Lecture: 6 Social Stratification and Global Stratification

Stratification

When people at one level of society (stratum) have different access to social rewards than people at another level, the society is said to be stratified. Social stratification: Structure of inequality of entire categories of people who have different access to social rewards as a result of their status in the social hierarchy. Social stratification affects the manner in which scarce resources and social rewards are distributed among different social categories.

Intragenerational mobility

is the vertical movement of the individual through his or her adult life. mvm't within a particular lifetime

Endogamy

marriage between people of the same social category Endogamous, people marry within their own caste.

intergeneration mobility

refers to vertical movement comparing a daughter with her mother or a son with his father.

biological inferiority

theories, such as Social Darwinism, attribute the cause of inferiority to biological differences. • This view holds that because of this inferiority, some groups at a natural disadvantage in the competition for wealth, power and prestige.

middle class

upper middle class -educated professionals -lawyers, engineers, doctors -not just money, but the relationship to the work/day world upper middle and up are least effected by the wage gap ________________________________ old middle class -small business owners -certified plumber, electrician -- but own their own business -quickest fleeting class old middle and below most effected by the wage gap _______________________________ lower middle class -clerks -hired hand -(pink color workers) -administrative assistants

working class

upper working -require some kind of training -apprenticeship -surveyor -plumber -carpenter ___________________________________ lower working -jobs you can walk into today and 5 min from now have it mastered -flagger for construction -might be temp. might not have health insurance _____________________________ underclass -working poor -unemployed

closed societies

virtually no chance of moving up or down in the class system i.e. Caste system in India

episodic poverty

As defined by the Census Bureau, being poor for at least two consecutive months in some time period

Conflict View

Assumptions: • Stratification stems from a fundamental conflict between the needs and interests of the powerful in society and those of the weak • The powerful take advantage of their position at the top of society to stay at the top, even if it means oppressing those at the bottom • They can heavily influence the law, the media, and other institutions in a way that maintains society's class structure • In explaining stratification, conflict theory emphasizes ideology • Ideology: A set of beliefs that supports the status quo

structural mobility

mobility resulting from changes in a society's occupational structure (e.g. steelworkers retraining in lower paying jobs after steel mills close) The extent of social mobility within a society depends on two factors: • The total amount of mobility a society can support • The conditions under which people are permitted to be mobile.

vertical mobility w/ example

moving either upward or t. (e.g. custodian's kid becoming a doctor)

objective measures

of social class - We classify people according to one or more criteria such as their occupation, education, and/or income

subjective measure

of social class - We ask people what class they think they are in

upper class

old rich - people whose age of wealth goes back a generation or more -rockefeller's of all of the classes, this is the one people people will not interactive with quietly go and don't rock the boat exclusive club ______________________________________ new rich - the age of the money is newer flamboyant, show-offish

open societies

have more vertical mobility you can move up or down i.e. The United States

Systems of Stratification

stratification system vary in their degree of mobility slavery estate system caste system class system

global stratification 1st world

• Wealthy nations • The most industrialized nations • They comprise about 20% of the world's population, they hold about 80% of the world's entire wealth • They are the leading nations in finance and information technology • People in wealthy nations are more educated and more healthy, and they enjoy longer lives • They use up more than their fair share of the world's natural resources • Their high level of industrialization causes them to pollute and contribute to climate change

social class

A number of persons occupy the same relative economic rank in the stratification system.

ideology

A set of beliefs that supports the status quo

Functionalism

Explaining Stratification Functionalist Explanation carrot/stick • The assumptions of the functionalist explanation of stratification: • Some jobs are more important than other jobs • Some jobs require more skills and knowledge than other jobs • Relatively few people have the ability to acquire the skills and knowledge that are needed to do these important, highly skilled jobs • To induce the people with the skills and knowledge to do the important, highly skilled jobs, society must promise them higher incomes or other rewards

economic inequality

Extent of the economic difference between the rich and the poor • When the gap between the rich and the poor is large, much economic inequality exists • When the gap between the rich and the poor is small, relatively little economic inequality exists • The United States has a very large degree of economic inequality • The degree of inequality in the US is the largest in the industrialized world • Economic inequality in the United States has increased during the last two decades • The loss of manufacturing jobs and changes in taxation and income distribution policies since the early 1980s have favored the rich and hurt the economic standing of the middle class and the poor • After adjusting for inflation, the post-tax income of the nation's wealthiest families grew by a much greater amount than that for the poorest families from 1979 to 2005

Marx explanation of stratification

History is seen as a series of class conflicts between the exploiters and the exploited. • Marx saw conflict as the means of social change - this is slow change.

