SOC Exam 1
The Top 12 Solutions to Cut Poverty in the United States
1. Expand safety net programs to benefit all in need 2. Create good-paying jobs that meet family needs 3. Raise the minimum wage to ensure economic stability for all 4. Provide permanent paid family and medical leave and paid sick days 5. Increase worker power to rebalance the labor market 6. Make permanent increases to the child tax credit and earn income tax credit 7. Support pay equity to create a fair labor market 8. Invest in affordable, high-quality childcare and early childhood education 9. Expand access to health care 10. Reform the criminal justice system and enact policies that support successful reentry 11. Invest in affordable, accessible housing 12. Modernize the Supplemental Security Insurance program
Countries With the Most Billionares: 2007-2017
•2007: -U.S. -Germany -Russia -India -U.K •2017: -U.S. -China -Germany -India -Russia
Social stratification
•A social hierarchy involving ranking people on the basis of some socially important characteristic such as wealth, prestige, power, or race •It has hierarchal orders of groups or individuals (class and caste systems) -Higher class or caste groups enjoy more privilege and power •The unequal distribution of scarce resources in such a way as to create enduring rankings of positions that can be distinguished in terms of their respective shares of scarce resources
Functionalist Perspective
•A sociological approach that emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to maintain its stability. •Order and harmony are central concepts •Stability of the institutions, society, etc •Well integrated parts, e.g. economic, education, family as institutions work well together (schools, the workplace socialize individuals for careers, etc.) •Parts are functional (contribute to maintenance of society) •Consensus of values
Conflict Theory
•A sociological theory that views conflict as inevitable and natural, and as a significant cause of social change •Power, competition, and tension are central concepts •Change is ever present in society and its institutions •Dissensus and conflict •Societal parts including various institutions contribute to disintegration and then change •Coercion of some by others
Social Welfare Programs in the U.S.
•Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) •Supplemental Security Income (SSI) •Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) •Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) •Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), including Pass through Child Support •General Assistance (GA)
The Dominant American Ideology
•An individual is to be self-reliant and hard-working: Contrary to many industrial nations, most Americans believe that the United State is a meritocracy in which an individual's hard work coupled with equality of opportunity determines the position that person occupies in the economic system •People believe that a person earns her or his social position and social rewards on the basis of performance and qualifications •50% to 3/4 of respondents think they have a good chance to become rich if they are "willing to work hard" •The dominant ideology in the United States often blames individuals for not being successful to achieve upward mobility, e.g. you didn't work hard enough, or you gave up to easily •Most often the individual alone is responsible for his or her or their plight, e.g. they are poor as a result of their own lack of effort •The dominant ideology explains and rationalizes the discrepancies in power and wealth in a society •The belief in individual achievement tends to minimize the effect that structural factors has/have on the determination of a person's overall success in life •Self-reliance components of the dominant American ideology best accounts for the strong anti-welfare bias in U.S. society •Critiques argues that the belief in liberal capitalism is one of the components of the dominant ideology in the United States
The Ruling Class or Establishment - Edward Digby Baltzel
•Baltzell believed that a ruling class is socially beneficial and, hence, is entitled to special privileges •He does not see inner group at the top of the social hierarchy •Unlike Dumhoff, Baltzell believed a ruling class is socially beneficial: -A noble autocracy, socialized into accepting its leaderships role and conscious of its social obligation •Baltzell argues that the upper class has increasingly become a type of caste whose members are almost exclusively concerned with protecting their privileges and status
Understanding and Interpreting Poverty
•Biological: Darwinism suggests that certain types and categories of people are biologically predisposed toward poverty - something is in genes •Cultural view: It is primarily the lifestyle and values of the underclass that caused their personal poverty - often blaming the poor for being poor •Poor people will only overcome poverty if they follow the norms of the dominant culture •Structural view: Factors outside the realm of individual behavior contribute to poverty •Functional view: Poor people serve a positive social purpose because they create jobs for social workers and police, they can serve as scapegoats for many social problems, they help reinforce the appropriateness of mainstream norms and values
Theories
•Broad assumptions about society and social behavior that provide a point of view for the study if specific issues/context •Sociologists build on those assumptions/hypothesis. -Sociologists use the tools of reason of logic and empirical evidence to build theories •Thus, theories are intellectually and empirically guided concepts/frameworks that help us to understand structural invisibleness and socio-cultural embeddedness
Ralf Dahrendorf's Perspectives
•Class conflict and position are based on authority relations. However there is always conflict and consensus in the society •Authority is dichotomous in nature: You either have it or you don't •Authority is the cause of having two and only two conflict groups •Two conflict groups exist within any imperatively coordinated association (hierarchal organization or group with rules and positions of authority) •There are only two general aggregates of authority positions: Domination and subjection •Classes are social conflict groups and can be important agents in helping bring about structural changes within a society •Dahrendorf partially agrees with Marx on social classes as elements of change (a category of social structure), see conflict groups and their clashes as forces change •Disagrees with Marx's notion of class conflict and revolution (Disagrees that the rise of the proletariat is inevitable) •Social classes and class conflict: Unlike Marx, classes do not always manifest antagonistic groups or tend to =manifest conflicts. Institutionalization of class conflict is quite likely rather than revolution •Property and social class: Ownership and factual control are now separated, control is more important now (CEO's, executives, etc.), relations of authority and power are the main criterion of class rather than ownership of the means of production, economic classes only a special case of class as category •Industry and society: Political state and industrial production are two essentially independent associations •Social roles and their personnel: Marx supplemented that class conflict exists due to the distribution of authority in social organization. One's social role is based on differences in legitimate power •Distinction of capitalist v industrial society: For Dahrendorf, capitalism is merely one form of industrial society
Marx's Prediction Did Not Come True Because...
