1. Module 26: Systems of Stratification
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

3. Source: Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2016

4. Rich and poor neighborhoods of Houston
Source:

7. Systems of Stratification
Social inequality: situation in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power
Stratification: structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society
Income: salaries and wages
Wealth: inclusive term encompassing all a person’s material assets

8. Figure 26-1: The 50 States: Contrasts in Income and Poverty Levels8

9. Systems of Stratification
Four general systems of stratification—slavery, castes, estates, and social classes—as ideal types useful for purposes of analysis
Ascribed status: social position assigned to person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics
Achieved status: social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts

10. Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibits slavery in all forms
More people enslaved today than in world history
Developing countries – Bonded labors
Europe and US – guest workers

11. Four Forms of Stratification
Slavery: individuals owned by other people, who treat them as property
In Ancient Greece, slavery was practiced, but it was flexible
In the US and Latin America – Ascribed status

12. Canada Has A Migrant Worker Mistreatment Problem Posted: 04/18/2016
2014 Human Rights Watch report:
"Domestic migrant workers, almost all women, are especially vulnerable. In addition to the problems the general migrant worker population face, they are also subject to verbal, physical, and in some cases, sexual abuse. Some are not allowed to speak to strangers or are locked up in the homes where they work. Many do not receive a day off. They are not afforded any protection under Qatari labour law."

13. Maids in Asia and the Middle East
Threatened, assaulted, trapped: Asia's treatment of domestic workers laid bare
Victims of Human Trafficking – estimates (600,000 – 800,000)

14. Table 26-1: Human Trafficking Report14

15. Caste System – Ascribed Status

16. Caste-like systems

17. Estates – Feudal Societies
Estate system, or feudalism: peasants worked land leased to them in exchange for military protection and other services

18. Social Classes
Class system: social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility
Unlike caste system, class system is more flexible
Class standing heavily dependent on family and ascribed factors
Race, ethnicity

20. 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

21. Social Classes Upper and Lower Classes Middle Class
Upper class: 1% to 2% of U.S.
Very wealthy
Lower class: 20% to 25% of U.S.
Lacks wealth and income and politically weak
Middle Class
Upper-middle class: 10% to 15% of U.S.; includes professionals
Lower-middle class: 30% to 35%; includes less affluent professionals

22. Social Classes Factors contributing to shrinking size of middle class:
Disappearing opportunities for those with little education
Global competition and advances in technology
Growing dependence on temporary workforce
Rise of new growth industries and nonunion workplaces

23. Social Classes Working Class 40 to 45% of U.S. population
People who hold regular manual or blue-collar jobs
Some may have income above those of the lower- middle class

24. Social Classes Occupy Wall Street
Class Warfare
Occupy Wall Street
Political leaders began to speak of class conflict
Gulf between rich and everyone else in U.S. grew over last 50 years
Rich just as likely as poor to say class conflict exists

25. Divided We Stand – Why Inequality keeps Rising
The United States has the fourth-highest inequality level in the OECD, after Chile, Mexico and Turkey (2012)
The main reason for widening inequality in the US is the widening wage gap.
Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Report on global inequality(2012)

26. Conflict theory
Conflict theory provides a powerful lens through which to view inequality.
Source: en.wikipedia.org

27. Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation
How economic activity is organized is a key to understanding inequality
Social relations depend on who controls the primary mode of production
Capitalism: means of production held largely in private hands, and main incentive for economic activity is accumulation of profits
Bourgeoisie: capitalist class; own the means of production
Proletariat: working class

28. Marx – Conflict theory
Marx considers human history as a series of struggles between classes
Exploitation of workers – to allow greater profits for the owners of means of production
The clash between the owners and the workers and revolutionary change was inevitable

29. Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation
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

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

31. Interactionist Perspective
Interactionists interested in importance of social class in shaping a person’s lifestyle
Veblen: top of the social hierarchy typically convert part of their wealth into conspicuous consumption—purchasing goods not to survive but to flaunt superior wealth and social standing

32. Is Stratification Universal?
All societies maintain some form of social inequality among their members
Functionalist Perspective
Social inequality necessary so people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions
Does not explain the wide disparity between rich and poor

33. Is Stratification Universal?
Conflict Perspective
Human beings prone to conflict over scarce resources such as wealth, status, and power
Stratification major source of societal tension
Leads to instability and social change
Dominant ideology: set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests

34. Module 27: Stratification by Social Class
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

35. Stratification by Social Class
Sociologists generally rely on the objective method to determine a person’s class position – Occupation, Education, Income and place of residence
Prestige: respect and admiration an occupation holds in society
Esteem: reputation a specific person has earned within an occupation

36. Table 27-1: Prestige Rankings of Occupations36

37. Objective Method of Measuring Social Class
Gender and Occupational Prestige
Past studies of social class tended to neglect occupations and incomes of women as determinants of social rank
Multiple Measures
Socioeconomic status (SES): measure of social class based on income, education, and occupation

38. Income and Wealth Income in U.S. distributed unevenly
Modest redistribution of income past 80 years
Redistribution has not always been to the benefit of poor or middle class
Past 30 years of tax policies tended to accentuate trend toward income inequality
Wealth in U.S. much more unevenly distributed than income
White households now have 18 times the median wealth of Latino households and 20 times that of Blacks

39. Paul Samuelson’s description of Income Inequality
“If we made an income pyramid out of building blocks, with each layer portraying $500 of income, the peak would be far higher than Mount Everest, but most people would be within a few feet of the ground”
Income data:
US Median income in $51,000
Breaking income by quintiles (fifths)

40. Figure 27.1: Mean Household Income by Quintile40

41. Who are at the peak?
15,000 households (0.01 of taxpayers) – make 11 million/year
They control 6% of the nations total income
The rise of finance: The wealthiest 0.01 percent include many folks from the world of finance - hedge-fund billionaires in a variety of areas.
The richer you are, the more likely your riches come from stocks, not salary," (Derek Thompson of the Atlantic) - The very wealthy aren't so much well-paid as well-optioned
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the wealthiest 400 people derived half their income from capital gains.

42. Figure 27-2: Distribution of Wealth in the United States42

44. Module 28: Poverty and Social Mobility
Sociology in Modules
Richard T. Schaefer
3rd edition

45. Figure 28-1: Poverty in Selected Countries45

46. Poverty and Social Mobility
Studying Poverty
Absolute poverty: minimum level of subsistence that no family should live below
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

47. Persons in family/household Poverty guideline
HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2016
See also the Federal Register notice of the 2016 poverty guidelines, published January 25, 2016
2016 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR THE 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Persons in family/household
Poverty guideline 1
$11,880 2
16,020 3
20,160 4
24,300 5
28,440 6
32,580 7
36,730 8
40,890

48. Studying Poverty – 15% US population (47 million )
Who Are the Poor?
Many poor adults do work outside the home (but minimum wage)
Majority live outside of urban slums
Feminization of Poverty
Since World War II, increasing proportion of poor in U.S. have been women
The Underclass
Long-term poor who lack training and skills

49. Table 28-1: Who Are the Poor in the United States?49

52. The underclass Urban poor – living in big cities
Long-term poor – limited skills and training
Residence in extremely impoverished areas
Greater exposure to crime and health risks
38% Black, 30% Hispanic, 26% white non-Hispanic
Not a static class – there is some mobility
Black and Hispanics more likely to be persistently poor.

53. Explaining Poverty
Gans (1995) : poverty and the poor satisfy positive functions for many non-poor groups – various segments of the society benefit from the existence of the poor
Society’s dirty work performed at low cost – construction workers
Creates jobs that serve the poor - Caseworker
Upholds conventional social norms – hard work pays
Guarantees higher status of more affluent
Poor absorb costs of social change – deinstitutionalization of mental health.

54. Life Chances
Max Weber saw class closely related to people’s life chances
Life chances: opportunities to provide material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experience
133,000 – deaths attributed to poverty and another 119,000 to income inequality
Wealth, status: provide additional ways of coping with problems and disappointments
Economic story of the Titanic – 62% first class passengers survived
What about Hurricane Katrina

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

56. Open versus Closed Stratification Systems
Open system: position of each individual influenced by the person’s achieved status
Closed system: allows little or no possibility of moving up
Slavery and caste systems

57. Types of Social Mobility
Horizontal mobility: movement within same range of prestige
Vertical mobility: movement from one position to another of a different rank
Intergenerational mobility: changes in children’s position relative to their parents
Intragenerational mobility: social position changes within person’s adult life

58. Social Mobility in the United States
Occupational Mobility – 60-70% sons employed in higher ranked occupations than fathers. However, mobility is in small measures
The Impact of Education – poor children with college education still find it hard to reach the top – “Cultural Capital”
The Impact of Race and Ethnicity – class system is much rigid for African Americans. Greater downward mobility
The Impact of Gender – gender roles