1. Social Class: The Structure of Inequality
Ch. 7

2. I began to see a trend of articles like this one around the recession and shortly after. Ask yourself, why do people play the lotto? What kind of people play the lotto (do rich billionaires play it for example, or working/poor classes? Think critically - if there is a spike in sales of lotto tickets, what does that say about the economy, about society, about people? Desperate? Hopeful?

3. Social Stratification
Social Stratification – the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy.
System in which large groups of people are divided into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige
Exists within society
Affects our life chances and orientations to life based on our class
Unequal and relatively permanent
Social inequality – the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

4. Questions for Consideration
What are the major social classes in the U.S.?
For which class is inherited wealth most important?
How are one’s education and occupation related to one’s social class?

5. Dimensions of Stratification
The Economic Dimension
Marx viewed economics as the foundation of social classes.
Social class is determined by one’s relationship to the means of production.
Bourgeoisie – the rulers; exploit
Proletariat – those who are ruled; revolt
Classless society
Believed that all other social institutions
were based on the economic structure

6. Dimensions of Stratification
The Economic Dimension
Weber identified several different social classes based on the consequences of their relationship to the economic institution.
Wealth that consists of property (what we own) and income (money we receive).
Likelihood of achieving education,
housing, health, food, etc., based on
access to economic resources.

7. Economic Inequality in America
Some interesting statistics to hopefully piss you guys off:
“CEO Pay Jumped 11%” by Joann Lublin (WSJ)
For the past 30 years income inequality has been increasing.
The U.S. is now the most economically unequal of all major Western countries.
In 2009, 43.6 million people were living in poverty yet there were only 7 million millionaires and 800 billionaires.
Between 1990 and 2005 CEO income increased about 300% while workers income increased just 4.3%

10. Dimensions of Stratification
The Power Dimension
Power is the ability to control others, even over their objections.
Expert knowledge, special skills, fame, and social position
Mills – “Power Elite”
Big decision makers
in U.S. society

11. Dimensions of Stratification
The Prestige Dimension
Prestige is the respect or regard people give to various occupations and accomplishments.
In US occupations are the primary source of prestige.
Occupations with highest prestige:
Pay more
Require more education
Entail more abstract thought
Offer greater autonomy
Valuable = people must acknowledge it.

12. Power
Prestige
Wealth

13. Explanations of Stratification
Functionalist Theory
Stratification is inevitable
Positions have to be filled and some positions are more important than others
More important positions need to be filled by more qualified people = greater rewards
Critical Thinking – Where does Functionalist theory fall short?
Are some positions really more important?
Example: Entertainer vs. President; Electrician vs. Professor
Barriers to fair competition due to lack of access.
Example: Racial/Ethnic groups, women, the disabled etc.
Meritocracy?
Example: Best predictor of College entrance is family income not ability
Stratification is dysfunctional, thus not functional.

14. Explanations of Stratification
Conflict Theory
Stress that conflict, not function, is the basis of social stratification
Stratification exists because those with more power and wealth are willing to exploit others with less.
Critical Thinking – Where does conflict theory fall short?
Conflict theory is based on the class conflict described by Marx
Marx’s work not consistent with American system

15. Symbolic Interactionism and Stratification
Symbolic interactionists examine the way we use status differences to categorize ourselves and others.
As Erving Goffman pointed out, our clothing, speech, gestures, possessions, friends, and activities provide information about our socioeconomic status.
Social stratification persists only as long as its legitimacy is accepted.
Symbols explain the existence of stratification to the young and the reasons for people being located in particular strata.
Views of legitimacy are incorporated into an individual’s self-concept as well.

16. Theoretical Perspectives: Social Stratification

17. Stratification in American Society
U.S. Class Structure
Social class: a system of stratification
based on access to resources such as wealth,
property, power, and prestige.
Sociologists often refer to social class as
socioeconomic status (or SES); based
primarily on the possession of
money and material goods

18. The U.S. Social Class Ladder

19. Consequences of Stratification
Life Chances –probability of achieving the positive things in life.
Life Expectancy
Health/Mental health; medical care
Life Style
Family Life
Divorce
Child Rearing
Politics
Education
Criminal Justice System

20. Social Mobility
Social mobility – the movement of individuals or groups within a stratification structure.
Movement up or down the social class ladder
Difficult to do.
Minorities have been denied the opportunity for advancement
Significantly impacted by intergenerational assistance.
Upper class children = assistance from parents; less likely to move down
Lower class children = less likely to move up

21. Systems of Social Stratification - Slavery
Slavery - the most extreme form of social stratification and is based on the legal ownership of people.
Causes – old (debt, war, punishment for a crime) vs new
Conditions
Temporary
Not Necessarily Inheritable
Not Necessarily Powerless and Poor
Slavery in the New World (Early America)
Slavery Today – Modern-day slavery persists, illegally, in many forms across the globe (ex. Human sex trafficking)

22. Caste Stratification System
In a caste system Ex. India’s Religion Caste
there is no social mobility
social status is inherited
statuses are ascribed or
assigned at birth.
Apartheid – the term for the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991
Example – South Africa – Apartheid; US – Jim Crow Laws

23. Poverty
In the United States, the federal poverty line (an absolute measure of annual income) is frequently used to determine who should be categorized as poor.
The poverty threshold in 2015 for a family of four was $24,250
Most people living in poverty are not unemployed. This fact is evident in the term “working poor.”
The number of people in poverty in the United States increased from 37 million (12.6% of the population) in 2005 to 45.3 million (14.5% of the population) in 2013 (source: U.S. Census Bureau 2014).

24. Poverty in the United States by Selected Characteristics, 2013

25. Inequality & the Ideology of the American Dream
is the ideology that anyone can achieve material success if he or she works hard enough
explains and justifies economic inequality in our social system
has been criticized for legitimizing stratification by implying that everyone has the same opportunity to get ahead
This is the idea of meritocracy (that hard work is justly rewarded). This notion tells us that success or failure depends on the person, when in reality we know that there are structural advantages and disadvantages that also contribute to an individual’s success or failure. In upcoming chapters we will discuss some of these structural issues.
The American Dream is exemplified in U.S. society by “rags-to-riches” success stories.
Although once pervasive, younger Americans have begun to reject this ideology
A 2012 Poll revealed that among yr-olds:
40% believe the American Dream still exists
45% believe it “once held true, but not anymore”
10% believe it never existed
There are also differences in belief across racial groups.
The simplicity movement is a reaction to this ideology. It encourages people to work less, oppose consumerism, earn less, and spend less – placing less value with materialistic goods.

26. Poverty (cont’d.)
Absolute deprivation is an objective measure of poverty that is defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care.
Relative deprivation is a relational measure of poverty based on the standards of living.
People are considered poor if their standard of living is less than that of other members of society.
The culture of poverty refers to learned attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their situation.
Invisibility of Poverty: Residential segregation, political disenfranchisement, and the use of law enforcement to control the homeless can make poverty invisible to many Americans.
Absolute: In this case, you feel poor because you can’t meet minimal, basic needs. You are comparing your salary to the cost of living.
Relative: You might feel poor compared to others because they have more material possessions or spending power than you have. You are comparing your salary to the salary of others.