UNT SOCI 3330 Midterm
What are the main questions in social stratification? (p. 4-5)
1. What is social inequality? 2. Why is there inequality?/Is inequality inevitable in all societies?/What, if any, functions does inequality serve? 3. What is the nature of economic inequality today in American society and in other societies like it? 4. What is "power" and who are the powerful in society? 5. What is the nature of racial and ethnic inequality? 6. What is gender inequality? 7. How is social inequality sustained and, conversely, how do societies move toward greater social equality?
When did the latest welfare reform happen? (p. 174)
1996, when AFDC became TANF
How did post-industrialism impact middle classes? (p. 114)
As economy shifted from a production focus to a service focus, workers became more white-collar overall. Many people in professional & managerial roles, also scientists/engineers/academics became very important because postindustrial society is driven by theoretical/abstract knowledge
What are bases and dimensions of stratification? (pp. 15-17)
Bases: class, race, ethnicity, gender, age Dimensions: wealth, prestige, power
What is 'Richistan'? (p. 92)
Coined by WSJ reporter Robert Frank, this is the parallel country that the contemporary American rich live in, removed financially & culturally from the mainstream.
What is economic inequality among different societies? (pp. 78-80)
The U.S. is markedly more unequal than other advanced industrial societies in terms of distribution of income & wealth. Rich-poor gap (workers wages), largely due to government policies.
How does poverty relate to the service sector? (p. 156)
Economic restructuring has eliminated the low-level manufacturing jobs that the poor used to hold & the low-level jobs in the service sector which they might qualify for rarely pay a livable wage, so they remain stuck below the poverty line.
What are basic life chances? (p. 18)
Education, physical & mental health, residence, justice
How have government polices affected middle classes? (pp. 139-140)
They have contributed to the shrinking of the middle class by loosening controls on corporate power, creating an increasingly regressive tax system, letting money overwhelmingly influence politics, & minimizing the power of labor unions.
How have labor unions changed? (p. 134)
They have gotten weaker as the American economy has shifted from heavily unionized industries to service & as increasing job competition has forced workers to bend to corporation's demands so they don't lose their jobs
What are privileges of the upper-class? (pp. 92-93)
access to all material goods (excessive consumption), freedom from everyday chores & other daily hassles, held to different standards of conduct, social esteem/ status, power, greater life chances
What is another term for the modern upper class? (p. 85)
capitalist class
What is the 'high-beta rich'? (p. 91)
highly volatile wealth, derives from financial investments that are subject to extreme vacillations of boom & bust; elite wealthy became more manic in their earnings & spending"
What are parts of the upper class? (p. 88)
the "old rich" and the "new rich" (think Great Gatsby)
What is the new upper class? (p. 88-89)
"New Rich" = those who have acquired wealth more recently (usually in their lifetimes) from newer industries, they spend ostentatiously
What is the old upper class and its life style? (p. 88)
"Old Rich" = those with family-based wealth, their lifestyle is exclusive, revolving around social clubs, prep schools, Ivy Leagues, debutante balls, etc. They care about traditionalism: past family background, social cohesion and formation of upper class community, and social separation from other classes
What are tendencies in economic insecurity during the latest economic crisis? (pp. 124-127)
-Biggest job growth in bottom portion of service sector (minimum wage jobs requiring minimal skill & offering little upward mobility) -Many skilled older workers laid off/ had to take on multiple jobs (due to downsizing, mechanization, globalization) -Job security can change with advancements in technology -living on unemployment, moving back home, having 4+ jobs, using savings
What are individualistic explanations? (pp. 163-167)
-Biological Explanations: people are thought to be poor due to deficiencies in their character or mental makeup (this is where Social Darwinism comes in) -"The Culture of Poverty": there are norms & values which characterize the poor, & the poor remain poor because they are socialized into these
Compare US public policy to other developed societies (p. 140)
-Canada's increase in inequality is much less dramatic than U.S -Canadian middle class families not negativity impacted unlike American families -Canadian policies offer a more generous & substantial social safety net for those below the very top; a tax system that has NOT rewarded the wealthy at the expense of the working class -stronger union movement - more accommodating government
What are sociological explanations? (pp. 167-171)
-Cycle of poverty -Political economy of Capitalism -Poverty as "functional"
How did industrialism affect working classes? (p. 113)