•Class struggle has not become more acute in advanced capitalist societies •Workers have settles for an accommodation with the capitalist system e.g. labor union and rise of Middle Class •Ownership of means of production become more dispersed e.g. the rise of stock ownership •The countries that have undergone a socialist revolution bear little resemblance to what Marx predicted •In advanced capitalist societies such as the United States, the fundamental social division appears to be a racial, ethnic, and gender one, not class only
Critiques of Max Weber
•Critiques argue that focusing on multidimensional inequality may undermine the very idea of class divisions in a capitalist economy
Stratification Systems
•Depending on the society, stratification systems are structured to either impede or facilitate movement from one stratum to another -Generally,, social mobility is higher in industrial nations •Open societies: In most western countries such as the United States, Canada, and much of western Europe, the class system is open and offers opportunities for mobility •Closed societies: People tend to believe that inequalities is the product of deities, not humans, and therefore it is not within human capacity to change that system or anyone's place in it •In stratification systems in closed societies, people's status is generally determined at birth •For example, caste system is more strict in South Asian context - people cannot change their caste regardless of wealth, income, talent, ambition, and other success in life •Endogamous marriage practices, segregation between castes, inherited status are some of the core characteristics of case systems of stratification in Indian subcontinent •The maintenance and stability of the caste system in the Indian subcontinent is primarily based on the idea of reincarnation "Past Life Karma" •Caste-based stratification system was also prevalent in other countries/regions e.g. race-based in the U.S. (The "Jim Crow" system), marginalized Burakumin in Japan, apartheid in South Africa •After slavery was abolished in the United States, it was replaced by some form of caste system of stratification in the southern states
The Levels of Sociological Analysis
•Descriptive -Actual nature and extent of inequality (who gets what types of resources in the society) •Explanatory -Why various forms of inequality exist and why the processes that produce inequality occur •Prescriptive -Policy application of knowledge gained through sociological mode. Sociological perspective, or lens, is used to bring social change
The Power Elites or Governing Class - G. William Domhoff
•Domhoff asserted that the upper class is essentially a ruling class •He believed that the corporate rich become transformed into a social upper class through their social interaction •There is an apparent relationship between those (1) who own or control a disproportionate share of the society's wealth (2) those who exercise control over major corporations (3) those who greatly influence the governmental elites
The Power Elites - Thomas Dye
•Dye suggests there are about seven thousand positions occupied by approximately six thousand power elites (inner groups) •However, Dye does not believe that there is a close connection between the wealthy and the powerful in U.S. society •Institutional wealth is more important than personal wealth, control of institutions as most critical •Dye does not see the upper class as a key to recruiting ground for political leaders •While Mills and Domhoff believed that personal wealth is the crucial basis for access to and the influence of political power, Dye sees control of institutional wealth as most critical •Although Dye's analysis does not subscribe to the notion of a close link between the wealthy and the powerful, his concept of an inner group is similar to Domhoff's conception of a governing class •Although many of his conclusions are noticeably different, Dye conceptualizes the power elites in much the same way as Mills and Domhoff
Use of Poverty - The Poor Pay All Day by Herbert Gans
•Economic functions of poverty -The poor do the dirty work -The poor subsidize economic activities -Work for low wages (maid, etc) -Pay greater proportion of income for sales tax -Poverty creates jobs (social workers, etc. who service the poor) -The poor buy goods others do not want •Social Functions -The poor person labeled deviant to uphold social norms -They are made an example of to encourage others to follow the rules, work hard, etc. -Cultural function - Subculture created by those who are poor: Blues, country music, etc. -The poor guarantee other people's status and mobility -The poor keep the aristocracy busy (charities) -The poor absorb the costs of change and growth, e.g. they live in areas that ma be condemned or eminent domain used so that highways, interstates etc. may go through their neighborhoods
Classes in America
•Educational level shapes the range of potential occupations, which in turn influences the level of income received •The American social classes are categorized as upper, upper middle, lower-middle, working, working poor, and underclass •The major source of income for members of the upper class is investments •It is perceived that the skills of the upper-middle class (e.g. Lawyers and Physicians) are critical to the functioning of the major social institutions •Education often distinguishes members of the upper-middle class from other classes more than any other factors •In the past 50 years, the most expanding group is the upper-middle class •Most Americans believe that they are in the middle class •The upper class with the smallest percentage of Americans is on the top of the ladder •The super rich (the wealthiest 1% of the population) owns all the net worth in the United States which is more than 1/3 -1% of their households average income is 225 times than of the median income •The working poor are most liekly to be employed in the service industries and they often take unskilled positions •The poorest 20% of households in the United States earn approximately less than 4% of the total income in the country •Approximately 14% of U.S. households have annual incomes of less than $10,000 •The upper class has benefited the most from changes in the distribution of wealth and income •The opportunities for advancement for most American families were greatest during the period of 1950-1970
Factors Contributing to Middle Class Melt Down
