Chapter 7
Identify each trait as aligning with either the proletariat or capitalists, according to Karl Marx's economic theory.
proletariat: want to see wages go up. earn money by selling their labor. capitalists: want to see wages go down earn money by taking a share of profits
example of contradictory
the head of printing press operations at a major newspaper
example of capitalist
the owner of a large franchised restaurant
the scenarios in which Max Weber would classify individuals and groups occupying a similar social status.
1. A business owner and one of her employees live in the same neighborhood and belong to the same golf club. 2. A teacher living in rural Mississippi earns about 40 percent less than a teacher living in California.
scenarios that are associated with high income
A pop star earns millions every year but spends it all on family and friends and on lavish parties, and therefore is heavily in debt. A doctor earns several hundred thousand dollars a year but has to spend most of that money to pay off student loans and cover other obligations.
example of descending social mobility
A registered nurse leaves nursing to become a high-school teacher.
example of ascending social mobility
A retail store cashier gets a job as a machinist.
class system
A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. (economics)
scenarios that are associated with wealth
A supermarket cashier through disciplined saving over four decades accumulates a nest egg worth several hundred thousand dollars. A person received a lump-sum lottery payout last month but continues to live modestly and to work as a barista because she likes to meet people
example of equality of opportunity
Law mandates that young people in the United States attend school (or be homeschooled) until their late teens.
Identify the factors that contribute to this growing discrepancy between the value of college and the supply of college graduates
Low-income high-schoolers tend to have examples around them of people for whom college did not work out, rather than ones for whom it did. The cost burden of college has increasingly shifted to students and families.
true statements about the poor in the United States.
Politicians and others have characterized the poor as divisible into two groups, those who deserve assistance and those who do not. The poor are more similar to the rich than they are to the middle class.
example of equality of outcome
The "guaranteed minimum income" proposal would provide every family with a standard income they could live on comfortably, regardless of employment status or education.
example of equality of condition
The "independent living proposal" provides training, services, and benefits to youth who were in foster care in the past but are now legally adults. This helps them get jobs and learn to live independently.
examples of a dialectic
Tomato growing companies rely on workers who will work for subminimum wages. However, after the workers protest their treatment and receive support from the community, company owners negotiate fairer wages and working conditions with them. Maria and Leslie have lived together for a year. Maria complains to Leslie that she has done too much of the cleaning and that Leslie needs to help out. Leslie argues that she runs more errands for the household. They discuss this issue and decide to start sharing both cleaning and errand duties more equitably
Identify the people who would be included in C. Wright Mills's "power elite."
a Navy admiral, US senator, and CEO of a major corporation
estate system
a politically based system of stratification characterized by limited social mobility. (laws and politics)
example of income
a retired worker's pension and Social Security checks
Example of proletariat
a salaried paralegal assistant at a law firm
caste sytem
a social hierarchy in which people are born into a particular group (religion)
elite-mass dichotomy system
a system of stratification that has a governing elite, a few leaders who broadly hold power in society (individual merit)
characteristics of an estate system of social stratification.
chracteristics Different strata have different rights and duties, such as the right to vote. The stratification is a matter of law.
the factors that have contributed to the preservation of the caste system in India.
endogamy and social closure
status hierarchy system
is a system of stratification based on social prestige
Identify each statement about class stratification as either being true of the immediate postwar period (1944-1973) or the late twentieth century (1974-2000).
late twentieth century: Job growth primarily occurred at the very high and low ends of the job sector. Educational expectations employers held for workers increased. postwar period: Rising incomes for blue-collar workers made middle-class lifestyles attainable for a large segment of society. Employers adhered to social norms regarding equality in pay and salary increases.
example of wealth
money in a 401k account and equity in an owner-occupied home
"Stratification" refers to how society is organized into hierarchies according to which characteristics?
power and economic resources
example of horizontal social mobility
when an Army captain becomes a public school teacher