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Sociology in Our Times 9th Edition
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Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8: CLASS AND STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES
Category Chapter 8: Learning Objectives
KNOWLEDGE: 1. Define income and wealth and describe their relation to social class.
Remembering previously 2. Describe Marx’s perspective on class position and class
learned material relationships.
3. Describe current statistics about the poor in the U.S.
COMPREHENSION: 4. Compare socioeconomic status and social class.

The ability to grasp the 5. Describe the ways that income is distributed in the U.S.
meaning of the material
APPLICATION: 6. Compare functionalist and conflict approaches to measuring class.

The ability to use material 7. Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty and describe the
in new and concrete characteristics and lifestyle of those who live in poverty in the U.S.
situations
8. Describe the contributions of the symbolic interactionist perspective
to understanding social inequality.
ANALYSIS: The ability to 9. Outline Weber’s multidimensional approach to social stratification

break down material into and explain how people are ranked on all three dimensions.
its component parts so that 10. Discuss slavery and its relationship to global poverty.
its organizational structure
11. Distinguish between functionalist and conflict explanations of
may be understood
social inequality.
SYNTHESIS: The ability 12. Summarize the most important consequences of inequality in the
to put parts together to U.S.
form a new whole 13. Describe the ways that SES has shaped the life choices of members
of your own family.
MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION
1. __________ is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based

on the control over basic resources.
a. Social distinction
b. Individual distinctiveness
c. Social stratification
d. Social layering
ANS: c REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept
363
Class and Stratification in the United States
2. Sociologist Max Weber’s term, __________, addresses how much access

individuals have to important societal resources such as food,
clothing, shelter, education, and health care.
a. life chances
b. cultural opportunity
c. social opportunity
d. social prospects
ANS: a REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept
3. __________ are anything valued in a society, ranging from money and

property to medical care and education. They are considered to be scarce
because of unequal distribution among social categories.
a. Assets
b. Resources
c. Prospects
d. Opportunities
ANS: b REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept
4. One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is

their degree of flexibility. In an open system of stratification:
a. there is no social mobility

b. people’s positions are influenced by achieved statuses
c. the boundaries between levels in the hierarchies of social
stratification are rigid
d. people’s positions are determined by ascribed statuses alone
5. __________ is the movement of individuals or groups from one level in a

stratification system to another. This movement can be either upward or
downward.
a. Social movement
b. Unilateral generational mobility
c. Open system movement
d. Social mobility
ANS: d REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept
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Chapter 8
6. Social movement experienced by family members from one generation to

the next is:
a. structural mobility
b. intergenerational mobility
c. intragenerational mobility
d. exchange mobility
7. Sarah’s father is a carpenter who makes good wages in good

economic times, but is unemployed when the construction industry
slows to a standstill. Sarah becomes a neurologist, earning $345,000 a
year, and moves from the working class to the upper-middle class.
Between her father’s generation and her own, Sarah has experienced
__________ social mobility.
a. downward
b. horizontal
c. upward
d. progressive
ANS: c REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: application
8. The social movement of individuals within their own lifetime is called:
a. intergenerational mobility
b. structural mobility
c. exchange mobility
d. intragenerational mobility
9. RaShandra began her career as a high-tech factory worker. Through

increased experience and by taking specialized courses in her field, she
became an entrepreneur and started her own highly successful “dot-com”
business. RaShandra’s advancement is an example of ________ mobility.
a. exchange
b. intergenerational
c. structural
d. intragenerational
ANS: d REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.1 DIF: application
365
10. One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is

their degree of flexibility. In a closed system of stratification:
a. people’s positions are set by achieved statuses

b. there is little or no social mobility
c. the boundaries between levels in the hierarchies of social
stratification are relatively fluid
d. many opportunities exist for people who are willing to work hard
ANS: b REF: pages 216-217 OBJ: 8.1 DIF: concept
11. Systems of stratification are characterized by different hierarchical

structures and varying degrees of mobility. All of the following are systems
of stratification EXCEPT:
a. slavery
b. caste
c. class
d. profile
ANS: d REF: page 216-217 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: fact
12. The __________ system is an extreme form of stratification in which some

people are owned by others. It is a closed system in which people are
treated as property and have little or no control over their lives.
a. union
b. slavery
c. class
d. caste
13. As practiced in the United States, which of the following was NOT a
characteristic of slavery?
a. It was for life and was inherited.

