SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction Richard T. Schaefer SOCIOLOGY: A Brief Introduction Sixth Edition McGraw-Hill © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE 9 STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE Understanding Stratification Stratification by Social Class Social Mobility Stratification in the World System

STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE 9 STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE Case Study: Stratification in Mexico Social Policy and Stratification: Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe

Understanding Stratification Systems of Stratification Ascribed Status: social position assigned to person without regard for that person’s unique characteristics or talents Achieved Status: social position attained by person largely through his or her own effort .

Understanding Stratification Systems of Stratification Slavery Most extreme form of legalized social inequality; Enslaved individuals are owned by other people Castes Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, that tend to be fixed and immobile Estates Estate System: Feudalism; required peasants to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection .

Understanding Stratification Systems of Stratification Social Classes Class System: social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility .

Understanding Stratification Systems of Stratification Social Classes Rossides (1997) uses five-class model to describe U.S. class system: Upper class Upper-middle class Lower-middle class Working class Lower class .

Understanding Stratification Figure 9.1: Household Income in the United States, 2002

Understanding Stratification Perspectives on Stratification Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation Social relations depend on who controls the primary mode of production .

Understanding Stratification Perspectives on Stratification Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation Capitalism: economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits Bourgeoisie: capitalist class; owns the means of production .

Understanding Stratification Perspectives on Stratification Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation Proletariat: working class Class Consciousness: subjective awareness of common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about change False Consciousness: attitude held by members of class that does not accurately reflect their objective position .

Understanding Stratification Perspectives on Stratification Max Weber’s View of Stratification No single characteristic totally defines a person’s position with the stratification system Status Group: people who have the same prestige or lifestyle Class: group of people who have similar level of wealth and income Power: ability to exercise one’s will over others

Understanding Stratification Perspectives on Stratification Interactionist View Interactionists, as well as economists, interested in the importance of social class in shaping a person’s lifestyle Veblen noted those at the top of social hierarchy typically spend part of their wealth on conspicuous consumption or conspicuous leisure

Understanding Stratification Is Stratification Universal? All societies maintain some form of social inequality among members Functionalist View Social inequity is necessary so people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions. .

Understanding Stratification Is Stratification Universal? Conflict View Human beings are prone to conflict over scarce resources such as wealth, status, and power Stratification will inevitably lead to instability and to social change Dominant Ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests .

Understanding Stratification Is Stratification Universal? Lenski’s Viewpoint As a society advances technologically, it becomes capable of producing surplus goods Emergence of surplus resources greatly expands the possibilities for inequality in status, influence, and power Allocation of surplus goods and services controlled by those with wealth, status, and power reinforces social inequality .

Understanding Stratification Figure 9.2: Around the World: What’s a CEO Worth? Source: Towers Perrin in A. Bryant 1999:Section 4, p.1

Understanding Stratification .

Stratification by Social Class Measuring Social Class The Objective Method Class largely viewed as a statistical category based on Occupation Education Income Place of residence .

Stratification by Social Class Measuring Social Class The Objective Method Prestige: respect and admiration an occupation holds in society Esteem: reputation specific person has earned within an occupation .

Stratification by Social Class Measuring Social Class Gender and Occupational Prestige Focus on individual as the basis of categorizing a woman’s position. Woman classified based on her occupational status rather than that of her spouse Multiple Measures Advances in statistical methods and computer technology have multiplied factors used to define class .

Stratification by Social Class Continued… Source: J. Davis et al. 2003. .

Stratification by Social Class Continued… .

Stratification by Social Class Wealth and Income Income in U.S. distributed unevenly Wealth in U.S. much more unevenly distributed .

Stratification by Social Class Poverty Absolute poverty: minimum level of subsistence that no family should live below Approximately 1 out of every 9 people in the U.S. lives below poverty line Relative poverty: floating standard by which people at the bottom of a society are judged as being disadvantaged in comparison to the nation as a whole .

Stratification by Social Class Figure 9.3: Comparison of Distribution of Income and Wealth in the U.S. Source: Income data (household) are from Bureau of the Census (DeNavas-Walt et al. 2004:4). Data on wealth are from Wolff 2002. .

Stratification by Social Class Poverty Who Are the Poor? Not a static social class Majority of poor live in rural areas Since World War II, increasing proportion of poor of the U.S. have been women Known as feminization of poverty Underclass: long-term poor who lack training and skills .

Stratification by Social Class Continued… .

Stratification by Social Class Continued… .

Stratification by Social Class Poverty Explaining Poverty Herbert Gans identified social, economic and political functions that poor perform Menial jobs at low cost Creates jobs for those that serve poor Punishment of the poor as deviants upholds the legitimacy of conventional social norms Existence of poor guarantees the higher status of the more affluent Poor often absorb the costs of social change

Stratification by Social Class Poverty Life Chances Class closely related to people’s life chances—their opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions and favorable life experiences In times of danger, affluent and powerful have best chance of surviving Class position affects people’s day-to-day health

Stratification by Social Class Figure 9.5: Health Status of the Poor and Non-poor, 2000 Source: National Center for Health Statistics 2002:192.

