Chapter Eight: Social Class in the United States

2 Chapter Overview What is Social Class? Consequences of Social Class What is Social Class? Consequences of Social Class Social Mobility Poverty Social Mobility Poverty

Social Class in the United States Americans’ consciousness of class Understanding Social Stratification  Class position and influence  A form of inequality in which categories of people are systematically ranked in a hierarchy based on access to scarce but valued resources. Social Differentiation  How people are set apart for differential treatment as a result of their statuses, roles, and other social characteristics.  Sets the stage for social inequality People’s unequal access to wealth, power, and prestige. 3 What is Social Class?

Social Class in the United States Marx View on Social Class  Great disparity between owners and workers Means of Production Weber’s View on Social Class  Social class is not about ownership of the means of production.  Wide range of specialized skills the give people power, prestige, or property. Today social class is defined along Weber’s Theory What is Social Class?

Social Class in the United States What is Social Class? A large group of people who rank close to one another in:  Wealth  Power  Prestige Determining Class Ranking Influences people’s life chances or opportunities

Social Class in the United States 6 Components of Social Class WEALTH Primary dimension of social class The total value of everything someone owns.  Property  Income Difference between Wealth & Income  Have much Wealth, but little income  Have much Income, but little wealth

Social Class in the United States 7

Power The ability of an individual or group to attain goals, control events, and maintain influence over others—even against the face of resistance.  Power elite Top corporate, political, and military leaders who make the nation’s major decisions. 1% families that own 33% of $31 trillion.  Class reproduction Cultural capital Social capital Economic capital Components of Social Class

Social Class in the United States The approval and respect an individual receives from other members of society.  Occupational prestige  Jobs that have greater levels of prestige: 1.Generally pay more 2.Entail more abstract thought 3.Require more education 4.Have greater autonomy  Displaying prestige  Status Inconsistency People who have a mixture of high and low rankings in the three components of social class (wealth, power, and prestige). Components of Social Class

Social Class in the United States Gilbert and Kahl  Capitalist Class  The Upper Middle Class  The Lower Middle Class  The Working Class  The Working Poor  The Underclass 11 Sociological Model of Social Class

Social Class in the United States 12

Social Class in the United States Family Life  Choice of Husband or Wife  Divorce Education Religion Mental Health Physical Health 13 Consequences of Social Class

Social Class in the United States Intragenerational Mobility- changes in an individual’s social ranking over the course of his or her lifetime Intergenerational Mobility - a change that occurs between generations – can be either upward or downward  Upward social mobility  Downward social mobility  Findings  Factors that influence status attainment 14 Types of Social Mobility

Social Class in the United States Structural Mobility – a change in the social structure that causes a large number of people to move either up or down the social class ladder 20th century: three factors were important to occupational advancement and the vast expansion of the middle class 1. Improved technology 2. Low birthrates among those at the top of the social hierarchy 3. Large-scale immigration Types of Social Mobility

Social Class in the United States Poverty line  Created in the 1960’s to determine who was poor  People who have to spend 1/3 of their income to buy food.  Unreliable: there is no real measurement to determine how many people in the US are poor.  By 2005, over 33 million Americans (12% of the population) had incomes below the poverty line Because of the high turnover, the percentage of people who experience poverty each year is closer to 20%  The group least likely to live in poverty are the elderly  The biggest subgroup living in poverty in the U.S. are children  Feminization of Poverty – the association of poverty with women, especially single parent households headed by women 16

Social Class in the United States

Most of the Nation’s poor live in rural areas (in the south) 42 % of the poor live in the inner cities

Social Class in the United States Education  Only 3 out of 100 people who graduate college are poor.  More than 1 out of 5 H.S drop outs are poor  Applies to all racial/ethnic groups

Social Class in the United States Culture of Poverty Lifestyles and Values of the poor make them different from those who are not poor. Most Poverty is Short-lived – people are constantly moving in and out of poverty Number of Poor Relatively Stable 20 Dynamics of Poverty

Social Class in the United States

Two competing points of view: 1)Social Structure – the components of the social structure play a strong contributing factor in the poverty rate 2)Characteristics of Individuals – people are poor because of their own attitudes Sociologists tend to focus on components in the social structure to explain poverty 23