Chapter 8
Stratification,
Class, and
Inequality
Anthony Giddens
Mitchell Duneier
Richard P. Appelbaum
Social Stratification
What Is Social Stratification?
– When individuals or groups occupy unequal
positions in society based on socioeconomic
factors, it is called social stratification
– The three key aspects of social stratification
are class, status, and power
Social Stratification
What Is Social Stratification? (cont)
– All systems of stratification share three
characteristics:
• People in a category don’t necessarily know or
interact with each other but share a common
characteristic
• Life experiences and opportunities depend on
ranking of social category
• Ranks of different social categories change slowly
over time
Social Stratification
What Is Social Stratification? (cont)
– Three major types of stratification are slavery,
caste, and class
• Slavery and caste systems depend on legal or
religiously sanctioned inequalities
• Class is not “officially” recognized and stems from
economic factors
Social Stratification
Slavery
– Extreme form of inequality in which certain
people own other people as property
• Systems of slave labor are highly unstable and
usually break down because slaves resist
subjugation and because people work more
efficiently with positive incentives
Social Stratification
Caste Systems
– Position is bestowed for life at birth, rather
than achieved through personal
accomplishment
• Social status based on personal characteristics
such as race, parental religion, parental caste
• “Purity” of caste maintained by rules of marriage
required by custom or law
Social Stratification
Caste Systems (cont)
– Globalization is challenging the few remaining
caste systems
• Rigid restrictions of caste system interfere with
freedom and flexibility necessary for modern
industrial production
Social Stratification
Class
– Class systems differ from slavery and caste in
four main ways:
• Class systems are fluid—boundaries between
classes are not clear cut
• Class positions are in some part achieved—social
mobility is more common in this system
• Class is economically based
• Class systems are large scale and impersonal
Class Systems
Class (cont)
– Classes are based on inequalities in control of
material resources and access to educational
and occupational opportunities
• What are reasons for racial disparity in wealth?
History—because whites have historically had
more, they can make more and pass it to their
children
Discrimination—blacks rejected for mortgages more
often even when they have the same qualifications
as whites
Class Systems
Class (cont)
• Class and Lifestyle
Some sociologists believe lifestyle choices (how we
dress, what we eat, where we relax) are important
influences on class position
Class Systems
U.S. Class Structure
– Main class divisions are upper, middle, lower
working class, and underclass
– Who are the underclass?
• Group “beneath” the class system without access
to the world of work and mainstream behavior
Unskilled and unemployed men, poor single
mothers and their children, teenagers from welfaredependent families, homeless
Class Systems
Who Are the Underclass? (cont)
– Why have the “new urban poor” emerged?
• Globalization has moved jobs to low-wage
countries, government assistance programs are
cut back, racial discrimination exists
Inequality in the United States
Growing Gap between the Rich and Poor
– Though most people are more affluent today,
the distribution of wealth and income is still
highly unequal
• Between the early 70s and the late 90s, the gap
grew wider—globalization caused sharp increases
at the top while working families saw a drop in
income
• Ordinary workers, minorities, and single-parent
families at the bottom
Social Mobility
What Is Social Mobility?
– Social mobility is the movement of individuals
between different class positions as a result of
changes in occupation, wealth, or income
• Intergenerational Mobility—how far one moves up
or down the social scale during working life
• Intragenerational Mobility—how children rate on
the scale compared to parents or grandparents
Social Mobility
Industrialism Hypothesis
– Societies become more open to movement
between classes as they become more
technologically advanced
• Much research contradicts this hypothesis
Social Mobility
Opportunities for Mobility
– Social mobility is of limited range
• Most people remain close to the level of their
family
• But expansion of white-collar jobs has allowed for
short-range upward mobility
Social Mobility
Your Mobility Chances
– Research suggests the effect of education on
mobility opportunities has declined some in
recent years due to:
• Globalization
• The spread of new technologies
• And more competition for top-paying jobs as more
people acquire degrees
Social Mobility
Downward Mobility
• Downward mobility is less common than upward
mobility
• Recently caused by corporate restructuring due to
takeovers
• Women are more likely to experience downward
mobility because of childcare responsibilities,
especially when combined with divorce or
separation
Poverty in the United States
Measuring Poverty
– Absolute poverty: Cannot get enough to eat;
undernourished, may starve to death.