-Full move towards industrialism forced farmers to (sell) their land & work in urban factories -Machines took these jobs because they could do them more efficiently & cheaply -workers heavily exploited (MARX) -The rich became rich at this time while the working class struggled -Decline in worker standard of living
What are demographic factors? (pp. 137-139)
-Immigration -Women in the workforce
How is stratification changed? (p.21-22)
-Individual Mobility: ability of individuals to change their position in a social hierarchy, this is generally limited to one's economic class -Group Mobility: Lower ranking groups come together for a better change due to changes in ideologies of what is just and fair (e.g., workers, women, African Americans)
Where did the wealth of the upper-class come from? (pp. 93-94)
-Inheritance -scions of successful entrepreneurial families -self-made -be born into it
What are social characteristics of the poor? (pp. 150-152)
-More white people are poor than are ethnic minorities like black or Hispanic groups, but larger portions of those minority groups are poor -The poor are disproportionately children -Often concentrated in central cities of metropolitan areas -Truncated family structure is common (female single parents are especially represented in the poor)
What are economic and political reasons of new poverty? (pp. 154-155)
-Most of the decline in the late 60s was only because of the booming economy -Johnson's "War on Poverty" was less supported financially due to the Vietnam War -Homeless numbers increased in the 80s -Outsourcing of work eliminated most of the low skill jobs in the U.S. -Programs of the 60s & 70s began to be mistrusted & suspicion of welfare dependency increased under Reagan -Ideology of "deserving" & "undeserving" poor
What are the main welfare programs? (pp. 172-174)
-Social insurance programs: social security, Medicare -Public assistance programs: food stamps, Medicaid -Ex: AFDC, later replaced by TANF
How is stratification stabilized? (pp. 20-21)
-Society's culture (ours is culture of capitalism): competition > inequality -Individual & Organizational Power: power is foundation for inequality, acting within the context of orgs & institutions -Ideology & Legitimization: These explain & justify the status quo (American individualism; everyone benefits from inequality)
What are alternative measures? (p. 150)
-Suggested that it could be calculated using after-tax income instead of pre-tax income -Like most EU countries, it could be set at one-half the median family income
When and how did the middle classes expand? (pp. 121-122)
-The Great Depression: Southerners filled jobs in the north and women went to work -The Postwar Years: baby boom, return of soldiers & sailors created demand for housing (suburbs emerged)
When and how did the middle classes contract? (pp. 122-123)
-The Post-1973 Period of Economic Restructuring (OPEC oil embargo) -Middle-class squeeze or bifurcation can be seen in the development of a 2 tiered wage structure & in family income patterns -stagnation of wages
What are parts of the poor class? (pp. 156-157, 160)
-The working poor: those who occupy the bottom rungs on the occupational ladder & live paycheck to paycheck (they may or may not fall above the poverty line, but their economic status is especially unstable) -The underclass: those who are largely unskilled, under-educated, are rarely employed, and are characterized by dependence on some level of welfare (their poverty is chronic & they are isolated both socially & economically)
What is the top class (5 and 1 percent) share in income? (pp. 65-66)
-Top 5% earned more than 21% of total income (more than total income of bottom 2 quintiles) -Top 1% earned bulk of income in the top 5% -Top 0.1% receive in a day and a half about what the bottom 90% receive in a year
What are the undeserving and deserving poor? (p. 171)
-Undeserving Poor: those who "should work" but don't (seen as lacking ambition, irresponsible, morally weak) -Deserving Poor: those who are poor through no apparent fault of their own(children, elderly, disabled who work but don't make enough income)
Compare the condition of labor unions in the US compared to other advanced countries (p. 135)
-Unlike decline of American unions, Canada, the U.K & Germany's remain more than double that of the U.S -workers hold greater voice & generous social welfare policies
What are parts of middle classes?(pp. 116-117)
-Upper-middle class -Lower-middle class -Working class
What are kinds of social classes? (pp. 58-63)
-Upper/ "Capitalist" class (capitalist class, 1%, Assets, Investors, Corp executives) -Upper-middle class ("run" society, salaries, upper lvl mgmt, business owners) -Lower middle class (salaries/wages, low lvl mgmt, nurse, small buss. owner) -Working class (wages, clerical, retail sales worker {blue collar worker}) -Working poor (wages, low lvl service workers) -Under class (public assistance, underground economy, unemployed {underserving poor})
How to study social stratification (pp. 6-11)
-Use the sociological mode and go beyond the obvious (don't depend on your own experiences). -Prepare to accept surprising truths (which may be counter to the values you've conceptualized). -Invoke a principle of skepticism & deal with seeing probabilities, not certainties. -Objectives of inquiry: description, explanation, prescription
What is the working class?
