Sociology Notes
Exam 3 Chapters 7-10

Chapter 7: Stratification and Social Class
The inability to see class helps class persist.

What is Social Stratification?
-Social Stratification- the system of structure social inequality and the structure of mobility in a society - concerned with the ranking of people.
-Social Mobility- most people remain in the same social location throughout their lives
Why Do We Have Social Stratification?
-Durkheim believed that stratification was necessary organizing principle of a complex society and it served to create interdependence among society's members- everyone "needed" the activities of everyone else.
Marx- stratification system benefits those at the top at the expense of those on the bottom. Oppression and exploitation.
Social stratification creates a meritocracy- a system in which those who are the most "meritorious" will rise to the top and those who are less so will sink to the bottom.

The rule by those who deserve to rule- people will work harder in hopes of getting a high-prestige job, most will not succeed
Severing rewards from performance leads to low quality and low production

Social mobility only occurs in a few societies and is now common anywhere.
Social Stratification is a form of inequality.
Some people do move up- elites maintain control, and the possibility of mobility ensures the disenfranchised remain docile: They assume they don't succeed, it is their own fault.
Systems of Stratification
-Castes- found in traditional agricultural societies, divide people by occupation: farmers, merchants, priests, etc.
A caste system is a fixed and permanent; you are assigned your position at birth.

Most famous caste system has been India with four Castes, or varnas: Brahmin (priests), Kshatriyas (warries + other political elites), Vaishyas (farmers & merchants), and Shudras (servants), plus the untouchables.
Varna determine occupation, where you live, etc.
Only a Brahmin could hope to escape samsara- the cycle of endless deaths and rebirths.

-Feudalism- was a fixed and permanent system: if you were born a lord or serf, you stayed there your whole life.

Classic Feudal relationship was one of mutual obligation- Lords housed and fed serfs, peasants had no right to seek out other employment or masters.

-Class System- class is the most modern form of stratification.
Class is based on economic position- a person's occupation, income, or possessions.

Class systems are the most open- they permit the greatest amount of social mobility- the ability to move up or down- in the rankings.
Class systems are systems of stratification based on economic position, and people are ranked according to achieved status (as opposed to ascribed status).

Each system of stratification creates a belief system that declares it legitimate, that those on top "deserve to be there".

Social Class
-When we openly acknowledge class, it is usually the class we are aspiring, not the class we are born into.
-Class operates on the global level. Just as there are upper-, middle-. lower-class people, there are upper-, middle-, lower-class countries.
Theories of Social Class
Marx and Class- Karl Marx was the first social scientist to make class the foundation of his entire theory.

Human survival depends on producing things -> the mode of production - the organization of society to produce what people need to survive.
Some people own the the means of productions and everyone else works for them.

Therefore, there are two types of people, the owners and the workers.

Capitalists, or bourgeoisie, owned the means of production- only now they owned factories rather than farms.
The working class, or the proletariat, were forced to become wage laborers or go hungry.

Believed, eventually the proletariat would organize, rebel and overthrow capitalism in favor of a socialist economy where the workers owned the means of production.
Web and Class- doubted that overthrowing capitalism would significantly diminish social stratification
Essay "Status, Class and Part" argued that there were three components to social class

Class Position- based on relationship with production- what you do for a living and what you earn. Can pass from generation to generation.
Status- Social prestige is what other people think of you. If class is based on your relationship to the market place, status is based on your lifestyle. The status of your job or occupation is often measured as "occupation prestige"- the degree of status accorded to an occupation. Does no pass from generation to generation like wealth.
Power is the ability to do what you want to do. Also resides in your ability to influence the actions of others. Can have low social status and class position, but people with high class tend to have more power.
Power is the ability to do what you want to do. Also resides in your ability to influence the actions of others. Can have low social status and class position, but people with high class tend to have more power.

Because there are so many components, sociologists prefer the term socioeconomic status (SES) over social class to emphasize that people are ranked through the intermingling to many factions, economic, social, political, cultural, and community. This refers to a position in the social stratification system based on combined weights of class position, status evaluation, and power.
Class in the United States
- Most sociologists argue for six or more socioeconomic class in the United States. Usually divided on the basis of income but also include an ascribed status (the class we are born into) and an achieved status (the class we end up in)
- Class is the single best predictor of a person's life chances- a person's ability to have access to material goods, and social resources that together control the quality of life.
The Upper Upper Class - Annual incomes of over $1 million. Older established wealthy families, born into massive fortunes. The original fortunes amassed through steel, railroads or other industries in the Gilded Age, recent generations depend on extensive worldwide investments. Others amassed fortune during information revolution- computers. As well as billionaires from entertainment and sports.
Lower Upper Class- More than $150,000 but less than $1 million. Substantial investment incomes, but still have to work.
Upper Middle Class- Avove $80,000 but less than $150,000. High-end professionals and corporate workers.
Middle Middle Class- Between $80,000 and $40,000.. "Average American citizen" Most hold white-collar jobs: technicians, salespeople, business owners. Some blue-collar workers such as police, firefighters and military.
Working Class- Between $20,000 and $40,000. "lower middle class". Blue-collar workers involved in manufacturing, production, and skilled trades.
Lower Class- Less than $20,000. "working poor". Less than 20,000. Unskilled and semiskilled jobs: service workers, maintenance workers, clerical workers.
The Underclass - Has no income and no connection to the job market. Most underclass are not born there, originally grew up working class, or middle class, and gradually move down.
America and the Myth of the Middle Class
- The middle class has expanded dramatically, the classes of the very rich and poor have declined.
- Today's middle class has emerged during the "New Deal" of the the 1930s.
Income Inequality
- Top five percent earn an average of 11 times more than the bottom 20 percent.
Class and Race
- Given how little mobility there is, the descendants of poor slaves were unlikely to rise very much in the class hierarchy- even over several generations.
Class and Culture
- Class develops different cultural standards- values, norms, and lifestyles.
- Consumption is one way in which we reveal our class position and try to hide it,
- Classes tend to socialize their children to remain in the class into which they were born.
Poverty: Local, National, and Global
- Two terms to describe poverty:

Absolute poverty- when people do not have the ability to sustain their lives and lack the most basic necessities like food and shelter.
Relative poverty- describes those who may be able to afford basic necessities of life, but still are unable to maintain an adequate standard of living.