b. Slaves were considered to be human beings as well as property.
c. Slaves were denied rights.
d. Coercion was used to keep slaves “in their place.”
ANS: b REF: page 217 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: fact
14. A __________ is a system of social inequality in which people’s status is

permanently determined at birth based on their parent’s ascribed status. It
is a closed system of stratification.
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Chapter 8
a. class system
b. slavery system
c. profile system
d. caste system
ANS: d REF: pages 218-222 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: concept
15. According to the text, India’s caste system is based in part on _________,
while the caste system of South Africa was based on __________.
a. racial classification; occupation

b. religious affiliation; economic classification
c. occupation; racial classification
d. wealth; racial classification
ANS: c REF: pages 218-222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact
16. The separation of the races refers to:
a. apartheid
b. closed racial system
c. emancipation
d. horizontal declassification
ANS: a REF: page 218 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact
17. In a __________, marriage is endogamous, meaning that people are

allowed to marry only within their own group.
a. stratified system
b. profile system
c. caste system
d. class system
ANS: c REF: page 220 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact
18. The __________ system is a type of stratification based on the ownership

and control of resources and on the type of work people do.
a. caste
b. slavery
c. profile
d. class
367
19. When people experience a gain or loss in position and/or income that
does not produce a change in their place in the class structure, this is
referred to as:
a. horizontal mobility
b. situational mobility
c. vertical mobility
d. structural mobility
20. A university professor is promoted from the rank of assistant to associate

professor. This results in her being granted tenure and she receives a
significant increase in salary. This person has experienced __________
mobility.
a. situational
b. vertical
c. horizontal
d. structural
ANS: b REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: application
21. __________ occurs when people experience movement either up or down

the class structure.
a. Structural mobility
b. Vertical mobility
c. Situational mobility
d. Horizontal mobility
22. _________ argued that class position and the extent of our income and
wealth are determined by our work situation, or our relationship to the
means of production.
a. Georg Simmel
b. Max Weber
c. Emile Durkheim
d. Karl Marx
ANS: d REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: fact
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Chapter 8
23. Both social scientists Karl Marx and Max Weber identified ___________
as an important determinant of social inequality and social change.
a. religion
b. class
c. gender
d. race
24. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the __________ (capitalist class)

consists of those who own the means of production—the land and capital
necessary for factories and mines.
a. entrepreneurs
b. proletariat
c. rentiers
d. bourgeoisie
25. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the __________ (working class)

consists of those who must sell their labor to the owners in order to earn
enough money to survive.
a. proletariat
b. rentiers
c. bourgeoisie
d. entrepreneurs
26. Sociologist Karl Marx acknowledged that classes may have:
a. many important overlapping socioeconomic interests

b. primarily similar economic interests
c. opposing (rather than complementary) interests
d. complementary (rather than opposing) interests
ANS: c REF: page 224 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: concept application
27. According to Karl Marx, continual exploitation results in workers’

__________—a feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from other
people and from oneself. It develops as workers manufacture goods that
embody their creative talents, but the goods do not belong to them.
a. class conflict
369
b. meritocracy
c. classism
d. alienation
ANS: d REF: pages 222-223 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: application
28. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the capitalist class maintains its
position at the top of the class structure by control of the society’s
__________, which is composed of the government, schools, churches,
and other social institutions.
a. substructure
b. superstructure
c. ecostructure
d. basic structure
29. According to sociologist Karl Marx, when the workers realized that
capitalists were the source of their oppression, they would overthrow the
capitalists and their agents of social control, leading to the end of
capitalism. The workers would then take over the government and create
a(n) __________ society.
a. class
b. caste
c. egalitarian
d. stratified
30. According to sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf, which of the following is NOT a

reason why workers have not overthrown capitalism as sociologist Karl
Marx had predicted?
a. Many workers have experienced a rising standard of living.