-blue collar work -manual/physical labor -"leave the job at work" not as politically active as other parts of the middle class, generally liberal on economic issues & conservative on social issues
What are benefits of wealth?
-comfortable level of living -feelings of security -financial freedom to take risk -stability -continuation of upper class hierarchy (inheritance)
What are the key forces of globalization?(pp. 128-130)
-development of a global economy because there is more close contact between distant nations -increasingly transnational corporations
What are parts of the power elite? (p. 95)
-economic leaders (e.g., top execs at the biggest corporations) -social leaders (e.g., editors at top newspapers) -political leaders (e.g. government officials)
How did the old rich class develop? (p. 89)
-industrial empires -capitalist class: The Gilded Age -the national upperclass -Social Register (family wealth)
What are sociological characteristics of the power elite? (pp. 95-97)
-similar in general outlook-interests & social background -attended the same schools, exhibited similar career paths -exposed to common socialization experiences -socially cohesive business leaders
What is the lower-middle class? (p. 117)
-small business owners & white collar workers, mid level managers, nurses. -dependent primarily on their jobs for income -little power over their jobs -no assets politically active, but don't participate much further than just voting
What happens when the upper class becomes the ruling class? (p. 97)
A group is formed that exerts societal power commensurate with its economic position (Domhoff's name for it: "Governing Class"). Basically these people all socialize at the same places and bend society to their will through their social/economic/political ties.
What is the new middle class? (p. 114)
A group made up of salaried white collar workers working not for themselves, but for employers, often as part of large, bureaucratic organizations. Note: this is what Marx failed to anticipate
How do children in poverty in the US compare to developed societies? (p. 180)
A lower percentage of kids in the U.S. live in middle-income families & a higher percentage live in lower-income families. U.S. & Italy are distinctive in that 1/10 of kids in poverty are not just poor, but extremely poor. American child poverty rates higher in no-earner, one-earner, & two-earner households.
What is new consumerism? (pp. 140-141)
A national culture of upscale spending to keep up desired lifestyles (trying to keep up a lifestyle that one cannot afford. This affects not only the poor, but also those of upper- & lower-middle class standing,
What is absolute poverty? (pp. 147, 404)
A socioeconomic condition in which people are unable, for whatever reason, to obtain the fundamental necessities of life.
What is the institutional cycle of poverty? (pp. 167-169)
A structure focused explanation that emphasizes how income, education, and occupation, as well as class & racial discrimination, encourages a cycle of poverty. It also costs more to live in poverty
What is the political economy of capitalism? (pp. 169-170)
A structure focused explanation that points out that factors like deindustrialization take away jobs
What is social Darwinism? (pp. 164, 409)
A theory, based on the notion of "survival of the fittest," holding that one's wealth or poverty is the product of one's inherent capabilities.
