SOCI 101 Chapter 7 Social Class: The Structure of Inequality

simplicity movement

a loosely knit movement that opposes consumerism and encourages people to work less, earn less, and spend less, in accordance with nonmaterialistic values

closed system

a social system with very little opportunity to move from one class to another -ex: Indias caste system

meritocracy

a system in which rewards are distributed based on merits

Feudal system

a system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serfs

social class

a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige

upper class

an elite and largely self-sustaining group who possess most of the country's wealth; they constitute about 1 percent of the U.S. population

absolute deprivation

an objective measure of poverty, defined by the inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care -Ex: people in Eswatini where more than a quarter of adults are living with HIV/AIDS, many lack access to health care, exacerbating the HIV epidemic, have the lowest life expectancies, etc

just-world hypothesis

argument that people have a deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable, and fair which creates a tendency to view victims of social injustice as deserving of their fates

everyday class consciousness

awareness of one's own social status and that of others

culture of poverty

entrenched attitudes that can develop among poor communities and lead the poor to accept their fate rather than attempt to improve their lot

federal poverty line

federal index that defines "official" poverty in the US based on household income; updated annually

hypo gamy

marrying "down" in social class -usually men do this

hypergamy

marrying "up" in the social class hierarchy -usually women do this

intergenerational mobility

movement between social classes that occurs from one generation to the next -Ex: a child eventually moves into a different social class from that of her parents

Heterogamy

the tendency to choose a romantic partners who are dissimilar to us in terms of class, race, religion, education, or other social group membership

homogamy

the tendency to choose romantic partners who are similar to us in terms of class, race, religion, education, or other social group membership

digital divide

the unequal access to computer and internet technology, both globally and within the United States

wealth gap

the unequal distribution of assets across a population

social inequality

the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society

Intersectionality

a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups -our life chances are influenced by our class and our race and our gender and our religion and our age all together, not one at a time

white collar

a description characterizing lower-level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs

blue collar

a description characterizing skilled and semi-skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs

Caste System

a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one's family history and background and cannot be changed -The caste system creates a highly stratified society where there is little or no chance of a person changing her position within the hierarchy, no matter what she may achieve individually. Members must marry within their own group, and their caste ranking is passed on to their children.

socioeconomic status (SES)

a measure of an individual's place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with "class" -The social class system is much less rigid than the caste system. Although children tend to "inherit" the social class of their parents, during the course of a lifetime they can move up or down levels in the strata. Strictly speaking, social class is not based on race, ethnicity, gender, or age, although, as we will see, there is often an overlap between class and other variables.

wealth

a measure of net worth that includes income, property, and other assets

relative deprivation

a relative measure of poverty based on the standard of living in a particular society -Ex: a retail clerk who works part-time for minimum wage might be considered among the working poor compared with a neurosurgeon whose salary places them comfortably in the upper-middle class.

status inconsistency

a situation in which an individual has differing levels of status in terms of wealth, power, prestige, or other elements of socioeconomic status -ex: Mother Teresa a Catholic nun who ministered to the poor, sick, and dying. -as a member of the clergy she held some occupational prestige, but her religious order took vows of poverty and she had virtually no personal wealth. -she got numerous honers, including the Nobel Peace Prize but she was most concerned with how to parlay whatever power she gained into helping the worlds most needy

open system

a social system with ample opportunities to move from one class to another

structural mobility

changes in the social status of large numbers of people as result of structural changes in society -For instance, during the Great Depression of the early 1930s, precipitated by the stock market crash of 1929, huge numbers of upper- and middle-class people suddenly found themselves among the poor.

working poor

poorly educated manual and service workers who may work full-time but remain near or below the poverty line; they constitute about 13 percent of the U.S. population -most have not completed high school and experience lower levels of literacy than the other classes. They may also lack other work skills valuable in the job market. Typical occupations include unskilled, temporary, and seasonal jobs—including minimum-wage jobs, housekeeping, day labor, and migrant agricultural work. The average income is around $25,000. This group suffers from higher rates of unemployment and underemployment, with some members receiving social welfare subsidies.

middle class

social class composed primarily of white collar workers with a broad range of education and incomes; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population

working class/ lower-middle class

social class consisting of mostly blue collar or service industry workers who are less likely to have a college degree; they constitute about 30 percent of the U.S. population -typically have a high school education and work in manual labor

upper-middle class

social class consisting of mostly highly educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability; they constitute about 14 percent of the U.S. population -work primarily in executive, managerial, and professional jobs

social strafication

the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy ex: gender, race, class, age, etc

residential segregation

the geographical separation of the poor from the rest of an area's population

slavery

the most extreme form of social stratification, based on the ownership of people -occupying the lowest rank in the social hierarchy, have no rights common to free members of the same societies in which both groups live in

vertical social mobility

the movement between different class statuses, often called either upward mobility or downward mobility -Ex: the therapist marries a president of a large corporation, they might experience upward mobility -Ex: if the therapists partner is unemployed they experience downward mobility

intragenerational mobility

the movement between social classes that occurs during the course of an individual's lifetime -the measure between the social class status they achieve during their lifetime

horizontal social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within a particular social class, most often a result of changing occupations; refers to the changing of jobs within a social class -Ex: a therapist shifts careers so they can teach college

social mobility

the movement of individuals or groups within the hierarchical system of social class

underclass

the poorest group, comprising the homeless and chronically unemployed who may depend on public or private assistance; they constitute about 12 percent of the U.S. population -live in poverty conditions and earn $15,000 or less per year -they have chronic difficulty getting enough money to support their basic needs -may hold a few steady jobs and depend on public benefits or charity to survive, often found in inner cities, where they live in substandard housing or are homeless, their numbers are increasing in the suburbs as well

Disenfranchisement

the removal of the rights of citizenship through economic, political, or legal means -poor people less likely to vote or participate in political life since everyday is a struggle and is difficult to muster the extra energy necessary to work for political change, may also feel that the government does not care for their interest

prestige

the social honor people are given because of their membership in well-regarded social groups -physicians near the top and janitors near the bottom -or in the US its more prestigious to come from a family heritage of wealth than to have recently made a fortune

Apartheid

the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991

cultural capital

the tastes, habits, expectations, skills, knowledge, and other cultural assets that help us gain advantages in society -children inherit these things from parents and it either helps or hinders them as they become adults -Ex: having highly educated parents who can help with homework and enforce useful study habits makes it more likely a child will succeed in school

Social reproduction

the tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as class status is passed down from one generation to the next