vertical mobility

Movement up or down through a society's stratification system

social differentiation

Process of categorizing persons by age, height, occupation, or some other personal attribute. (Eitzen)

social stratification

Structure of inequality of entire categories of people who have different access to social rewards as a result of their status in the social hierarchy. • When people are ranked in a vertical arrangement (hierarchy) that differentiates them as superior or inferior, we have social stratification.(Eitzen) • Social stratification is the system of structured inequality among different groups of people. (Giddens, 1991)

life chances

The chances throughout one's life cycle to live and to experience the good things in life. (Eitzen) • Different strata have different life chances or a different likelihood of realizing certain standard of living. • Social stratification affects the manner in which scarce resources and social rewards are distributed among different social categories. • Societies can be stratified on a number of variables such as class, race, and gender

poverty line

The government's measure of official poverty, based on the cost of a minimal diet for a family multiplied by three

culture of poverty

The poor generally have beliefs and values that differ from those of the non-poor and that doom them to continued poverty

Explaining Poverty Functional Theory of Stratification

The poor have personal problems and deficiencies that are responsible for their poverty *it's their own fault • The poor are thought to be biologically inferior (Past view) • The poor lack the ambition and motivation to work hard and to achieve (Present view) *cultural deprivation view? • Culture of poverty - The poor generally have beliefs and values that differ from those of the non-poor and that doom them to continued poverty

Explaining Global Stratification modernization theory

The view that global stratification results from a failure of poor nations to have the beliefs, values, and practices necessary for industrialization and rapid economic growth

Explaining Global Stratification Dependency theory

The view that global stratification results from colonization and exploitation of the poorest nations by the richest ones

caste system

based on the rigid placement at birth into unequal groups on one's parents' status, with not chance of moving out of these groups • Rigid, • People are lifetime members of the caste into which they are born. • Endogamous, people marry within their own caste. • Ascribed, a person has no control over his status, • There are severe sanctions for violations of the rules, • Rituals which control contact between different castes. closed system brahmans - priests and scholars kshatrys - soldiers and warriors vaisyas - merchants and professionals sudras - laboureres and servants

horizontal mobility

change within a lifetime from one status to another one of roughly equal status. (e.g. Plumber to a carpenter)

estate system

characterized by control of land and common during feudalism • Estates refer to the feudal system in Europe and in other traditional societies. • Birth gave certain responsibility and legal rights. first estate - clergy second estate - nobility, gentry third estate - commoners kings nobles knights peasants open system

class system

contains unequal groups but with relatively high degree of social mobility open system -more flexibility a person's status usually results from economic factors -economic position of the breadwinner in the family determines the family's position within the social hierarchy -status is achieved -mvm't between classes because of -ind. achievement -large scale and impersonal

slavery

the ownership of people slavery in the US - open • People are owned as property by others • Rights of slaves differ from those of non-slaves • Inefficient since it requires force which is actively and passively resisted • Has almost completely disappeared in the world a statesponsored economic system • NYTimes estimates that 45 million people were held in slavery in 2016; 25% are children

Who is the typical poor person in the U.S.?

• "The real explanation of why the poor are where they are is that they made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents, in the wrong section of the country, in the wrong industry, or in the wrong racial or ethnic group" (Harrington, 1963:21).

Reducing U.S. Poverty: What Sociology Suggests

• A sociological understanding of poverty emphasizes its structural basis • Poverty is rooted in social and economic problems of the larger society rather than in the lack of will power, laziness, or other moral failings of poor individuals themselves • To reduce poverty: • Adopt a national "full employment" policy for the poor involving federally-funded job training and public works programs • Increase federal aid for the working poor, including earned income credits and child care subsidies for those with children • Establish well-funded early-childhood intervention programs, including home visitation by trained professionals, for poor families • Improve the schools that poor children attend and the schooling they receive and expand early childhood education programs for poor children • Provide better nutrition and health services for poor families with young children • Strengthen efforts to reduce teenage pregnancies

Deficiency Theories

• Charles Murray, along with Richard Herrnstein, wrote The Bell Curve (1994), • Latest revival of Social Darwinism. • Takes the view that heredity plays the most important part in determining one's intelligence. the IQ test is used as a measure of intelligence. • Criticisms of the biological views: • Overlooks the important contribution of social class to achievement on IQ tests. • IQ tests are biased towards the middle class. • Implication is that poverty is inevitable. Early nutrition programs, (WIC) for example, are shown to help equalize children's performance.