Describe consumer debt and the two-income trap (pp. 142-143)
Consumer debt is a result of upscale competitive consumption, as more consumers are having to participate in borrowing. This is very visible in the high levels of credit card debt. The two-income trap is the idea that instead of providing more financial security for families, having both parents work is contributing to more financial insecurity because more is having to be spend on housing in better areas, better education, bigger cars, more childcare, etc. With no stay-at-home parent, there is no safety valve.
What was the early formation of middle classes? (pp. 112-113)
Created because there was never really a sharp divide between aristocracy & peasantry in the U.S., they were a group of mostly entrepreneurs (farmers/landowners, producers of goods, tradesmen, merchants). They epitomized the American ideology of individualism & free enterprise.
How did technological revolution affect middle classes? (pp. 127-128)
Development of machines forced out workers, which led to the working class getting smaller and the inequality wage gap wider
What are trends in poverty? (p. 153)
Dips & rises but currently rising (drop in the 60s & early 70s, rise in the 80s, stabilized around 14% in mid 1990s, dropped a bit in 2000, but has risen since)
How does social classes relate to power elites? (pp. 96-97)
Domhoffs' "Governing Class Theory"= the federal gov. is dominated by a power elite rooted in the upper class & the corporate rich community The power elite are "active, working members of the upper class & high level employees in institutions controlled by members of the upper-class, thereby making it the leadership group of the upper class"
What are downsizing, outsources, and offshoring? (pp. 135-137)
Downsizing: large corporations cut workforce to become more efficient & profitable Outsourcing: subcontracting of various aspects of production to other, smaller companies, allows for reduction of workforce Offshoring: sending jobs overseas due to cheaper & more available labor
What are recent trends in wealth distribution? (pp. 74-75)
Enormous growth in gap between very wealthy & everyone else in the last 3 decades, unprecedented growth in both the rate and the extent of the rise in wealth inequality
What are the social origins of business leaders? (p. 103)
Even more clearly from privileged backgrounds that government officials, they are from the very top of the social hierarchy. Note: they often exaggerate the humbleness of their origins & can often get away with this because they're subject to less public exposure
What are the main causes for differences in economic inequality between the US and other developed societies? (p. 80)
Government policies and ideology of individualism
How do income inequality and poverty relate?
Income is how poverty status is decided, & it is the restructuring of the economy which has saddled those in the lower class with wages they cannot adequately support themselves on or use to initiate upward class mobility.
What are income quintiles? (p. 64)
Income-based groupings of families/households, specifically 5 groups of 20% organized from highest incomes to lowest
Compare inequality of condition and inequality of life chances (p.17)
Inequality of condition: variations in people's actual living standards or life conditions Inequality of opportunity: differences in people's chances of acquiring social resources (diff. in their life chances)
What is the recent trend among the wealthy? (pp. 86-87)
It is very clear that during the last 3 decades the wealth of the rich has increased @ a phenomenal pace (basically exponential growth in their level of wealth), think in terms of Billions Look @ Forbes list
What are causes for union decline? (pp. 134-135)
Labor unions declined as: -factory job declined (union is mostly blue collar) -move to service -downsizing, outsourcing, automation=low job security and less desire to strike
What is invisible poverty? (p. 159)
Many of the poor perform jobs which make life easier for everyone, but are largely taken for granted & are so expected by society that the people who do them are unseen by everyone else. Because their poverty isn't as chronic as others, they are basically unrepresented by government policy as well.
What defines classes as economic groups? (p. 30)
Marxian theory says social class comprises those who stand in a common position with regard to the production process.
What is median income? (p. 63)
Midpoint of total income distribution of a population (50% fall above it, 50% fall below), more accurate indicator of a central point/average than mean income
How does the minimum wage relate to the poverty line? (p. 156)
Minimum wage jobs are the only ones which those who already in the poor can usually get, and the current minimum wage is not sufficient to vault them over the poverty line.
What are family and household income? (p. 63)
Most commonly reported statistics of income; combined income (wages, interests, dividends) of all members of the family/household (e.g. a couple, & perhaps also any children making money)
How do middle classes compare between societies?
