Systems of
Stratification
{
Chapter 9, Section 1

Division of members in a society into
separate categories, ranks or classes.

Different systems of stratification:
Caste system
 Class system

Social Stratification
Resources and rewards are distributed
based on ascribed status. The status of a
child is determined by their parents’ status.
 Can a person move up to a higher status
under this system? Very unlikely
 Members practice endogamy- marrying
within a class, and not exogamy– marrying
outside of class.

Caste Systems
The_Caste_System.mp4
Caste Systems (India)

Distribution of resources and rewards is
determined on the basis of achieved status.


Marx believed that it was based on who owned
means of production.



Gives control over one’s place.
Bourgeosie= own production in capitalistic society.
Proletariat= sell labor for wages.
Most major industrialized nations (such as the
U.S. have a class system)
Class Systems
Weber expanded upon Marx’s ideas.
 Three factors determining class:

Property (wealth)
 Power
 Prestige
 Social class= grouping of people with similar
levels of three factors.

Class Systems (cont’d)

Wealth
Assets: value of everything owned.
 Income: money earned through salaries,
investments, etc.


Power


Ability to control the behavior of others, with
or without their consent.
Prestige

Respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an
individual receives from other members of
society.
Three Factors of Social Stratification
Prestige scores– NORC 1989
Occupation
Prestige
Chief executive or general
administrator, public
administration
70.45
Manager, medicine and health
69.22
Architects
73.15
Aerospace engineer
69.22
Chemical engineer
73.30
Civil engineer
68.81
Engineer (not elsewhere
classified)
70.69
Computer systems analyst or
scientist
73.70
Physicist or astronomer
73.48
Chemist
73.33
Geologist or geodesist
69.75
Physical scientist, not
elsewhere classified
73.09

Rating that combines social factors such
as education level, occupational prestige,
and place of residence with income.
 Helps determine an individual’s
position in the stratification system.
Socioeconomic status (SES)

Functionalist




Necessary feature of society
Society is maintained through roles that must be
performed.
Leads to different rewards.
Failures:



Not everyone has equal access
Talented people in lower classes
Conflict
 Class exploitation of resources control over
other classes.


Once power is attained, it is maintained.
Failures:


Unequal rewards based on talent, skills, desire, etc.
Not everyone can fulfill every job.
Explaining Stratification

Ralf Dahrendorf


Use the two theories to explain different aspects
of stratification
Gerhard Lenski

Theories apply to different types of societies:
simple society functionalist; complex
conflict
Notable Sociologists
The American
Class System
Chapter 9, Section 2
What classes exist? 1995
What classes exist? 2010
Determining Class
- Three methods
1) Reputational method= members in a given
community rank other members based on their
knowledge of character and lifestyle.
- Better for studying small communities where everyone knows
everyone well.
2) Subjective method= people determine their own
social rank. People generally said ‘middle’ class.
- Why?
3) Objective method= sociologists define class based
on income, occupation, and education.
- Least biased method
The Classes- 6 total
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Upper Class
Upper Middle Class
Middle Class
Lower Middle Class
Lower class/The Working Class
The Underclass
Classes
• The Upper Class
o 1% of the population
o Old money v. new money
o Old money= inherited rich; families who have shaped the
U.S. (i.e. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Duke, Morgan, etc.)
o New money= newly rich who have acquired money
through own efforts, not inheritance.
• The Upper Middle Class
o High-income businesspeople and professionals
o College education, advanced degree
o Very career-oriented.
Classes (cont’d)
• The Lower Middle Class/Middle Class
o White-collar jobs (i.e. work that does not require manual
labor)
o Less education than those held by Upper Middle Class
o Comfortable life, but must work to keep it maintained.
• The Working Class
o Manual labor jobs– blue collar jobs
o Can pay as much or more than Lower Middle Class jobs,
but do not carry the prestige.
o Pink-collar jobs– fields where women have previously
dominated.
Classes (cont’d)
• The Working Poor
o
o
o
o
Lowest-paying jobs.
Temporary or seasonal work
Some depend on government support programs
Not involved politically
• The Underclass
o Families experiencing unemployment and poverty for
generations
o May have a job, but very low-paying
o Day-to-day struggle
Social Mobility
• Social mobility= movement between or within social
classes.
• Three types:
1) Horizontal mobility= movement within a class.
Occurs when you move from one job to another in
same social ranking.
2) Vertical mobility= movement between social
classes.
3) Intergenerational mobility= a type of vertical
mobility. When a person’s class of origin (i.e. their
parents’) is different from their current one.
Causes of Mobility
• Upward mobility:
o Advancements in technology
o Changes in merchandising patterns
o General education level of a population
• Downward mobility:
o Personal factors– illness, divorce, family death,
and retirement.
o Changes in the economy
Poverty
Chapter 9, Section 3
Chapter 9, Section 3
What is it?
• Poverty= standard of living that is below the
minimum level considered adequate by society.
o Poverty differs from country to country.
• Approximately 11% of the U.S. population live
below the poverty level.
o Poverty level= minimum annual income needed by a
family to survive.
o Calculated by the Dept. of Agriculture’s minimum
nutritional diet cost x3.
o Do you only need just food to survive?
American Poverty- Broken
down by characteristics
• Age
o Children have the largest percentage in poverty
(<18 years poverty rate = 35%)
• Sex
o 57% of the poor are women.
o Women head about 50% of poor households
• Race and Ethnicity
o African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to
live in poverty
o African Americans have poverty rates almost two
times as high as for the US as a whole.
The Effects of Poverty
• Life chances= the likelihood that individuals have
of sharing in the opportunities and benefits of
society.
o Health
o Length of life
o Housing
o Education
• Life expectancy= average # of years a person
born in a given year can expect to live.
Behavioral patterns
differ…
• Divorce rates higher in low-income families
• Greater likelihood of being arrested for
committing violent crimes
o Also means that poor people are more likely to
be the victims of crime.
Government Responses
• Lower poverty rates for elderly individuals
• Implementation of social welfare programs
o Transfer payments= redistribution of money
collected through taxes to groups that provide
monetary public assistance.
• Examples: Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
o Government subsidies= transfer of goods and
services rather than cash.
• Examples: Food Stamp program, free and reduced
lunch, Medicaid
Government Responses
• Creation of a ‘welfare class’= those
relying on government assistance for
income rather than working.
o Welfare reform began in 1996 limited time
for certain assistance programs
o However, nearly 1/3 of those who left welfare
were back on within 2 years