Social Stratification

1
Social Stratification

• Chapter 7

2
Overview of Social Stratification page 186- 190

• Social Stratification- division of large numbers
  of people according to power, property, gender
  and prestige.
• This applies to nations, societies, sexes and
  other groups
• Social stratification is universal- some
  societies have greater inequalities than others
• Three systems of social stratification slavery,
  caste and class

3
Slavery

• Has been common throughout history
• Most common in agricultural societies
• Not based on racism but on debt, war, crime
• In some cases slavery was temporary and not
  inheritable
• In almost all cases slaves owned no property and
  had no power

4
Slavery in the New World

• Slaves used for labor. Indians were tried first
  but this failed so the Europeans turned to
  Africans
• Racism did not lead to slavery but slavery led to
  racism. Finding it profitable to keep slaves,
  slave owners developed an ideology to justify
  owning human beings
• Slave states passed laws that made slavery
  inheritable. Civil War did not end legal
  discrimination in the US, lasted until the 1950s
  and 60s
• Slavery exists today in West Africa. Many of
  these countries have outlawed slavery but
  continues unofficially

5
Caste

• Status determined by birth, is lifelong
• Boundaries remain firm. Practice endogamy,
  marriage within their own group
• Ritual pollution reduces contact between classes,
  contact with inferior castes contaminate superior
  castes
• India best example of the caste system, based on
  religion not race existed for over 3000 years.
• Four main castes are divided into thousands of
  other castes. Indian government officially
  abolished system in 1949, tradition are hard to
  change
• Caste based ceremonies remain part of everyday
  life (birth, marriage, death)
• Racial Caste system developed in America after
  the Civil War where African Americans were
  treated as inferior to all whites and this was
  written into law

6
Social Class and Gender

• Social Class is less rigid than caste or slavery
• Based on money and material possessions
• Begins at birth when individuals acquire their
  ascribed status, as life progresses people can
  change social class by what they achieve in life.
  No laws prohibit intermarriage or occupation
• Class system has fluid boundaries-it allows
  social mobility. The ability to move up or slide
  down this ladder is what motivates people to be
  successful in life
• Gender is the basis for stratification in all
  societies- it cuts across all systems of social
  stratification. It provides or denies access to
  the things available in society
• These distinctions always favor males

7
Global Stratification pages 190-194

• Nations are stratified by property, prestige and
  power
• Divided in to three categories Most
  Industrialized, Industrializing, Least
  Industrialized
• Many Middle Eastern countries do not fit into
  any of these categories (oil rich nations), even
  though they are non- industrialized. They buy
  technology from other countries and workers from
  other countries and use immigrant workers from
  other nations to do unpleasant, mundane tasks
• Based on measures of life expectancy, access to
  education, medical care, GDP, GNP, electricity,
  telephones, internet access and many other
  factors
• Controlling ideas, information and technology
  through ideology is a means of social control to
  maintain stratification

8
How did the Worlds Nations become Stratified?
Page 194-199

• Three theories to how the nations of the world
  became stratified- colonialism, world system
  theory, culture of poverty
• Colonialism- is the process in which one nation
  takes over another to exploit natural resources
  and labor
• Countries that industrialized first took over the
  other countries.
• Used industrial profits to build armies to invade
  weaker nations.
• Took over these countries they left behind police
  and administrative force to govern the people and
  exploit the resources
• In the 1800s Europe divided up the entire
  continent of Africa
• Economic colonies established to benefit the
  mother country.
• US established corporate colonies and let
  companies dominate the territories government
• Colonialism shaped many of the Least
  Industrialized Nations, seen in their map
  boundaries and the ethnic and tribal violence

9
World System Theory

• Immanuel Wallerstein developed the world systems
  theory that explains the economic and political
  ties that connect the worlds countries
• Industrialization led to four groups of nations-
  core nations, semi periphery, periphery, external
  area nations
• Core nations- countries that industrialized first
• Semi periphery- countries stagnated because they
  were dependent on trade with core nations
• Periphery- sold cash crops to core nations
• External nations- left out of the development of
  capitalism altogether.
• As capitalism expanded relationship among these
  nations changed
• Globalization of capitalism created extensive
  ties among worlds nations.

10
Culture of Poverty

• Economist John Kenneth Galbraith claimed cultures
  of Least Industrialized Nations hold them back.
• Some nations are crippled by culture of poverty,
  the way of life that perpetuates poverty from one
  generation to another. These groups possess
  different values and behaviors
• Cultural components include religion,
  agricultural practices
• This theory places blame on the victim (nation)

11
Why is Social Stratification Universal? Pages
199-201

• Functionalist Perspective
• Explains why stratification is universal
• Inequality is universal and this inequality
  helps societies survive
• Kingsley Davis, Wilbert Moore concluded
  stratification is inevitable because
• 1. Society must make sure certain positions are
  filled
• 2. Some positions are more important than others
• 3. Important positions are filled by more
  qualified people
• 4. To motivate qualified people, society must
  offer them greater rewards
• Concluded that society offers the greatest
  rewards for the more demanding and accountable
  positions
• Explains why stratification is universal- does
  not justify it
• How do we know that highest rewards are the most
  important?
• If society worked this way it would be a
  meritocracy
• Does not benefit everyone

