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Principals of SociologySummary & Outline for Chapters 7, 8, 9 & 10with Assignment and Unit Test Review
Compiled and Edited by Joe Eulohttp://PSYCH.MyUCCedu.com
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CHAPTER 7: CLASS AND STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES
WHAT IS SOCIAL STRATIFICATION?
Social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on their control overbasic resources. A key characteristic of stratification systems is the extent to which the structure isflexible. Slavery, a form of stratification in which people are owned by others, is a extreme type. In a
caste system, people’s status is determined at birth based on their parents’ position in society. The
class system, which exists in the United States, is a type of stratification based on ownership of resources and on the type of work people do.
THEORIES OF CLASS AND STRATIFICATION BETWEEN MARX AND WEBER
Classical perspective on social class focus on Karl Marx and Max Weber who acknowledged social classas a key determinant of social inequality and social change. According to Marx, capitalistic societies arecomprised of two classes
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the capitalists, who own the means of production, and the workers, whosell their labor to the owners. By contrast, Weber developed a multidimensional concept that focuseson the interplay of wealth, prestige, and power.
FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVES ON STRATIFICATION
Functionalist perspectives on the U.S. class structure view classes as broad groupings of people whoshare similar levels of privilege based on their roles in the occupational structure. According to theDavis-Moore thesis, positions that are most important within society, requiring the most talent andtraining, must be highly rewarded.
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVES ON STRATIFICATION
Conflict perspectives are based on the assumption that social stratification is created and maintainedby one group in order to enhance and protect its own economic interests. The stratification of societyinto different social groups results in wide discrepancies in income, wealth, and access to availablegoods and services (including health, good nutrition, and education). Sociologists distinguish betweenabsolute poverty, which exists when do not have the means to secure the basic necessities of life, andrelative poverty, which exists when people maybe able to afford basic necessities but are still unable tomaintain an average standard of living. There are both economic and structural sources of poverty. Lowwages are a key problem, as are unemployment and underemployment. As the gap between rich andpoor, employed and unemployed widens, social inequality will increase in the twenty-first century if wedo nothing. Given that the well
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being of all people is linked, it is incumbent that we ensure thateveryone has a job, a living wage, and an equal life chance.
WHAT IS POVERTY?
Sociologists distinguish between absolute poverty, which exists when people do not have the means tosecure the basic necessities of life, and relative poverty, which exists when people may be able toafford basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living. There are botheconomic and structural sources of poverty.
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I.
WHAT IS SOCIAL STRATIFICATION?I.
Social stratification
is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on theircontrol over basic resources.II.
Max Weber’s term
life chances
describe the extent to which persons within a particularlayer of stratification have access to important scarce resources.
II.
GLOBAL SYSTEMS OF STRATIFICATION
A.
Systems of stratification may be open or closed based on the availability of
social mobility
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the movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system toanother.
1.
Intergenerational mobility
is the social movement experienced by family membersfrom one generation to the next.
2.
Intragenerational mobility
is the social movement of individuals within their ownlifetime.
B.
Slavery
, a closed system, is an extreme form of stratification in which some people areowned by others.
C.
A
caste system
is a system of social inequality in which people’s status is permanentlydetermined at birth based on their parents’ ascribed characteristics.
D.
The
class system
is a type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resourcesand on the type of work people do.
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