We gauge poverty with the calculation devised in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson, his "war on poverty". Mollie Oshansky devised a poverty threshold, where poverty meant "insufficient income to provide the food, shelter, and clothing needed to preserve health."
-Fred Block calculated a different measure to illustrate poverty- the American dream for a family of 4, the "four H's"- housing, high-quality child care, full health coverage, and higher education. The "dream line" comes out to $46, 509.
Who is Poor in America?
- Not all poor people are ethnic minorities.
- Not all poor people live in the inner city. The highest percentage of poor people live in the rural south.
- Not all poor people are unemployed. 70% of poor children are in working families.
- Children are more likely than others to be poor.
- Mothers are more likely than others to be poor.
- The elderly are less likely than others to be poor. Government intervention through programs such as SS subsidized housing and food and Medicare lowered the poverty rate to 9.8 percent.
The Feminization of Poverty
- Women compose an increasing number of poor people.
Explaining Poverty
Personal Initiative- poverty is a structural problem not personal failing. People are unmotivated and lack ambition because they are poor, not poor because they lack ambition.
The Culture of Poverty - Oscar Lewis introduced the culture of poverty thesis- argued that poverty is not result of individual inadequacies but of larger social and cultural factors.
Structures of Inequality - People living in poverty face structural disadvantages that are nearly impossible to overcome, suffering from:

poor nutrition,
poor education higher rates of chronic disease
poor or nonexistent health care
inferior housing
a greater likelihood of being victimized by crime

Social Mobility
Social mobility can occur in two forms:
Intergeneratational- your parents are working class, but you became lower class, or your parents are middle class, but you became upper class.
Intragenerational- you move from working to lower, or from middle to upper, all within your lifetime.
- Movement from one class to another that differed from their parents was extremely rare.
Dynamics of Mobility
Much of the upward mobility that Blau and Duncan found was structural- a general upward trend of the entire society, not the result of either intergenerational or intragenerational mobility.
- Structural mobility means hat the entire society got wealthier.
Social Mobility Today
- American are more likely than they were 30 years ago to end up in the class into which they were born.
Global Inequality
Global Inequality - the systematic differences in wealth and power among countries.
- Rich countries are getting richer, and poor countries are getting poorer.
Classifying Global Economics
Three socioeconomic categories:

High-income Countries- United States, Switzerland, Japan, and Spain, 4 of the 40.
Middle-income Countries- 90 in total. Portugal, Uruguay, and South Africa, high middle-income counties. Brazil, Ukraine, and China- low middle-income countries.
Low-income Countries - About 60. Jamaica, India, Kenya and Somalia.

Explaining Global Inequality
Market Theories - stress the wisdom of of the capitalist marketplace. Best economic consequences if individuals are free to make their own economic decisions.
- Most influential market theory by W.W. Rostow, economic advisor to Kennedy. Modernization Theory- focuses on the condition necessary for a low-income country to develop economically. Nation's poverty due to cultural failings of its people.

Criticized for its ethnocentrism.

State-Centered Theories - appropriate government policies do not interfere with economic development but that governments play a key role in bringing it about.
Dependency Theory - focuses on the unequal relationship between wealthy counties and poor countries, arguing that poverty is the result of exploitation. Exploitation begins with colonialism - a political-economic system under which powerful countries established, for their own profit, rule over weaker peoples or countries. Multinational corporations- often with the support of powerful banks and governments of rich countries, established factories in poor countries, using cheap labor and raw materials to minimize their production costs without governmental interference.

When people elect an opposition government, it is likely to be overthrown by the country's military- backed by armed forces of the industrialized countries themselves.

World System Theory - draws on dependency theory, but focuses on the global economy as an international network dominated by capitalism. Rich an poor countries are intimately linked. Founded and coined by Immanuel Wallerstein, and is composed of four interrelated elements.

A global market of goods and labors
The division of the population into different economic classes, based loosely on the Marxian division of owners and workers.
An international system of formal and informal political relations among the most power countries, who compete or cooperate with each other to shape the world economy.
The division of of countries into 3 broad economic zones- core, periphery, and semi-periphery.

Core countries- Western Europe & where it immigrated in large numbers: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. As well as Japan. Most advanced industrial countries.
Periphery- Third World- countries under Western European domination but did not receive permanent settles: sub-Saharan Africa, India and Pakistan, parts of Latin America, most of East and Southeast Asian, and Oceania. Low income, largely agricultural, and manipulated by core countries for their economic advantages.
Semiperiphery- intermediate zone between the core & periphery. Former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and countries that were under Western European briefly (the Middle East and parts of East Asia). Form local core-periphery systems.

This theory emphasizes global commodity chains- worldwide networks of labor and production processes, consisting of all pivotal production activities, that form a tightly interlocked "chain" from raw materials to finished product, to retail outlet to consumer.

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