Not much info on this in the text, but other societies tend to have more unionization so middle classes are more protected
Define the concept of middle class? (p. 111)
Objectively, the group between those in poverty and those who are rich (but this group is far too extensive to compose only one social class). Subjectively, a state of mind that Americans cling to, where people see themselves as in-between no matter if they actually are or are richer or poorer, and they see hope for moving up in status and society.
Define life chances (pp. 17-18)
Opportunities that people have to acquire social resources
What are different solutions to poverty in advanced societies? (p. 181)
Other countries have far more comprehensive & generous welfare states with much broader & deeper safety nets for those who are economically in need (e.g., universal preschool, child-support, & parental-leave programs)
How does poverty in the US compare to under-developed societies? (pp. 178-179)
Other societies have a different kind of poverty, such as living off $1/day Ability to provide dependent on day-to-day sucess doing things like selling crops at markets
What is the size of the poverty line compared to family income? (p. 181)
Over 15% of the U.S. population falls below the official poverty line
What is globalization? (p. 128)
Part of a world economic system in which the economies of various politically interdependent countries are loosely tied together. This leads to more outsourcing & transnational corporations.
What are causes of poverty?
People are made & kept poor by the systems of our government & economy, but people tend to think that poverty is actually a result of personal & individual failings (e.g., by a lack of action, or by biological or cultural traits)
What are changes in the new consumerism since the last economic crisis? (p. 144)
People have become more conscious of their spending patterns & are doing more to conserve funds, so the pattern of new consumerism may be ending.
How has economic inequality changed in historical perspective? (pp. 72-73)
Post World War II Boom: period of unprecedented economic growth never before seen "The Great Prosperity" American Dream seemed possible The Post 1973 Era & Beyond: economic growth declined and continued to steadily decline up until the 1980s, gap between rich and poor grew, rich got richer while the poor got poorer, the middle class struggled
What is official poverty? (pp. 149-150, 408)
Poverty as defined by government-imposed standards of measure. The exact measures will be arbitrary. The U.S. poverty line: set at $22,113 for family of 4, at $26,675 for family of 5, at $17,658 for family of 3, it is a sliding scale
What is relative poverty? (pp. 148, 409)
Poverty that is relative to the standards & expectations of people in a particular society at a particular time.
What is income? (p. 63)
Put simply, monetary gain from a variety of sources (mostly wages & salaries, but also dividends & interest payments)
What is the upper-middle class? (p. 116)
Referred to as the new class or the professional middle class, they are individuals hold key decision making positions in various institutions (doctors, lawyers, engineers, technicians, scientists, professionals, white collar workers) The most active in politics of the classes, generally liberal on social issues but conservative on economic issues
What is middle class as a subjective aspiration? (p. 111)
Seen as the standard of American society, something that is in-between and should be aspired to if one is below it.
What are national Gini indexes for income? (p. 78)
Statistical measure that indicates the difference between the actual distribution of income & a perfectly equal distribution
What is social differentiation? (p.409)
The division of society into different roles; the horizontal dimension of social structure, implying no rank order
How do equality and freedom relate? (p. 23)
The freedom to pursue one's interests & to reap the benefits of one's efforts in a capitalist society produces inequality, as people are bound to get more than others. Where liberty prevails, individual interests > collective interests
What are recent trends in income distribution? (pp. 66, 81)
The gap between those at the extreme top & the rest of the class hierarchy are continuing to widen
What is middle class as an objective fact? (p. 111)
The group between those in poverty and those who are rich
What is the culture of poverty?
The individualistic explanation that those in poverty are stuck within a culture and cannot manage in mainstream society (proposed norms/values: present orientation, fatalistic worldview, tendency towards female-headed families, authoritarianism within the family, much abandonment of wives & children, frequent use of violence, alcoholism, belief in male superiority, martyr complex among women).
What is social stratification? (p.409)
The ranking of persons & groups on the basis of various social, & sometimes physical, characteristics; the vertical dimension of social structure, implying no rank order.