•Globalization and the rise of neoliberalism as a political ideology have a great deal to do with changes in middle class life •Neoliberalism: promotion to free market, reduce trade barriers, and global movement of capital and labor to different parts of the worlds •This movement has produced a global 'race to the bottom' which investors search the world for the most favorable investment environments, disinvesting in the industrial nations and moving to developing countries with cheap labor and less regulations •Growing productivity in the 1980's, worker productivity rose but earnings did not •Middle class did not gain much from the growing productivity but the wealthy and executives •Government tax policies, theoretically macro economics policies should promote economic stability and steady growth •Easily available consumer credits: -Starting in the 1980's, the geregulations of the banking industry and a shift in population targeted by the banking and the credit indutry drastically changed the availability and implications of consumer credits •The widespread availability of personal credit cards (often at exorbitant interest rates), homes equity loans, 'no money down' car loans and leases have changed the landscape of middle class finances •Investors and lenders have profited while the middle class has become trapped in a work and spend cycle that shows little signs of abating •Modern television, movies, and music glorifying glamorous lifestyles and unconventional 'get rich quick' ways of making money •Corporate media plays a major role in shaping consumer behavior •Declining unions: corporations discourage unionization •Neoconservatives have abandoned the adherence to balanced budgets and had long been a cornerstone of conservative policy •Since the 1980's, a combination of tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation, corporate tax avoidance, and an overall shifting of tax burdens onto earned income (and away from unearned income) have hurt the economic standing of middle class Americans •During the same time the costs of maintaining a middle class lifestyle has continued to rise, and owning a home, buying a car, paying for college, obtaining healthcare, affording daycare, and retiring have become increasingly difficult
Role of the Government
•Government can influence the distribution of income and wealth in society though taxation, tax spending, and regulation •The government's role in influencing the business cycle was most active during the Great Depression •Through fiscal policies the federal government can narrow the gap between the rich and the poor comprehensively •Progressive taxes can benefit the financially less fortunate members of the society on the other hand regressive taxes can benefit rich people •Taxation, tax spending, and regulation are viewed as fundamentals of the welfare state •The welfare benefits for the poor reached a peak in 1960's, with their greater political consensus (1946-1973, referred to as the Golden Age of the American economy) •Through macroeconomic policy, the federal government can make the income tax more progressive, e.g. more taxes for rich •Government actions and policies can have a significant impact on how income can be distributed, e.g. changes in fiscal policy in the 1980's have resulted in a substantial redistribution of income upward •During the Clinton years, taxes top income rates were raised which helped expand the economy and reduce national debt •Direct spending from the government, e.g. the distribution of transfer payments and various services to people have the greatest direct impact on the class system •Affirmative action programs and policies such as the Morrill Act of 1862, the Homestead Act of 1862, and the G.I. Bill of Rights have contributed to the expansion of the middle classes in the United States •The Morrill Act has provided for the establishment of colleges and universities for the children of workers and farmers
Lenski's Synthesis
•Humans are social by nature and thus live with others as members of society (cooperation for survival) •Unselfish behavior occurs most often on minor issues only, people are predominantly self-seeking •Most rewards people value are short in supply, no fixed satiation point •There is a struggle for rewards in every human society •Humans are "unequally endowed by nature" •Humans are powerfully influenced by habit and custom •Humans are basically goal seeking •Primary goal is survival, then things like health, prestige, comfort, etc •Money, education, and wealth are instrumental goals •Societies are also self-seeking: Want to minimize rate of internal political change and want to maximize production and resources on which production depends •Laws of Distribution: People share the product of their labors to the extent required to ensure survival (Law of Need) and power will determine the distribution of nearly all of the surplus (Law of Power)
Ideology and the Legitimization of Inequality terms
•Ideology: A set of beliefs and values that rationalizes a society's unequal distribution of power and wealth •Legitimation: The process by which this set of beliefs and values, or ideology, comes to be accepted by most people and groups in a society •The Marxist View: Legitimation, can occur due to ideological hegemony on the art of the ruling group and due to false consciousness on the part of the nonruling groups •The Elitist View: Legitimation occurs when the ruling group rationalizes its power in some way that is accepted by the masses -This could involve recourse to claim divine right, biological superiority, moral superiority, and even racial superiority •The Functionalist View: The functionalist view states that legitimation occurs when a consensus of values arises among a society's populace -Once the non-dominant group accept the ideology, it is said to possess legitimacy because the people willingly accept the unequal distribution of wealth and power
The Welfare State in Comparison
•In comparison to Canada and western Europe, the welfare sate in the United States covers fewer people •A primary reason the gap between the rich and the poor is narrower in western European countries is that the U.S. welfare system is less redistributive than others •Citizens in other industrial societies have more trust in their governments than the United States •The Americans have a stronger belief in individualism and have less trust in the government •The labor unions are much strongest in other capitalist societies than in the U.S. •Median income is higher in the U.S. than in most other developed nations, but a much higher percentage of families are poor relative to the median •Considering the difference between the U.S. and other capitalist industrial societies in the nature of their welfare states, it can be said that citizens in other countries are more concerned with equality of condition that U.S. citizens
