Chapter 8 Social Stratification: Class, Ethnicity, and Racism Variation in Degree of Social Inequality Egalitarian Societies Rank Societies Class Societies Racism and Inequality Ethnicity and Inequality The Emergence of Stratification Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Variation in Degree of Social Inequality Social Stratification Social groups, such as families, classes, and ethnic groups, have unequal access to important advantages: Economic resources Power Prestige Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Variation in Degree of Social Inequality Egalitarian societies Rank societies Class societies Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table 8-1 (p. 136) Stratification in Three Types of Societies Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Egalitarian Societies Egalitarian societies contain no social groups with greater or lesser access to economic resources, power, or prestige. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Rank Societies Rank societies contain social groups that do not have very unequal access to economic resources or power, but they do have unequal access to prestige. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Class Societies Fully stratified or class societies range from somewhat open to virtually closed class, or caste, systems. Open Class Systems Recognition of Class Caste Systems Slavery Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 8-1 (p. 141) Proportion of National Income Earned by the Richest 20 Percent of Households Compared with the Poorest 20 Percent: Selected Country Comparisons Source: These data are abstracted from 2001 World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: The World Bank, 2001, pp. 70-73. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Class Societies Open Class Societies Class systems are referred to as open if there is some possibility of moving from one class to another. Degree of Openness Degree of Inequality Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Class Societies Caste Systems are characterized as extremely rigid and closed systems, with caste membership permanently determined at birth. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Class Societies Slavery has existed in various forms in many times and places, regardless of “race” and culture. Slavery has ranged from closed class systems, or caste systems, to relatively open class systems. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Racism and Inequality Race as a Construct of Biology Racism is the belief that some “races” are inferior to others. Race as a Construct of Biology Race as a Social Category Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethnicity and Inequality Ethnicity refers to common origins and language, a shared history, and selected cultural differences, such as difference in religion, that characterize a group of people. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Emergence of Stratification Social stratification appears to have emerged relatively recently in human history, about 8,000 years ago based on archaeological evidence. Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.