b. Workers have gained more legal protection in the form of rights and
benefits.
c. Individual capitalists still own and control factories and other means
of production.
d. Many people have become so engrossed in the process of
consumption that they are less likely to engage in workers’
rebellion.
370
Chapter 8
31. The value of all of a person’s or family’s economic assets, including

income, personal property, and income-producing property is referred to
as:
a. power
b. prestige
c. income
d. wealth
32. Sociologist Max Weber placed categories of people who have a similar
level of wealth and income in the same class. He identified a privileged
commercial class of __________—wealthy bankers, ship owners,
professionals, and merchants who possess similar financial resources.
a. entrepreneurs
b. rentiers
c. independents
d. consumers
33. Sociologist Max Weber placed categories of people who have a similar
level of wealth and income in the same class. He identified a class of
__________—wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do
not have to work.
a. entrepreneurs
b. rentiers
c. independents
d. consumers
34. According to Max Weber, the __________ consists of white-collar

workers, public officials, managers, and professionals.
a. divisional class
b. working class
c. tertiary class
d. middle class
371
35. Sociologist Max Weber divided those who work for wages into two
classes. The __________ class consists of skilled, semiskilled, and
unskilled workers.
a. working
b. middle
c. divisional
d. tertiary
36. __________ is the respect or regard with which a person or status

position is regarded by others: it includes fame, respect, honor, and
esteem.
a. Wealth
b. Power
c. Status
d. Prestige
37. Sociologist Max Weber suggested that a person who has a high level of
prestige is assumed to receive deferential and respectful treatment from
others. He noted all the following to be true EXCEPT that:
a. they tend to socialize with one another

b. they tend to marry outside their own group of social equals
c. they tend to spend their leisure time together
d. they tend to safeguard their status by restricting outsiders’
opportunities to join their ranks
38. __________ is the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals

despite opposition from others.
a. Wealth
b. Power
c. Status
d. Prestige
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Chapter 8
39. Sociologists often use the term __________ to refer to a combined

measure that attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in
terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education to determine
class location.
a. power status
b. socioeconomic status
c. prestige status
d. wealth status
40. According to Weber, bureaucracies hold social power in modern societies;

individual power depends on a person’s _________ within the
bureaucracy.
a. wealth
b. education
c. position
d. occupational
41. For many years, occupational ratings by prestige have been remarkably
_________ in the United States.
a. inconsistent
b. stagnant
c. consistent
d. dynamic
42. The text points out that, for many years, occupational ratings by prestige
have been remarkably consistent. In 2007, which of the following
occupations received the highest score in the United States?
a. college professor
b. dentist
c. attorney
d. physician
ANS: d REF: page 226 table 8.1 OBJ: 8.4 DIF: fact
43. The text points out that for the past several years occupational ratings by
prestige have been remarkably consistent. In 2007, which of the following
occupations received the lowest score in the United States?
373
a. mail carrier
b. police officer
c. maid
d. secretary
ANS: c REF: page 226, table 8.1 OBJ: 8.4 DIF: fact
44. All of the following are elements in the social class model developed by
sociologist Dennis Gilbert EXCEPT:
a. education
b. occupation of family head
c. the family’s reputation in the community
d. family income
45. According to the social class model developed by sociologist Dennis

Gilbert, the __________ members (about one percent of the U. S.
population) own substantial income-producing assets and operate on both
the national and international levels. People in this class have an influence
on the economy and society far beyond their numbers.
a. upper-middle class
b. upper class
c. middle-middle class
d. middle class

Gilbert, members of the __________ class come from prominent families
who possess great wealth that they have held for several generations.
Family names such as Rockefeller and Kennedy are well known and often
held in high esteem.
a. lower-upper
b. middle-upper
c. upper-upper
d. upper middle
ANS: c REF: pages 226-227 OBJ: 8.1 DIF: concept
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Chapter 8

Gilbert, members of the __________ have earned most of their money in
their own lifetime as entrepreneurs, presidents of major corporations,
sports or entertainment celebrities, or top-level professionals.
a. middle-upper class
b. upper-upper class
c. upper-middle class
d. lower-upper class

Gilbert, persons in the __________ class (about 14 percent of the U. S.
population) are often highly educated professionals who have built careers
as physicians, attorneys, stockbrokers, or corporate managers.
a. upper-upper
b. lower-upper
c. upper-middle
d. middle

Gilbert, the __________ is the one that is most shaped by formal
education.
a. upper class
b. upper-upper class
c. upper-middle class
d. middle class