Occupation and Political Affiliation
•In recent past, much of the job growth has been in low-wage service industries •Most Americans today are employed in the service sector of the economy •Working classes are less active mainly because there is no socialist or labor political party in the United States •The Upper-Middle class is highly active in politics
Enslavement
•In the Middle Ages, the European societies were typified by the estate system of stratification •Slavery has been a historically persistent form of inequality throughout most of human history •The legal enslavement of blacks in the United States was a system of paternalistic domination •Some argue that the Brazilian form of slavery was typified by less brutal treatment of slaves •Modern slavery prevails in the forms of debt bondage, forced labor in the sex industry, the enslavement of black Africans
The Old Rich and The New Rich
•In the U.S. the upper class began to develop in the late 19th century •The old rich have money that has been in their families for generations (it is inherited wealth) and that likely was made as the nascent U.S> industrial economy expanded rapidly at the end of the 19th century •The old rich tend to spend their money in muted rather than ostentatious ways and to live more exclusive lifestyles, from which they may attempt to exclude members of the new rich •The primary division among the wealthy is between those who inherit their wealth and those who earned it more recently •Most of the new rich have earned their fortunes in their lifetime, many in the knowledge and information industries •The new rich are more prone to engaging in conspicuous consumption and conspicuous leisure and are not as well embedded in the social networks of the upper class
Income and Wealth
•Income includes wages, rents, interest and dividends, alimony, and government transfer payments - measured over a period of time •Wealth is the value of one's assets after debts are subtracted and includes property owned, such as equity in a home, stocks bonds, cash, and other material - usually measured at a point in time •Wealth is a better indicator of financial health not only because it can be used to earn income but also because it can replace income in times of economic crisis
Has the Cost of Election Increased or Decreased
•Increased
Social Mobility
•Intergenerational mobility: People's class positions are compared with their parents, e.g. parents worked as unskilled workers whereas their children moved to various managerial and executive positions •Intragenerational mobility: During their lifetime, people's movements are observed and measured, e.g. someone works at grocery stores but in a few decades is the owner of multiple grocery stores •Vertical mobility: The movement of people up or down the class hierarchy, e.g. not all mobility are upward, contributed by multiple factors people lose jobs and businesses •Horizontal or lateral mobility: Changing positions, e.g. a professor leaving Iowa State University and joining the University of Iowa or choosing different occupations •It is argued that lateral mobility often does not result in much economic gain, prestige, or power •Most people not experiencing movement from one social class to another, most likely to be upward, and likely to be short-range are some of the core characteristics of individual mobility in the United States •Most mobility in the United States is primarily the result of structural factors •When someone experiences upward mobility as a result of changes in the opportunity structure, this is an example of structural mobility •Studies of mobility in the United States reveal that 50% or more of the population does not experience upward mobility
Social Inequality
•Involves social evaluation -The assignment of a relative value to the characteristics that are differentiated •It is the uneven distribution of resources and opportunities, or unequal rewards/opportunities, for different individuals within a group, or groups within a society -Economic, racial and ethnic, and gender inequalities •Membership in different social classes produces different life chances, which results in an inequality of opportunity •Sociologists argue that social institutions, like education, operate to assure and maintain the position of various groups
What is Social Reproduction Theory in Relation to Other Theories
•It is built on the conflict model of society •It focuses on outlining the process by which the social class structure is maintained or reported •It explains how societal institutions perpetuate the social relationships and attitudes needed to sustain the existing relations of production in a capitalist society
Social Reproduction Theory
•It tries to shed light on the specific mechanisms and processes that contribute to the intergenerational transmission of social inequality •It defines barriers to social mobility •It attempts to show how and why America cannot be considered a land of opportunity for all •Involves the process by which individuals in a stratified social order come to accept their own position and the inequalities of the social order as legitimate •It challenges the achievement ideology that say individual merit and achievement are the fair and equitable sources of inequality in America/societies •The regulation of aspirations is perhaps the most significant of all mechanisms contributing to social reproduction •Marx would refer to those that accept the ideology that maintains that individual merit and achievement are the fair and equitable sources of inequality of American society as having "false conscious" •Weber sees achievement ideology as a "myth" by which the powerful ensure belief in the validity of the domination
Lenski on Inequality Trend
•Lenski finds that the degree of inequality increases along with advances in technology until the industrial stage is reached (inequality is highest in the agricultural or agrarian societies) •Then there is a significant reversal in the direction of the evolutionary trend as has laid out •In industrial society inequality starts to decline from its highest point
Ideology and the Legitimization of Inequality Cont.
