Sociology Chapter 7 Stratification, Class, and Inequality

Downward Mobility

Social mobility in which individual's wealth, income, or status is lower than what they or their parents once had

Short-Range Downward Mobility

Social mobility that occurs when an individual moves from one position in the class structure to another of nearly equal status

Social Stratification

The existence of structured inequalities between groups in society, in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. While all societies involve some forms of stratification, only with the development of state-based systems did wide differences in wealth and power arise. The most distinctive form of stratification in modern societies is class divisions

Endogamy

The forbidding of marriage or sexual relations outside one's social group

Means of Production

The means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but the social relations between producers

Absolute Poverty

The minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence

Social Exclusion

The outcome of multiple deprivations that prevent individuals or groups from participating fully in the economic, social, and political life of the society in which they live

Status

The social honor or prestige that a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally display distinct styles of life-patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or negative. Pariah status groups are regarded with disdain or treated as outcasts by the majority of the population

Culture of Poverty

The thesis, popularized by Oscar Lewis that poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but s instead the outcome of a larger social and cultural atmosphere into which successive generations of children are socialized. The culture of poverty refers to the values, beliefs, lifestyles, habits, and traditions that are common among people living under conditions of material deprivation

Relative Poverty

Poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society

Under Class

A class of individuals situated at the bottom of the class system, often composed of people from ethnic minority backgrounds

Slavery

A form of social stratification in which some people are owned by others as their property

Social Security

A government program that provides economic assistance to persons faced with unemployment, disability, or old age

Medicare

A program under the U.S. Social Security Administration that reimburses hospitals and physicians for medical care provided to qualifying people over sixty-five years old

Working Class

A social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar, or manual, occupations

Upper Class

A social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own businesses, or hold large numbers of stocks (shares)

Middle Class

A social class composed broadly of those working in white-collar and lower managerial occupations

Lower Class

A social class composed of those who work part time or not at all and whose household income is typically low

Caste System

A social system in which one's social status is given for life

Caste Society

A society in which different social levels are closed, so that all individuals must remain at the social level of their birth throughout life

Life Chances

A term introduced by Max Weber to signify a person's opportunities for achieving economic prosperity

Dependency Culture

A term popularized by Charles Murray to describe individuals who rely on state welfare provision rather than entering the labor market. The dependency culture is seen as the outcome of the "paternalistic" welfare state that undermines individual ambition and people's capacity for self-help.

Class

Although it is one of the most frequently used concepts in sociology, there is no clear agreement about how the term should be defined. Most sociologists use the term to refer to socioeconomic variations between groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power

Feminization of Poverty

An increase in the proportion of the poor who are female

Poverty Line

An official government measure to define those living in poverty in the United States

Pariah Groups

Groups who suffer from negative status discrimination- they are looked down on by most other members of society. The Jews, for example have been a _______ throughout much of European history

Surplus Value

In Marxist theory, the value of a worker's labor power left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker

Wealth

Money and material possessions held by an individual or group

Social Mobility

Movement of individuals or groups between different social positions

Intergenerational Mobility

Movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another

Intragenerational Mobility

Movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy within the course of a personal career

Income

Payment, usually derived from wages, salaries, or investments

Homeless

People who have no place to sleep and either stay in free shelters of sleep in public places not meant for habitation

Capitalists

People who own companies, land, or stocks (shares) and use these to generate economic returns

Working Poor

People who work, but those earnings are not enough to lift them above the poverty line