Gilbert, two-year or four-year college degrees have replaced the high
school diploma as an entry-level requirement for employment in many
__________ occupations, including medical technicians and nurses. This
social class represents an estimated 30 percent of the U. S. population.
a. middle-class
b. upper class
c. upper-upper class
d. upper-middle class
375
51. According to your text, all of the following are factors that have eroded the
American Dream for the middle class EXCEPT:
a. escalating housing prices

b. blocked mobility on the job
c. the cost-of-living squeeze
d. negative media exposure
52. About __________ percent of the U.S. population are members of the
upper-middle class.
a. 7
b. 14
c. 32
d. 44
53. Approximately _________ percent of the U.S. population are members of

the working class.
a. 30
b. 40
c. 50
d. 60
54. Most Americans view themselves as __________ class.
a. working
b. middle
c. upper-middle
d. upper
55. Relatively low-paying, non-manual, semiskilled positions primarily held by

women, such as day care workers, checkout clerks, cashiers, and
waitpersons are referred to as:
a. white-collar jobs
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Chapter 8
b. blue-collar jobs
c. pink-collar jobs
d. frayed collar jobs
56. Individuals that are poor, seldom employed, and caught in long-term
deprivation that results from low levels of education and income and high
rates of unemployment are part of the:
a. underclass
b. working class
c. middle class
d. lower class
57. Contemporary Marxian (or conflict) theorists would examine class in

terms of:
a. the ownership or non-ownership of the means of production

b. people’s relationship to others in the production process
c. wealth and status inequality
d. a multidimensional approach of wealth, prestige and power
58. __________ attempt to determine what degree of control workers have

over the decision-making process and the extent to which they are able to
plan and implement their own work.
a. Postmodern theorists
b. Functionalist theorists
c. Symbolic interactionist theorists
d. Conflict theorists
59. According to the sociologist Erik Wright’s Marxian model, all of the
following are criteria for placement in the class structure EXCEPT:
a. ownership of the means of production

b. purchase of the labor of others
c. inherited wealth
d. sale of one’s own labor
377
60. All of the following classes were identified by sociologist Erik Wright in his
Marxian model EXCEPT the:
a. capitalist class
b. managerial class
c. small-business class
d. middle class
ANS: d REF: pages 229-230 OBJ: 8.6 DIF: fact
61. According to the sociologist Erik Wright’s Marxian model, the __________
is composed of individuals who have inherited fortunes, own major
corporations, or are top corporate executives with extensive stock
holdings or control of company investments.
a. capitalist class
b. managerial class
c. small-business class
d. working class
62. According to Forbes magazine’s 2010 list of the richest people in the
world, Bill Gates (co-founder of Microsoft Corporation) was the second
wealthiest with a fortune of nearly $53 billion. According to the sociologist
Erik Wright’s Marxian model, Bill Gates would be in the __________ class.
a. managerial
b. capitalist
c. proletariat
d. working
ANS: b REF: page 230 OBJ: 8.6 DIF: application
63. According to the sociologist Erik Wright’s Marxian model, persons in the
___________ have substantial control over the means of production and
over workers. However, these upper-level supervisors and professionals
typically do not participate in key corporate decisions such as how to
invest profit.
a. capitalist class
b. small-business class
c. working class
d. managerial class
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Chapter 8
class consists of business owners and craftspeople that may hire a small
number of employees but largely do their own work.
a. capitalist
b. working
c. managerial
d. small-business
is made up of a number of subgroups, one of which is blue-collar workers,
some of whom are highly skilled and well paid and others of who are
unskilled and poorly paid.
a. small-business class
b. capitalist class
c. working class
d. managerial class
66. Based on the sociologist Erik Wright’s Marxian model, the __________
class is made up of skilled blue-collar workers, which include electricians,
plumbers, and carpenters, and unskilled blue-collar workers, which include
janitors and gardeners.
a. working
b. managerial
c. small-business
d. capitalist
ANS: a REF: page 231 OBJ: 8.6 DIF: application
67. The economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income transfers
(government aid), and ownership of property is:
a. wealth
b. income
c. power
d. prestige
379
68. Sociologist Dennis Gilbert compares the distribution of income to a

national pie that has been sliced into portions. In 2008, the wealthiest 20
percent of households received almost __________ percent of the total
income pie.
a. 25
b. 50
c. 75
d. 90
ANS: b REF: page 233, fig. 8.5 OBJ: 8.5 DIF: fact
69. Sociologist Dennis Gilbert compares the distribution of income to a

national pie that has been sliced into portions. In 2008, the poorest 20
percent of households received approximately __________ of the
total income pie.
a. 3
b. 9
c. 12
d. 17
ANS: a REF: page 233, fig. 8.5 OBJ: 8.5 DIF: fact
70. In 2008, the top one percent of households in the United States received
income of more than 1.3 million per year, and the bottom 20 percent
earned an average of:
a. $40,000
b. $17,700
c. $25,500
d. $45,000
71. In 2009 __________ households had the lowest median income