•Most people in the United States tend to believe the wealthy have earned their wealth, they have the possibility to become wealthy themselves and the wealthy class benefits the country •People in the United States believe that liberty is the most critical right of individuals in a society •Most Americans believe schools are non-ideological institutions, the media provided objective, non-biased accounts, and corporations are neutral organizations •Acceptance of the dominant ideology is essentially an unconscious process, occurs through socialization and leads to the acceptance of the social system as natural
Social Mobility and its Types
•Movement from one class or status to another •Horizontal -Movement from one position to another of similar rank (mechanist to firefighter) •Vertical -Movement from one position to another of different rank (student to engineer) •Intergenerational -Movement from one generation to another (father to daughter) •Intragenerational -Movement within one's own generation (first job to current job)
3 Proposed Solutions for Reducing Economic Inequality
•Nations must tackle childhood poverty: Policymakers must address entrenched childhood poverty - poverty involving not just one's family but also one's neighbors, poverty that occurs not just temporarily but over many years, and poverty that spans multiple generations •Labor unions offer best option: Collective bargaining was a key driver of equality, winning better wages and terms of employment - particularly for less skilled workers •We need political will on the wage gap: The roots of inequality's rise after 1979 are in U.S. labor markets, particularly in the failure of paychecks for most workers to rise in line with broader measures of economic growth
Quote from The Sociological Imagination by C. Wright Mills
•Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both
Classification of the Middle Classes
•Occupation is the major determining factor that distinguishes three Middle-Class categories in the United States •Off the Middle Classes and Upper-Middle class has much more chances to succeed in life and have autonomy at work than the other classes •Most mobility occurs within and between the middle categories of the class system
Working Poor and Underclass
•One of the differences between the working poor and the underclass is the period of time for which they are officially classified as poor •Poverty among underclass is chronic and short term, and they experience both social and economic isolation •This group is disproportionately composed of minorities and is found in inner-city ghetto areas •Underclass group are unlikely to participate in the labor force, instead they engage in the underground economy •These two groups may face cycle of poverty
Max Weber Perspectives - Role of Ideas (Weber) v Economics (Marx)
•Protestant Ethic and Capitalism: Weber believed that culture, especially a belief or idea like the Protestant Ethic, encouraged the development of capitalism •Whereas Marx believed capitalism and living in a capitalist economic system shaped peoples' attitudes
Functionalist Theory of Davis and Moore
•Purpose: -To explain in functional terms, the universal necessity which calls forth stratification in any social system -To explain why positions not persons are differentially ranked in the system of rewards in any society •Principles of functionalism of Davis and Moore: -Society divides wealth on basis of functional importance of jobs •Rewards: -Sustenance, comfort, humor and diversion, enhanced prestige (all are motivating factors) •Functional importance of positions -Unique: No other position can do that job -Dependence of others on that position •The argument is that social inequality is basically inevitable •Criticisms: -Can jobs really be ranked, perhaps dirt tasks should be rewarded more (since not many prefer to do them), unequal opportunity exists, inheritance advantages some, is it importance of job or something else, are rich celebrities necessary for society
Max Webers Perspectives - Bureaucracy
•Rules and procedures are codified •There is specialization and division of labor •There is a hierarchy of authority •Technically qualified personnel •Separate position and incumbent •There is written communications and records
Socio-economic Status
•Sociologists use income and wealth, occupation and occupational prestige, and educational level to describe the concept of socioeconomic status •Max Weber used the phrase "status group" to refer to groups of people who share a similar life style
Theoretical Perspectives
•Symbolic interactionism [micro-level theory]: focuses on the relationships among individuals, the exchange of meaning through language and symbols; Explains how and why we see and interpret things •Functionalism or Structural Functionalism [macro/systems theories]: Social institutions, or patterns of beliefs and behaviors focused on meeting social needs; explains how societies change and survive over time •Conflict Theory [macro/critical theories]: Competition for limited resources; There are power dynamics, inequalities
Economic Structuring
•Technological changes and globalization are the two major factors that have stimulated economic restructuring in the U.S. economy in the past 30 years •The U.S. shift from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy is an example of economic restructure •The emergence of the global economy and transnational corporations has contributed to the expansion of labor mobility, and it has a profound impact on American workers •Robert Reich argues that the globalization of the economy has made traditional job classifications such as white collar and blue collar obselete •Reich suggests workers in the U.S. and around the world today are subdivided into 3 categories: Symbolic analysts, Routine production workers, and Routine personal service workers •In the past 30 years, one of the effects of immigrants entering the U.S. workforce is that they have taken professional and managerial jobs that would otherwise be difficult to fill
