Chapter 7 Class and Stratification in the U.S.

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Chapter 7Class and Stratification in the U.S.

• What Is Social Stratification?
• Global Systems of Stratification
• Classical Perspectives on Social Class
• Sociological Models of the U.S. Class Structure

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Chapter 7Class and Stratification in the U.S.

• Inequality in the United States
• Poverty in the United States
• Sociological Explanations of Social Inequality in
  the United States
• Social Stratification in the Future

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Stratification

• Patterns or structural inequity in societies.
• Associated with financial status, race/ethnicity,
  gender and age.

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Systems of Stratification

• Slavery
• Caste Systems
• Class Systems

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Characteristics of Slavery

• Slavery is inherited and lasts for life.
• Slaves were considered property not human
  beings.
• Slaves were denied rights.
• Coercion was used to keep slaves in their place.

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Caste System

• Sustained by cultural beliefs and values.
• Grow weaker as societies industrialize.
• Vestiges of caste systems often remain for
  hundreds of years beyond the time when they were
  abolished.

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Perspectives of Social Class

• Marx - Class position is determined by peoples
  relationship to the means of production.
• Weber - Developed an approach that focused on the
  interplay among wealth, prestige and power in
  determining class.

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The Weberian Model of the U.S. Class Structure

• The Upper Class - comprised of people who own
  substantial income-producing assets.
• The Upper-Middle Class - based on university
  degrees, authority on the job, and high income.
• The Middle Class - a minimum of a high school
  diploma or a community college degree.

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The Weberian Model of the U.S. Class Structure

• The Working Class - semiskilled workers, in
  routine, mechanized jobs, and workers in pink
  collar occupations.
• The Working Poor - live just above to just below
  the poverty line.
• The Underclass - includes people who are poor,
  seldom employed, and caught in long-term
  deprivation.

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Marxian Criteria for Class Structure

1. Ownership of the means of production.
2. Purchase of the labor of others (employing
   others).
3. Control of the labor of others (supervising
   others on the job).
4. Sale of one's own labor (being employed by
   someone else).

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Marxian Model of the Class Structure

• Capitalist Class - composed of those who have
  inherited fortunes, own major corporations, or
  are corporate executives who own stock or control
  company investments.
• Managerial Class - upper-level managers,
  supervisors and lower-level managers who may be
  given some control over employment practices.

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Marxian Model of the Class Structure

• Small-Business Class - small business owners,
  craftspeople, and professionals who hire a small
  number of employees but largely do their own
  work.
• Working Class - blue-collar workers and
  white-collar workers do not own the means of
  production.

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Functionalist Explanation for Social Inequality

• The Davis-Moore thesis
• Societies have tasks that must be accomplished
  and positions that must be filled.
• Some positions are more important than others.

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Functionalist Explanation for Social Inequality

• The Davis-Moore thesis
• The most important positions must be filled by
  the most qualified people.
• Positions that are the most important and require
  the most training must be the most highly
  rewarded.

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Functionalist Explanation for Social Inequality

• The Davis-Moore thesis
• The most highly rewarded positions should be
  those which are functionally unique and those
  positions upon which others rely for expertise,
  direction, or financing.

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Conflict Explanations of Social Inequality

• Inequality does not serve as a source of
  motivation for people.
• Powerful individuals and groups use ideology to
  maintain their positions at the expense of
  others.
• Laws and informal social norms support inequality
  in the United States.