($32,584), as compared with __________ households, which had the
highest median ($65,469).
a. Asian; Non-Hispanic white

b. African American; Asian
c. African American; Non-Hispanic white
d. Hispanic; Non-Hispanic white
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Chapter 8
ANS: b REF: page 236, fig. 8.6 OBJ: 8.5 DIF: fact
72. __________ is computed by subtracting all debt obligations and

converting the remaining assets into cash.
a. Income
b. Salary
c. Wealth
d. Inequality
73. For the upper class, __________ often comes from interest, dividends,
and inheritance.
a. income
b. wages
c. debt
d. wealth
74. For many of the working poor, medical insurance is out of the question.
Approximately __________ million people in the United States were
without health insurance coverage in 2009.
a. 10
b. 21
c. 31
d. 50.7
75. Of all age groups, persons aged __________ are the most likely to be
uninsured.
a. under 18
b. 18 to 34
c. 35 to 44
d. 65 and over
76. The term ___________ housing refers to facilities that have inadequate
heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electricity, or structural durability.
381
a. affordable
b. suburban
c. substandard
d. tenet
77. __________ theorists view education as the “elevator” to social mobility.

Improvements in the educational achievement levels (measured in
number of years of schooling completed) of the poor, people of color, and
white women have been cited as evidence that students’ abilities are now
more important than their class, race, or gender.
a. Postmodern
b. Conflict
c. Functionalist
d. Symbolic interactionist
78. __________ theorists stress that schools are agencies for reproducing the
capitalist class system and perpetuating inequality in society. Parents with
limited income are not able to provide the same educational opportunities
for their children as are families with greater financial resources.
a. Conflict
b. Symbolic interactionist
c. Postmodern
d. Functionalist
79. Today, great disparities exist in the distribution of educational resources.

Because funding for education comes primarily from __________, school
districts in wealthy suburban areas generally pay higher teachers’ salaries,
have newer buildings, and provide state-of-the-art equipment.
a. federal government taxes

b. local property taxes
c. state taxes
d. a combination of state and federal taxes
ANS: b REF: pages 239-240 OBJ: 8.12 DIF: fact
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Chapter 8
80. The U.S. Social Security Administration has established an official poverty
line. The poverty line is computed by:
a. intercorrelations with the cost-of-living index

b. determining the cost of a minimally nutritious diet (short-term) and
multiplying this figure by three to allow for nonfood costs
c. estimating the annual cost of living
d. surveys to determine how much people spend on basic necessities
81. In 2009, more than __________ million people lived below the official
government poverty level of $22,050 for a family of four.
a. 16.3
b. 43.6
c. 64.3
d. 84.3
82. __________ poverty exists when people do not have the means to secure
the most basic necessities of life.
a. Absolute
b. Relative
c. Official
d. Subjective
83. __________ often has life-threatening consequences, such as when a

homeless person freezes to death on a park bench.
a. Subjective poverty
b. Relative poverty
c. Absolute poverty
d. Official poverty
84. __________ poverty exists when people may be able to afford basic
necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living.
a. Absolute
b. Relative
383
c. Official
d. Objective
85. Approximately __________ of white (non-Latino/a) children under age 18

in female-headed households lived below the poverty line, as sharply
contrasted with over __________ of Latino/a and African American (black)
children.
a. one-tenth; half
b. one-fifth; one-third
c. one-quarter; half
d. one-third; half
86. About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women. In 2009, single-
parent families headed by women had a __________ percent poverty rate
as compared with a 5.8 percent poverty rate for two-parent families.
a. 11.6
b. 28
c. 29.9
d. 45
87. According to sociologist Diana Pearce, __________ refers to the trend in

which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living
in poverty.
a. the feminization of poverty

b. matriarchal poverty
c. pink-collar poverty
d. gendered poverty
88. Approximately __________ of those below the official poverty line are
white Americans (non-Latino/as).
a. one-tenth
b. one-half
c. one-fourth
d. two-thirds
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Chapter 8
89. __________ are among the most severely disadvantaged persons in the
United States with about one-third living below the poverty line.
a. African Americans
b. Latino/as
c. White Americans
d. Native Americans
90. Social inequality and poverty have both economic and structural sources.
According to the text, a major source of poverty is:
a. people’s unwillingness to work.