Social Mode of Investigation/Sociological Perspectives
•The basic problem os social science is -or should be- to explain how inequality came into the world and how it is maintained •Sociology challenges conventional wisdom. It goes beyond the obvious; has objectivity; has empirical substantiation; involves skepticism; results in probabilities (no certainty) •Sociology examines issues objectively -It is not based on personal values/opinions, common stereotypes, but relies on scientific observation and analysis •Sociology explains how society works, not how it seems to work or how we think it ought to work •Sociology explores the interweaving and overlapping nature of social inequality •Sociology uses empirical substantiation and objective analysis, and oftentimes a comparative perspective to ascertain the factors casually related to or correlated with the social phenomenon under investigation
Middle Class Melt Down - Worrying Situation
•The changes in social and economic standing of American middle class has begun in 1970's, mostly in undesirable ways •To combat the financial squeeze, middle class Americans continue to rely on unorthodox methods of borrowing and brokering their futures, tremendous risks of being in further debts •These changes may have serious social, economic and political consequences -e.g. The consumer economy depends on the purchasing power of middle class to fuel economic growth yet during the past few decades, middle class incomes have not risen
Social Class
•The concept used by contemporary sociologists to describe the existence of distinct groups who hold similar work and economic positions, who share a given portion of scarce resources, and who have common experience in their lifestyles •For example, U.S. society is hierarchically (stratification) divided into social classes, each of which contains people who have roughly similar incomes and occupations.
Capitalism and Democracy: Philosophical Tension
•The contradiction between the ideals of capitalism and the ideals of democracy represents the tension between liberty and equity •Most capitalists' societies make efforts to reduce inequalities generated by the capitalist economy, e.g. some may argue that the Keynesian principles and managed capitalism are beneficial to the welfare state •Government can influence the distribution of income and wealth in society through taxation, tax spending, and regulation
Social Differentiation
•The division of societies (individuals and groups) -There is a perception that there are differences in individuals (social positions or groups) •People can be categorized based on... -Personal intellectuality, sex, age, race and ethnicity, language, etc •It is a neutral concept that does not assume hierarchical orders (upper or lower (vertical)) •It is horizontal categorization
Ideas of Karl Marx
•The economic basis of society determines its social structure as a whole, as well as the psychology of the people within it •The dynamic of historical change is the conflict between the forces of production •The class struggle between owners and workers is a social, political, and psychological reflection if objective economic conflicts •Property (as a source of income) is the objective criterion of class; Within capitalism the two classes are the owners and the workers •Class struggle rather than harmony -"natural" or otherwise- is the normal in inevitable condition in capitalist society •Within capitalist society, the workers cannot escape their exploited conditions and their revolutionary destiny by winning legal or political rights and privileges; Unions and mass labor parties are useful as training grounds for revolution but are not a guarantee of socialism •Exploitation is built into capitalism as an economic system, this increasing the chances of revolution •The class structure becomes more and more polarized, thus increasing the chance for revolution •The material misery of the workers will increase, as will their alienation •The wageworkers -a class in itself- will be transformed into the proletariat, a class for itself •The opportunity for revolution exists only when objective conditions and subjective readiness coincide •The functional indispensability of a class in the economic system leads to its political supremacy in the society as a whole •In all class societies the state is the coercive instrument of the owning classes •Capitalism is involved in one economic crisis after another •These crises are getting worse, so capitalism moves into its final crisis -and the revolution of the proletariat •The post-capitalist society will first pass through a transitional stage -that of the dictatorship and the proletariat; when it will move into a higher phase in which true communism will prevail •Although men make their own history, given the circumstances of the economic foundation, the way they make it and the direction it takes are determined •The course of history is structurally limited to the point of being inevitable •The social structure, as noted in the propositions number 1, is determined by its economic foundations; accordingly, the course of its history is determined by changes in these economic foundations
The American Middle Class is Declining
•The emergence of a two-tiered wage structure has resulted in the Middle-Class squeeze, or shrinking of the middle class •The decline in the number of jobs in the middle of the occupational hierarchy has had the most negative impact on working men •The size of the middle classes has steadily declined in the last two decades and it is in continuing trend •The shrinking of the middle classes refers to the bifurcation of the U.S. class structure representing the growth of higher paying jobs and lower paying jobs
The Emergence of the Middle Class