Explaining Stratification Conflict Explanation

• Conflict theorists regard conflict over values and group interests as an inherent quality of society. • History is seen as a series of class conflicts between the exploiters and the exploited. • Marx saw conflict as the means of social change • Rather then seeing stratification as a way to insure the most important positions are occupied by the best people, conflict sees the positions occupied by the upper classes are the ones that become the best rewarded. • Motivation and ability are insignificant to ones position within the social hierarchy. • *Of greater importance is one's ascribed status which carries with it different life chances.

Criticisms of the Conflict Approach

• Inability to explain stable aspects of social hierarchy • Too oriented around economics • Research does not show that those in power always act in their own self-interests • Conflict does not always result in change

Structural Theories

• Institutional Discrimination occurs "when the usual ways of doing things, prevailing attitudes and expectations, and accepted structural arrangements work to the disadvantage of the poor..." (Eitzen) • Seniority, for example, protects the oldest workers and puts the youngest workers (more minority members) at risk of layoff. • "The real explanation of why the poor are where they are is that they made the mistake of being born to the wrong parents, in the wrong section of the country, in the wrong industry, or in the wrong racial or ethnic group" (Harrington, 1963:21). • Institutional discrimination results in less opportunities in areas of education, employment and income for minorities. • It is easily argued that the playing field is uneven as a result of institutional discrimination.

Criticism of the Functionalist Explanation

• It is difficult to compare the importance of many types of jobs • The functionalist explanation implies that the most important jobs are paid the most money and the least important jobs the least money, but many examples counter this view • The theory implies that people move up the economic ladder based on their abilities, skills, knowledge, and their merit - This view ignores the fact that much of our stratification stems from lack of equal opportunity • It does not justify the extremes of wealth and poverty found in the United States and other nations functionalism says the cream rises but that is not always true

Global Stratification 2nd world

• Middle-income nations • They are less industrialized than wealthy nations but more industrialized than poor nations • There is much variation in income and wealth within the middle-income category • Divided into upper-middle-income nations and lower-middle

Effects of Global Stratification

• People in the poorest nations live in the worst conditions • AIDS, malaria, starvation, and other deadly diseases are common • Many children die before reaching adolescence • Many adults die before reaching the middle age • Many people are illiterate • Rates of infant mortality are shockingly high

Cultural Inferiority Hypothesis

• Poor are qualitatively different from the non-poor. • These differences create a different value system and lifestyles for the poor. • Continued poverty results from this cultural difference. In Eitzen's words, • "The poor, in adapting to their deprived condition, are found to be more permissive in raising their children, less verbal,more fatalistic, less apt to defer gratification, and less likely to be interested in formal education than are the more well-todo." (Harrington, 1963)

Global Stratification 3rd world

• Poor nations • The least industrialized and most agricultural of all the world's countries • People in live a desperate existence in the most miserable conditions possible • People suffer from AIDS and other deadly diseases, live on the edge of starvation, and lack indoor plumbing, electricity, and other modern conveniences

Deficiency Theories

• Some groups of people continue to be disadvantaged from one generation to the next. Deficiency theories look to some flaw within these groups to explains their inferiority. • Biological inferiority theories, such as Social Darwinism, attribute the cause of inferiority to biological differences. • This view holds that because of this inferiority, some groups at a natural disadvantage in the competition for wealth, power and prestige. • Arthur Jensen argues that "there is a strong possibility that Blacks are less well endowed mentally than are Whites." • From his review of the research on IQ, he claimed that approximately 80 percent of IQ is inherited, while the remaining 20 percent is attributable to environment.

Effects of Poverty

• The poor are at greater risk for family and health problems • Poor children often go to run-down schools with inadequate facilities where they receive inadequate schooling • The poor are more likely to be homeless and live in dilapidated housing and unable to buy their own homes

poverty

• To measure poverty, a poverty line is needed • Poverty line: The government's measure of official poverty, based on the cost of a minimal diet for a family multiplied by three • To understand the extent of poverty, consider episodic poverty • Episodic poverty: As defined by the Census Bureau, being poor for at least two consecutive months in some time period i.e. seasonal jobs

Explaining Stratification Symbolic Interactionism

• Tries to understand stratification by looking at people's interaction and understandings in their daily lives • It examines the differences that stratification makes for people's lifestyles and their interaction with other people How do they define themselves within the social hierarchy how do they judge others

Explaining Poverty Conflict Theory of Stratification

• U.S. poverty stems from problems in American society that lead to lack of equal opportunity, these problems include: • Racial, ethnic, gender, and age discrimination • Lack of good schooling and adequate health care • Structural changes in the American economic system