Social stratification, social class, and regionalism August 25, 2004

Social order and differentiation  How is social order maintained in the face of social differentiation?  Differentiation occurs first of all on the basis of ascriptive characteristics: sex, age, strength, etc.

Social order and differentiation, cont.  There is no social group, no matter how small, in which the individuals who comprise the group are equivalent.  Dyad  Triad  Which is the more stable?

Differentiation at the societal level  Social class  Marx’s definition: relationship to the means of production  Importance of social class  Social mobility  Structural and perceptual indicators

Inequality of income distribution  Definition of inequality of income distribution:  The ratio of total income received by the 20% of the population with the highest income (top quintile) to that received by the 20% of the population with the lowest income (lowest quintile)

Income inequality statistics  Income inequality:  EU4.4  Italy4.8  UK4.9  US13.6 Countries with lowest ratios? EUROSTAT

Perceptual indicators of inequality  “Differences in income in my country are too high”  Italy53%  US27%

Perceptual indicators of inequality  For getting ahead in life:  “Coming from a wealthy family is very important  Italy40%  US14%

Perceptual indicators  “Having political connections is very important”  Italy55%  US 9%  “Hard work is very important”  Italy57%  US89%

Income inequality and social class  Income inequality isn’t the only determinant of social class differentiation.  WHAT ELSE MATTERS?

Social class, cont.  Cultural division of labor  “Familial” division of labor

Occupational distribution  Employment by sector in Italy  Services66% (EU 70)  Industry30% (EU 25)  Agriculture 4.8% (EU 4.2)

Unemployment rates  Italy9.4  EU7.4  UK5.0  US6.4  Of persons less than 25 years of age  Italy 28%  EU15%

Poverty in Italy  12% of households and 13% of individuals live in poverty. How is poverty distributed?  By region  65% in South (33% of households are in the S)  23% in North (48%...)  12% in Center (18%...)

Poverty in Italy  Other social characteristics  Size of household  Presence of children  Age  Sex  Education

Conclusion  Social stratification and social class are relevant at all levels of analysis  For an individual  For a group  For a region  For a country IMPORTANT DETERMINANT OF A COUNTRY’S STATUS IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, ATTAINMENT OF A GROUP, LIFE CHANCES OF AN INDIVIDUAL