b. governmental programs, such as welfare, that have kept families
impoverished for generations.
c. the low wages paid for many jobs.
d. people’s desire for immediate gratification and overuse of credit
cards.
91. The problems of unemployment, underemployment, and poverty-level

wages are even greater for people of color and young people in large
urban centers, where the unemployment rate for African Americans is
__________ when compared to whites.
a. slightly higher
b. almost double
c. triple
d. the same
92. __________ refers to a reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a

specific job that leads to a corresponding reduction in the wages for that
job. It has resulted from the introduction of computers and other
technology.
a. Job deskilling
b. Occupational disengagement
c. Decredentialization
d. Occupational compromise
385
93. The shift from manufacturing to service occupations in the U.S. economy
has contributed to:
a. higher rates of employment

b. the loss of higher-paying positions
c. more job security for workers
d. new employment opportunities for central-city residents
94. The primary beneficiaries of social welfare programs are not poor. Some
analysts estimate that approximately __________ of all social welfare
benefits are paid to people who do not qualify as “poor.”
a. 50 percent
b. 67 percent
c. 80 percent
d. 95 percent
95. According to functionalist sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore:
a. people with economic and political power are able to shape and
distribute the rewards, resources, privileges, and opportunities in
society
b. positions that are most important for the survival of society must be
filled by the most qualified people who are highly rewarded for their
scarce talent, extensive training, or both
c. the presence of inequality in a society does not serve as a
motivating force for people
d. the core values of society support social inequality
96. The Davis-Moore thesis assumes that social stratification results in

__________—a hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on
people’s ability and credentials.
a. bureaucracy
b. plutocracy
c. meritocracy
d. democracy
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Chapter 8
97. From a __________ perspective, people with economic and political

power are able to shape and distribute the rewards, resources, privileges,
and opportunities in society for their own benefit.
a. conflict
b. symbolic interactionist
c. functionalist
d. postmodern
98. __________ focus on microlevel concerns and usually do not analyze

larger structural factors that contribute to inequality and poverty.
a. Postmodernists
b. Functionalists
c. Symbolic interactionists
d. Conflict theorists
99. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation, sociologist

Judith Rollins examined rituals of __________ that were often demanded
by elite white women of their domestic workers, who were frequently
women of color.
a. detachment
b. deference
c. disengagement
d. deviance
100. Which of the following is NOT a reason why social inequality may increase
in the United States in the twenty-first century?
a. The purchasing power of the dollar has stagnated or declined since

the early 1970s.
b. Federal tax laws in recent years have benefited corporations and
wealthy families at the expense of middle- and lower-income
families.
c. People living in poverty are demanding a larger share of the U.S.
budget.
d. Structural sources of upward mobility are shrinking while the rate of
downward mobility has increased.
387
TRUE-FALSE SECTION
1. Intergenerational mobility is the social movement experienced by family

members from one generation to the next. Intergenerational mobility may
be downward as well as upward.
ANS: True REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.1
2. According to some social analysts, throughout recorded history only five

societies have been slave societies—those in which the social and
economic impact of slavery was extensive: ancient Greece, the Roman
Empire, the United States, the Caribbean, and Brazil.
3. Slavery began in the United States in the 1600s as a form of cheap labor.
4. Sociologist Karl Marx stated that capitalistic societies consist of two

classes—the proletariat class that consists of those who own the means of
production and the bourgeoisie class that consists of those who must sell
their labor to the owners in order to earn enough money to survive.
ANS: False REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.2
Rejoinder: Marx stated that the bourgeoisie (capitalist) class consists of

those who own the means of production (the land and capital necessary
for factories), and the proletariat (working) class consists of those who
must sell their labor to the owners in order to earn enough money to
survive.
5. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the capitalist class maintains its

position at the top of the class structure by control of the society’s
superstructure, which is composed of the government, schools, churches,
and other social institutions that produce and disseminate ideas
perpetuating the existing system of exploitation.
ANS: True REF: page 222-223 OBJ: 8.2
6. In discussing wealth, sociologist Max Weber identified entrepreneurs as a

class of wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do not have
to work.
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Rejoinder: The correct term is rentiers. Entrepreneurs are a privileged

commercial class of wealthy bankers, ship owners, professionals, and
merchants who possess similar financial resources.
7. Sociologists often use the term socioeconomic status (SES) to refer to a

combined measure that attempts to classify individuals, families, or
households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education
to determine class location.
8. A few studies provide insight into the social interactions between people
from vastly divergent class locations. Sociologist Judith Rollins’s (1985)
study of the relationship between household workers and their employers
is one example. Based on in-depth interviews and participant observation,
Rollins examined rituals of deference that were often demanded by elite
white women of their domestic workers, who were frequently women of
color.
9. Based on prestige ratings for selected occupations in the United States, in