•The emergence of middle classes in the United States was much earlier than other industrial nations •There was not an established estate system in the United States as there was in European countries that divided people primarily into peasants and aristocracy •Most Americans were farmers who owned their own land and actively engaged in farm activities •The farmers, small businesspeople and entrepreneurs formed the basis for the emerging middle classes •Early 19th century, the growth of the industrialization attracted many people to leave the farming activities and joining factories which marks the beginning of the formation of middle classes •By the 1920's, salaried white-collar jobs began to increase, and this also aided development of the new middle class •Primarily the middle-class comprised only of white-collar workers •In recent days, most Americans identify themselves as Middle-Class •Hence the Middle-Class is both an economic position and state of mind
What Is Happening With The Income Gaps
•The gaps in income between upper-income and middle- and lower-income households are rising, and the share held by middle-income households is falling
What Is Happening With The Wealth Gaps
•The gaps in wealth between upper-income and middle- and lower-income families are rising, and the share held by middle-income families is falling
Declining Unions
•The government's anti-labor policies and actions have contributed to the decline in union membership among American workers •Decline in workers unions has further exacerbated the plight of American workers •An important result of this decline in union membership has been the decline in real wages, especially for middle-and lower-income workers •The United States has the lowest rate of unionization among all countries of the developed world
Growing Inequality - Greatest Challenge
•The growing economic inequality in the United States is a problem involving the distribution of society's economic resources •In the United States the ratio of the average income of the richest 20% of families to the poorest 20% is roughly 15-1 •Among the richer nations, the Unites Stares has the greatest amount of income inequality •The European countries have less extensive inequality than the United States because they have more liberal government programs •Comparing low-paid workers in the United States to those in other Western industrial nations reveals that the wages of those in the United States are more depressed •In 2000, the average salary of a CEO in the United States was so high that what they earned in one workday was more than the average worker earned in one year •Wealth contributes more than income to perpetuation of the class hierarchy because wealth can be inherited whereas income cannot
Elements Impacting Social Mobility
•The most critical element of structural mobility is the availability of opportunity •the factor that has the greatest influence on the likelihood of an individual experiencing upward mobility is the class position of their parents •An individual's probability of experiencing upward mobility is influenced by gender, level of education and opportunity structure, etc. •Scholars argue that education in the United States helps maintain the structure of inequality •The amount of economic advantage passed fown from one generation to the next is much higher in the U.S. Approximately 50% of father's income position is inherited by his son. In contrast, the amount in Norway or Canada is less than 20% •In the U.S., 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of the income distribution are able to climb to the top 20% as adults, while the figure in Denmark is nearly double at 15%
Poverty in the United States
•The official poverty rate in 2020 was 11.4%, up 1.0 percentage points from 10.5% in 2019 •In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty, approximately 3.3 million more than in 2019 •The columbian team estimated that poverty in 2021 rose to a high of 14.3% in February and declined to 9.3%- its lowest level of the year -in March, when families received economic impact payments, as well as income tax and child tax credits •Between 2019 and 2020, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics •Among non-Hispanic Whites, 8.2% were in poverty in 2020, while Hispanics had a poverty rate of 17% •Among the major racial groups examined in this report, Blacks had the highest poverty rate (19.5%), but did not experience a significant change from 2019 •The poverty rate fro asians (8.1%) in 2020 was not statistically different from 2019 •Approximately over 20% of the children live in pvoerty •Being a woman, a child, and a non-white person all increases the likelihood of being poor, as does membership in a female-headed household •Although there are many more whites in poverty, the poor are disproportionately black and hispanic •From the gender perspective there are more women who are facing poverty - some refer to it as "feminization of poverty" •But Native Americans have the highest proportions of poverty than any other group •The poverty rate has fluctuated over the past 3 decades, and from the early 1970's until 1993 it increased •It decreased in the mid and late 1990's and then began to increase again •the homeless population has increased and become more visible •Among many other factors deindustrialization in capitalist economy has also contributed to poverty - rich are getting only rich
The Power Elite - C. Wright Mills
•The power elite is composed primarily of those who occupy top organizational positions •C. Wright Mills argues that there are three overlapping cliques or circles (economy, government, and military) that together comprise the power elite •The power elite occupy top hierarchical positions in economic, political, and military institutions and make the most strategic decisions •Mills believed that the business elite wielded the greatest influence among the power elite •He argued that bureaucracies of state, corporations, and military are further consolidated and expanded which explain how the modern industrial society operates •Mills believed the decisions the power elite would make have a profound impact on others