Common in poorer developing countries
– Relative poverty: Being poor compared with
standards of living of the majority; lacks
resources to maintain decent housing and
healthy living conditions
Poverty in the United States
The Poverty Line
– U.S. government calculates the poverty line
as an income three times the cost of a
nutritionally adequate diet
– This formula has critics on both sides:
• Some say the line is too high because it doesn’t
count non-cash forms of income available to the
poor
• Some believe the line is too low because it is
based on faulty assumptions
Poverty in the United States
Who Are the Poor?
– Poverty is more pronounced among
minorities, families headed by single women,
and persons lacking education
– Feminization of poverty (increase in
proportion of poor females) is especially
strong among young, uneducated women
raising children alone
Poverty in the United States
Explaining Poverty
– Two theories:
• “Blame the victim” holds individuals responsible
for their disadvantaged positions
• “Blame the system” says factors in society shape
the way resources are distributed
Social Exclusion
What Is Social Exclusion?
– Social exclusion refers to ways that
individuals may become cut off from wider
society
• People who are socially excluded, due to poor
housing, inferior schools, or limited transportation,
may be denied the opportunities for self
betterment that most people in society have
Social Exclusion
Crime and Social Exclusion
– Some sociologists see strong links between
crime and social exclusion
• Increase in poverty weakens local communities
and families face greater challenges raising
children
• Diminished job opportunities exclude poor young
people from legitimate labor market
• They turn to crime to keep up with consumer
culture
Social Exclusion
Homelessness
– One of the most extreme forms of social
exclusion
– Homeless people may be shut out of many
everyday activities
– Fastest-growing group of homeless are
families with children
Theories of Stratification
Karl Marx
– Emphasized class
• Saw fundamental split between the owners of
capital and the workers who do not own capital
• Believed maturing of industrial capitalism would
increase gap between rich and poor
• Thought wages of working class could never rise
far above subsistence level
Theories of Stratification
Max Weber
– Similar to Marx, but two main differences:
• Believed class isn’t just about who controls labor
and who doesn’t
• There are other economic differences besides
property such as people’s skills and credentials
• Distinguished another aspect of stratification—
status
Status refers to the esteem, or "social honor," given
to individuals or groups
Theories of Stratification
Other Important Theories of
Stratification
– Davis and Moore: Functions of stratification
• Social stratification ensures most qualified people
fill most important roles
– Wright: Contradictory class locations
• Classes based on control of economic resources
(control over capital, control over physical
production, control over labor)
• Contradictory class locations refers to the
positions held by those who have control over
some things but not others
Theories of Stratification
Other Important Theories of
Stratification (cont)
– Parkin: Social closure
• Social closure can be any way groups try to
maintain exclusive control over resources, limiting
access to them
Review Questions
1. Social stratification has increased throughout
human history as _____.
a)
multiculturalism has increased
b)
people have produced more wealth and more resources exist
for them to fight over
c)
caste systems have declined
d)
democratic systems of government have flourished around the
world
Review Questions
2. Which of the following is an example of a caste
system?
a)
The enslavement of Africans in the United States
a)
The hierarchy among sororities and fraternities on a college
campus
b)
The existence of upper, middle, and lower classes in a society
c)
Apartheid in South Africa
Review Questions
3. Why do whites generally have more assets than
minorities?
a)
Whites are wiser about investing their money.
b)
Whites have historically earned more money so they can buy
more assets.
c)
Whites face little discrimination in the marketplace.
d)
Whites know how to find better deals.
e)
Answers B and C
f)
Answers B and D.
Review Questions
4. The development of a new class called the
“underclass” or the “new urban poor” can be
attributed to what factors?
a)
increased unemployment among unskilled and semiskilled
workers
b)
racial discrimination
c)
cutbacks in government assistance programs
d)
All of the above
Review Questions
5. A person starting his career as a carpenter’s
assistant and over the years working his way
up to owning his own construction company
has experienced ______.
a)
intergenerational mobility
b)
structural mobility
c)
exchange mobility
d)
intragenerational mobility
Review Questions
6. A local factory closes in a small town and many
people move to seek work elsewhere; bus
service connecting the town to a nearby city is
terminated; the local high school may have to
be closed because of declining enrollment; and
two long-time retail shops are going out of
business. This scenario could be described as
an example of what?
a)
stratification
b)
absolute poverty
c)
downward mobility
d)
social exclusion
Review Questions
7. According to Karl Marx’s theory of
stratification, which of the following people
belong to the same class?
a)
auto mechanic, housekeeper, airline pilot
b)
small business owner, teacher, factory worker
c)
waitress, bus driver, CEO of an advertising agency
d)
factory owner, truck driver, daycare provider