Chapter 10: Social Stratification
Modern Russia
Mikhali Gorbachev came to power in the soviet union w/ a new economic program know as the perestroika (resurrecting). Gorbachev tried to generate economic growth by reducing the inefficient centralized control of the economy which has proved to be inefficient.
The former Soviet Union
The USSR revealed the US as a military superpower in the mid/late 20th century. and as born out of a revolution in Russia (1917). the Russian Revolution ended the feudal aristocracy which nobility ruled the country and transferred farms, factories and other productive property for private ownership of state control. The Russian Revolution was guided by the ideas of Karl Marx
What does the Davis-Moore Thesis point out?
It merely points out that positions a society considers more important must offer enough rewards to draw talented people away from less important work.
Karl Marx
The sociologist who explained that most people have one of two basic relationships to the means of production: 1. They either own productive property or 2.Labor for others
What is the Kuznets curve?
This shows the greater the technological sophistication is generally accompanied by more pronounced social stratification.The trend reverses itself as industrial societies relax rigid, caste-like distinctions in favor of greater opportunity and equality under law. Political rights are more widely extended and there is even some leveling of economic differences.
Davis-Moore Thesis
This thesis states that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society. This suggest the reason for stratification exists; it does not state what rewards a society should give to any occupational position, or how unequal the rewards should be.
What are hunting and gathering societies?
With only simple technology , this society produce only what is necessary for day-to-day living.
Structural Mobiliy
a shift in social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts
Ideology
cultural beliefs, that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality.
What is the structure of the caste system?
social stratification based on ascription, or birth. This system is closed because birth alone determines a persons entire future, allowing little or no social mobility based on individual effort. People live out their lives in the rigid categories assigned to them, w/o the possibility of change for better or worse.
Meritocracy
social stratification based on personal merit
Status Consistency
the degree of uniformity in a persons social standing across various dimensions of social inequality
What is social stratification?
A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy based on four principles.
Industrial Societies
-Turning to tide -Pushing inequality downward -Promotes the need to develop individual talents, and meritocracy takes hold and weakens the power of traditional aristocracy. -Productivity also raises the living standard of the historically poor majority. -Specialized work demands schooling for all , reducing literacy.
Why was there no Marxist revolution?
1. Fragmentation of the capitalist class 2. A higher standard of living 3. More work organizations 4. Greater legal protections
What are the four principles of social stratification?
1. Social stratification is a trait of society not simply a reflection of individual differences. 2.Social stratification carries over from generation to generation. 3.Social stratification is universal but variable. 4.Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well.