Who Has Gained Wealth Since The Great Recession
•The richest families are the only group to have gained wealth since the Great Recession
Elite Recruitment
•The top-ranked leaders often come from the most privileged business background •Attending the Ivy League Schools can have greatest influence on being able to enter the pool of qualified people •The fact that the social composition of elites tends to be consistent from one generation to the next reflects the structural nature of societal power •The relationship between the upper class and the elite is very strong, however, the two are not the same (e.g individuals may be a part of upper class but not the power elite) •The majority of U.S. corporate and government elites have come from upper or upper middle-class backgrounds •Although, the elite class may monopolize educational and training opportunities, people of lower social origins can be found among the elites because the elite cannot control the distribution of talent, intelligence, and ability
Max Weber Perspectives - Social Standing/Socioeconomic Position
•The work of Weber was built upon the criticism of Marx's work •Weber agrees with Marx on most accounts (e.g. relations of inequality are central to social life, but contests that class and inequality are not always a significant form of inequality) •Weber rejected Marx's analysis of economic determinism and embraces a multidimension of social inequality •Weber posits stratification is an organized manifestation of unequal power in society resulting from the economic, social, and political sphere •Through skills and trainings, individuals obtain class in society •Class: Based on economic resources, skills, and credentials, people have different life chances -It is not just the owners and workers as Marx states •Class refers to the unequal distribution of financial rewards that the individuals or groups receive •Status: The unequal distribution of social honor or prestige, not just the income -Occupations, different ethnic and religious groups •Group-based status or groups-based social identity: They may receive similar rewards and have similar lifestyles and social identity •There is not always an obvious and clearcut relationship between class and status •Status may operate independent of class -e.g. The gangsters and drug lords have more money and power, but they may not have social respect as the schoolteacher or college professor •Some groups restrict some people joining groups -Social closure or elite recruitments •Power parties/organizations: Group-based power dynamics -e.g. unions, professional associations, political parties •Party is not just political party but various groups, like pressure groups. They are related to class interest •Weber was not convinced that revolution to overthrow capitalism would take place and communism would be free of oppressive motives
Ideology and the Legitimization of Inequality
•Those with little wealth and power not only tolerate the prevailing socioeconomic system but, for the most part, consider it just and beneficial. In short, few ever question any of the basic assumptions of the society's major economic, political and social institutions
Poverty and the Poor
•Three types of poverty: -Absolute -Relative -Official •When someone is unable to meet their human needs fundamental to survival, they are experiencing absolute poverty •Relative poverty is - what is considered to be poverty depends on the context of a society's standards and expectations •Official poverty - the definition of poverty, and who the poor are, that allows us to actually count the number of poor people in a society
How do U.S. Taxes Compare Internationally
•Total U.S. tax revenue equaled 24% of gross domestic product, well below the 34% weighted average for other OECD countries. Total U.S. tax revenue equaled 24% of gross domestic product, well below the 34% weighted average for other OECD countries •Among OECD countries, only Chile, Ireland, and Mexico collected less tax revenue than the United States as a percentage of GDP. Taxes exceed 40% of GDP in 7 European countries, including France, where taxes were 46% of GDP. But those countries generally provide more extensive government services than the United States
Max Weber Perspectives: Types of Power/Authority in the State
•Traditional: Authority based on custom (e.g. a king in a feudal society-people obey orders) •Authority often comes from charismatic personality -Authority based on personal appeal of the leader •Legal (rational): Authority based on rules and procedures •The typical historical pattern has been for societies to tend to move from traditional to charismatic to legal (rational)
Countries With the Most Millionaires
•U.S. •U.K. •Japan •France •Germany
The Great Recession of 2008-2009
•Unregulated financial industry and bursting of the housing bubble and mortgage underwriting practices that disproportionately left low-and-middle-income Americans saddled with unmanageable debt •The governmental response to these crises may well have prevented a catastrophic global finance meltdown, but to date is has done little to directly aid middle class homeowners and workers, the result middle class continue to struggle •It is ironic that government policy and programs responses are socialism for the mega banks and corporations but capitalism for the ordinary people
How Social Stratification Works
•Western societies are mostly divided in the line of class •In South Asia (India & Nepal), people are divided under the caste system •Class can be changed but Caste is by birth and cannot be achieved through wealth or education •Social stratification exists only when social inequality becomes structurally patterned and intergenerationally transmitted •There is an institutionalization of power arrangements that perpetuate intergenerational patterns of inequality
What is the Gini Index?
•it is a statistical measure of inequality in which 0 percent is perfect equality and 100 percent is absolute inequality.