What are the super-rich and the rest? (pp. 69-71)
The truth of wealth distribution in America: the richest 1% of American society hold an overwhelming amount of economic power (more than 1/3 of wealth, 40% of assets, 225x the wealth of the median household
What really separates the wealthy? (p. 85)
The value of assets
What is wealth? (p. 67)
The value of one's assets, or property. (major forms: stocks, bonds, & other financial instruments- cash, real estate, business equity)
What are popular views on poverty? (p. 171)
There is an undeserving poor and a deserving poor in American society.
What are popular notions of America's class structure? (p. 56-57)
There is little class consciousness, so people draw divisions along ethnic lines, & believe that America is a middle-class society or that America is classless.
What are systems of stratification? (p. 17, 25)
These are arrangements of "who gets what" & they usually remain stable for long periods of time. In all societies, legitimized by an ideology that justifies inequality. (Classes, political parties, status groups, racial-ethnic groups, gender groups, age groups)
What is the 'missing class'? (p. 159)
These are the people who straddle the line between the working class & the working poor. They are "too prosperous to be the 'working poor,' too insecure to be 'middle income'" & their lack of clear class belonging means that they don't attract the attention of policy makers, journalists, or even sociologists.
What are the social origins of government rulers? (p. 102-103)
They basically all come from upper & upper-middle class backgrounds, are highly educated (often at prestigious universities), and many have families that are economically, socially, or politically influential. If they do not stand apart from common folk from their origins, they were especially high achieving individuals.
What is poverty in general? (p. 147)
Those at the very bottom of the class hierarchy are the poor, but the delineation of the poor is complicated by differing views on class structure (those who see it as marked by injustice categorize more people as poor while those who think it's fair call less people poor)
What is the power elite? (p. 95)
Those in critical decision-making positions within various economic, political, & social organizations that have wide-ranging impact on society. Note: many of these people are basically unknown to the general public
What is the global power elite? (p. 109)
Top government leaders, military leaders, & key corporate execs (the single largest component is the leadership group of business & finance, but there are also a select few extraordinarily influential artists, scientists, academics, and even criminals). Together, this group links internationally and share common global interests.
What defines the upper class in income? (pp. 82-83)
Traditionally, $1 million is the dividing line between the rich & everyone else (still holds despite growth of people in this category). Remember that these are not the super-rich.
What are national Gini indexes for wealth? (p. 78)
U.S remains the most unequal country in terms of wealth-Significantly higher Gini index for wealth in U.S compared to the other leading countries
How does poverty in the US compare to developed societies? (pp. 179-180)
U.S. has higher % of children living in lower-income than 15 developed countries. 17.3% in U.S. live below poverty line, putting U.S. above 8 developed countries.
What are social functions of poverty? (pp. 170-171)
Undeserving poor serves non-poor by creating a demand for jobs in social work, policing, and the justice system
What are social comparisons? (p.5)
We must keep in mind that the U.S. is not the world, even if it often the focal point of the rest of the world. A comparative approach is necessary to expose us to the nature of inequality in other societies & to give sharper insight into inequality within the U.S.
How wealth and power relate? (p. 95)
Wealth is the most important resource in capitalist society, can be converted to various forms of power. Wealthy in society not necessarily the most powerful, though
What defines classes as status groups? (p. 39)
Weber's theory says some people may possess greater life chances as a result of their ownership of property, while others may do so as a result of skills or expertise in a profession (so people with common occupations, earning approximately similar incomes, make up a class)
What is the work and spend cycle? (p. 142)
Workers choose longer hours with more pay, but enter endless cycle of feeling/needing to buy things, & have less time to enjoy that which they get. This leads to little money being saved & increasing debt.
What are stages of elite recruitment? (pp. 106-107)
You have to get into the talent pool (easier if you are high up in the class hierarchy, but some may be able to squeeze their way in by education or high achievement), then you acquire social connections to help you move further up, then you go through a process of self-selection (where people either assert or eliminate themselves).
What are types of social inequality?
economical (class), political, cultural, gender, Race/ethnicity
