Socio-economic Class A SYSTEM BY WHICH A SOCIETY RANKS CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE IN A SOCIAL HIERARCHY

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASS SYSTEMS IT IS A TRAIT OF SOCIETY IT PERSISTS OVER GENERATIONS SOCIAL MOBILITY HAPPENS SLOWLY IT IS UNIVERSAL

What is Social Class? Social class - a large group of people who rank closely to one another in wealth, power, and prestige. These elements separate people into different lifestyles. Social class provides people with different chances, and different ways of viewing the world.

Class Class in America Upper class – the elite with great wealth who dominate the economic system, born wealthy. Lower upper class – recently ascended to the upper class, not born wealthy. Middle class – upper-middle class-professionals with high paying jobs in respected occupations lower-middle class- the skilled who work in moderately compensated occupations, and who own few assets Lower class – working who do not earn enough to accumulate wealth, but who may be able to purchase a home and vehicle etc… lower-lower class -is made up of those who are not educated (college and sometimes high school) and live in the less desirable parts of the community because of low costs of rent. They typically do not own a home. The lowest of the poor live at subsistence level or below, are chronically unemployed, and are sometimes homeless.

Determinants of Social Class Power - the ability to carry out your will despite resistance. The power elite - those who make the big decisions in U.S. society. Power lies in the hands of the few. Wealth - consists of property and income. Wealth and income are not the same. Some have wealth but little income. Prestige - respect or regard Class ranking is persistent across cultures and time. People display prestige through status symbols. Education-higher education allows for better position/higher income in most circumstances. If it does not result in higher income, it does allow for increased respect.

Socioeconomic Mobility Social Mobility - Movement of individuals or groups within a stratification structure