What is Poverty?
 The
Social Security Administration
calculates the poverty line
 In
2010, the OPL was $22,162 for a
family of 4 with 2 children under the age
of 18

This is $5,540/person per year or
$462/month per person
Who Are The Poor?

46.2 million Americans were poor in 2010


This figure is low because it is easy for the
census to miss the poor and the OPL is very low
Concentration of the poor


Racial minorities
Women


Children


The child poverty rate is higher in the U.S. than in any
other industrialized country
Location


2/3 of poor adult population
The south has the highest rate of poverty
The Poor-poor

Those living at or under ½ the OPL
Avoiding Poverty
 Finish
high school
 Get married before having your first
child
 Don’t have a child before you reach
the age of 20
 Go to college
 Stay married
 Avoid alcholism/drug abuse
Theories of Stratification
 Weberian
 Functionalism
 Conflict
The Functionalist Perspective




Durkheim, Kingsley Davis &
Wilbert Moore
Feel that stratification is
inevitable and necessary for
society to function smoothly
Typically supports the
status quo
Can be summarized as
follows:



Society has several tasks that
must be filled
some positions are more
important than others
The most important positions
need to be filled by the most
qualified



positions that require
scarce talent and/or
extensive training must be
highly rewarded
The most highly rewarded
should be those that are
functionally unique
They assume that social
stratification results in a
meritocracy


a hierarchy in which all
positions are rewarded based
on people’s ability and
credentials
Ignores inequalities based
on inherited wealth,
favoritism, etc.
The Conflict Perspective

Marx suggests that capitalistic
societies consist of 2 classes:



Bourgeoisie: those who own the
means of production
Proletariat: those who sell their
labor
Always a conflict between these
2 classes

Workers (proletariat) are exploited
by capitalists (bourgeoisie)

This exploitation leads to
worker’s alienation: a feeling of
powerlessness
 Marx predicted that this
exploitation would lead to class
conflict

Eventually, the workers would
overthrow the capitalists
Marx’s View of History
Modes of Production: The 6 Epochs
Primitive
Ancient
Feudal
Capitalism
(Slave vs. Owner
(Lord Vs. Serf)
(Cap. Vs. Worker)
Socialism
Communism
The Interpretive Perspective

Max Weber felt that Marx
focused too much on
economics


Class/property/Economics



Refers to Wealth & income
This is what Marx focuses on
Party/power/politics


felt that there were other ways in
which classes could be
stratified
CEO, Senior civil servants
Status/prestige/culture

People may not have much
wealth or income but lots of
prestige

E.g. College professors, Priests
Erik Wright’s Critique of Marx

Wright assumes that these criteria can be
used to determine the class placement of
all workers, regardless of race/ethnicity,
in a capitalist society:




Ownership of the means of production
Purchase of the labor of others (employing
others).
Control of the labor of others (supervising
others on the job).
Sale of one’s own labor (being employed by
someone else).