12
Conflict Perspective of Social Stratification

• Conflict is the reason for social stratification
• Karl Marx believed that human history is the
  story of class struggle. Those in power use
  societys resources to benefit themselves and
  keep others oppressed
• Groups compete for the worlds resources and
  powerful nations try to maintain power
• These groups use economic, social institutions,
  military to maintain power
• According to Marx social class is based on
  peoples relationship to the means of production
  (tools, factories, land , capital used to produce
  wealth)

13
What Determines Social Class? Pages 201-203

• Marx argued access to means of production created
  class distinctions
• People were divided into the bourgeoisie and
  proletariat
• These groups developed class consciousness, a
  shared identity based on position in society and
  access to means of production.
• Property determines lifestyles, shapes ideas and
  establishes relationships
• Weber critic of Marx. Social class made up of
  three components property, prestige, power, all
  interrelated
• Property- ability to control the means of
  production, power can be used for their benefit
• Prestige- people with prestige are admired, power
  and property can come from prestige
• Power- ability to control others. Property is a
  form of power

14
Social Class in the United States pages 203-209

• Primary dimension of social class is property
• Two types- wealth and income
• Wealth- total value somebody owns
• Income- money received from job, business or
  assets
• 70 of nations wealth owned by 10 of nations
  families, 1 own one third of nations assets
• Those at the top of the income scale and those at
  the bottom experience vastly different lifestyles

15
(No Transcript)
16
Prestige

• Jobs that pay more, require more education,
  entail more abstract thought, offer greater
  autonomy
• Job prestige brings power- power elite term by C.
  Wright Mills for the top people in corporations,
  military, politics that make nations major
  decisions
• Different occupations have different levels of
  prestige (7.4 pg. 208)
• Social Class is a fact of life influences
  attitudes, life chances, friends, outlook on the
  world
• Each person tries to maximize their status.
  Mixture of high and low status creates status
  inconsistency (pgs 208-209)
• Displaying Prestige- people want others to
  acknowledge their prestige (saluting, zip codes,
  standing when somebody enters the room

17
Social Model pgs 209-214

• Sociologist Joseph Kahl, Dennis Gilbert developed
  six tier model to portray the class structure of
  the United States. Each rung of this ladder is
  determined by wealth, power, prestige, education
• Six classes are Capitalist, Upper Middle, Lower
  Middle, Working, Working Poor, Underclass

18
(No Transcript)
19
Consequences of Social Class pages 214-216

• Each class is a subculture with different
  approaches to life. Class influences family life,
  education, religion, political views, health
• Family Life- choice of husband or wife in
  capitalist class influenced by parents, lower
  classes tension of everyday life leads to more
  divorce
• Education- increases as one goes up the ladder in
  social class, privileged classes more likely to
  graduate from college
• Politics- Rich and poor have different political
  views, people at the bottom of the social
  structure less likely to be politically active
• Religion- Classes cluster around different
  denominations. Lower classes more attracted to
  expressive worship services. People often change
  their religion when they move up in social class
• Physical health- lower social class, shorter life
  expectancy. Two tier medical system in the US
  higher social class can afford better medical
  care, lower classes have more unhealthy
  lifestyle, rich have more resources to deal with
  problems
• Mental Health- more stress on lower classes they
  have more mental health problems, upper classes
  have greater control over their lives, key to
  good mental health

20
Social Mobility pages 216-216

• Why do people climb the social ladder and what
  affects their chances?
• Three types of social mobility
• Intergenerational mobility- change family members
  make from one generation to the next. It can be
  upward or downward
• Structural mobility- movement on the social
  ladder due to changes in the structure of society
• Exchange mobility- when the same number of people
  move up and down the social ladder so the class
  system shows little change

21
Poverty pages 218-221

• Twenty percent of the US population finds the
  American Dream elusive
• US government determines poverty line as less
  than three times of a low cost food budget, this
  is the official measure of poverty and is an
  inadequate measure of poverty
• Poverty is determined by many factors- geography,
  race- ethnicity, education, age, family structure

22
Geography

• Poverty is greater in the south and in rural
  areas than other areas of the country

23
Race and Ethnicity, Elderly, Children

• Whites less likely to be poor than Latinos or
  African- Americans, but whites are higher in
  number
• Elderly are less likely than other groups to live
  in poverty
• Children more likely than elderly or adults to
  live in poverty

24
Education

• Only two percent of people that finish college
  end up in poverty, 20 for high school dropouts

25
Head of Household

• Families least likely to be poor have two parents
• Households headed by single mothers have higher
  rates of poverty
• Association of poverty and single women is known
  as the feminization of poverty

26
Culture of Poverty

• Poor tend to get trapped in a culture of poverty,
  attitudes and beliefs keep them poor
• Most poor in America are poor for a year or less
  and eventually move out of poverty

27
Why are people poor?

• Sociologists have two theories-
• social structure denies access
• characteristics of individuals contribute to
  living in poverty (blames victim)
• Horatio Alger Myth- late nineteenth century
  author wrote rags- to- riches stories about the
  belief that limitless possibilities exist for
  everyone. If you dont make it is your own fault
• Myth helps stabilize society, makes it an
  individual problem- not societys
• Reduces pressure to change