Social Mobility Social Mobility: Movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society’s stratification system to another .

Social Mobility Open versus Closed Stratification Systems Open and closed stratification systems indicate the amount of social mobility in a society Open System: position of each individual influenced by the person’s achieved position Closed System: allows little or no possibility of moving up .

Social Mobility Types of Social Mobility Horizontal Mobility: movement within same range of prestige Vertical Mobility: movement from one position to another of a different rank Movement can be upward or downward Intragenerational Mobility: changes in social position within a person’s adult life .

Social Mobility Social Mobility in the United States Occupational Mobility Common among males Although great deal of mobility in U.S., much of it is minor .

Social Mobility Social Mobility in the United States The Impact of Education Education plays critical role in social mobility Represents an important means of intergenerational mobility .

Social Mobility Social Mobility in the United States The Impact of Race Class system is more rigid for African Americans than for other racial groups The cumulative disadvantage of discrimination plays a significant role in this disparity. African American middle class grew over last few decades Downward mobility significantly higher for Blacks than Whites

Social Mobility Social Mobility in the United States The Impact of Gender Women’s employment opportunities more limited than men’s Women whose skills far exceed jobs offered to them are more likely than men to withdraw from paid labor force .

Stratification in the World System The Legacy of Colonialism Colonialism: when a foreign power maintains of political, social, economic, and cultural domination over a people for an extended period of time Neocolonialism: continued dependence on more industrialized nations for managerial and technical expertise by former colonies

Stratification in the World System The Legacy of Colonialism Wallerstein’s World Systems Analysis Unequal economic and political relationships in which certain industrialized nations and their global corporations dominate core of the system Dependency Theory: even as developing countries make economic advances, they remain weak and subservient to core nations and corporations

Stratification in the World System The Legacy of Colonialism Globalization: worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and the exchange of ideas Multinational Corporations: commercial organizations headquartered in one country doing business throughout the world

Stratification in the World System Figure 9.6: Gross National Income per Capita, 2002

Stratification in the World System Figure 9.7: World Systems Analysis at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Stratification in the World System The Legacy of Colonialism Functionalist View Multinational corporations can actually help developing nations Through international ties, multinational corporations make nations of the world more interdependent

Stratification in the World System The Legacy of Colonialism Conflict View Multinational corporations exploit local workers to maximize profits Some research shows that foreign investment by multinationals initially contributes to host nation’s wealth but eventually increases economic inequality within developing nations

Stratification in the World System

Case Study: Stratification in Mexico Mexico’s Economy North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened U.S. consumer market Collapse of peso and competition from China undercut benefits Although Mexico is unquestionably a poor country, gap between its richest and poorest citizens is one of the widest in the world .

Case Study: Stratification in Mexico Race Relations in Mexico: The Color Hierarchy Law on Indian Rights and Culture Allows 62 recognized Indian groups to apply own customs in resolving conflicts and electing leaders Social class linked to appearance of racial purity .

Case Study: Stratification in Mexico The Status of Women in Mexico Constitute 42% of labor force More mired in lowest-paying jobs than counterparts in industrial nations Often not recognized as active and productive household members even whey they work outside the home Have begun to organize .

Case Study: Stratification in Mexico The Borderlands Recognition of borderlands reflects increasingly close and complex relationship between Mexico and U.S. From Mexican point of view, U.S. too often regards Mexico as a reserve pool of cheap labor .

Case Study: Stratification in Mexico The Borderlands Many Mexicans who have come to U.S. send some part of their earnings back, called remittances Estimated at a minimum of $15 billion a year .

Social Policy and Socialization Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe The Issue Governments in all parts of world searching for right solution to welfare. How much subsidy should they provide? How much responsibility should fall on shoulders of poor? .

Social Policy and Stratification Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe The Setting In 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act was passed in the United States Ended long-standing federal guarantee of assistance to every poor family that meets eligibility requirements .

Social Policy and Stratification Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe The Setting Other countries vary widely in their commitment to social service programs .

Social Policy and Stratification Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe Sociological Insights Backlash against welfare recipients reflects deep fears and hostility toward the nation’s urban and predominantly African American and Hispanic underclass. Tax breaks and other “corporate welfare” granted by the government for corporations should be examined closely. Many sociologists tend to view debate over welfare from conflict perspective .

Social Policy and Stratification Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe Policy Initiatives There are some success stories in the new “workfare” program of the United States. Prospects for hard-core jobless faded as boom passed and economy moved into recession .

Social Policy and Stratification Rethinking Welfare in North America and Europe Policy Initiatives European governments encountered same citizen demand as in North America—keep taxes low In North America and Europe, people are beginning to turn to private means to support themselves .