2007, the occupation of college professor received the highest prestige
score.
ANS: False REF: page 226, table 8.1 OBJ: 8.4
Rejoinder: Based on information presented in 2007, the occupation of

physician received the highest prestige score.
10. Sociologists Dennis Gilbert developed a widely used model of social

classes based on three elements: religion, occupation of family head, and
family income.
Rejoinder: Gilbert identified education, occupation of family head, and

family income as three elements that determine position in the United
States social class structure.
11. For some members of the lower-upper class, the American Dream
has become a reality. Others still desire the respect of members of
the upper-upper class.
389
12. The working poor account for about 20 percent of the U.S. population.
13. An estimated 30 percent of the U.S. population is in the working

class. The core of this class is made up of semiskilled machine operators
who work in factories and elsewhere.
14. The term “underclass” is another word for the upper-middle class because
it refers to those people found just below the wealthiest Americans.
Rejoinder: According to Dennis Gilbert, people in the underclass are poor,

seldom employed, and caught in long-term deprivation that results from
low levels of education and income and high rates of unemployment.
Some are unable to work because of age or disability; others experience
discrimination based on race/ethnicity.
15. For functionalists, the class structure is the result of production process.
Rejoinder: In actuality, contemporary Marxian (or conflict) models

examine class in terms of people’s relationship to others in the production
process. For example, conflict theorists attempt to determine the degree
of control that workers have over the decision-making process and the
extent to which they are able to plan and implement their own work.
16. People who are wealthy and well educated and who have high-paying
jobs are much more likely to be healthy than are poor people.
17. Lack of affordable housing is one central problem brought about by

economic inequality. Another concern is substandard housing, which
refers to facilities that have inadequate heating, air conditioning, plumbing,
electricity, or structural durability.
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18. Educational opportunities and life chances are directly linked. Symbolic
interactionists view education as the “elevator” to social mobility.
Improvements in the educational achievement levels of the poor, people of
color, and white women have been cited as evidence that students’
abilities are now more important than their class, race, or gender.
Rejoinder: This is a functionalist perspective, not a symbolic interactionist

one.
19. Conflict theorists stress that schools are agencies for reproducing the
capitalist class system and perpetuating inequality in society. Great
disparities exist in the distribution of educational resources because
funding for education primarily comes from local property taxes.
20. When sociologists define poverty, they define absolute poverty as a state
that exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are
still unable to maintain an average standard of living.
Rejoinder: Absolute poverty exists when people do not have the means to
secure the most basic necessities of life. By contrast, relative poverty
exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still
unable to maintain an average standard of living.
21. About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women. Sociologist
Diana Pearce coined the term “feminization of poverty” which refers to the
trend in which women are disproportionately represented among
individuals living in poverty.
22. Native Americans are among the most severely disadvantaged persons in
the United States. Some analysts estimate Native American poverty rates
to be as high as 33 percent.
391
23. According to functionalist sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore,

all societies have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain
positions that must be filled. In addition, some positions are more
important for the survival of society than others and the most important
positions must be filled by the most qualified people.
24. Why is inequality growing in the United States? According to symbolic

interactionists, the answer lies in the concept of surplus value—the value
produced, or the profit created, when the cost of labor is less than the cost
of the goods or services that are produced by the workers.
Rejoinder: This is actually a critical conflict (Marxist) perspective. Surplus

value is created by the workers’ labor power, which is bought and
employed by members of the capitalist class. When profits are made, they
are either reinvested in the business or used for the enrichment of
members of the capitalist class.
SHORT RESPONSE SECTION
1. Describe what is meant by the American Dream.
ANS: The American Dream is the belief that if people work hard and play
by the rules, they will have a chance to get ahead. Moreover, each
generation will be able to have a higher standard of living than that of its
parents. The American Dream is based on the assumption that people in
the United States have equality of opportunity regardless of their race,
creed, color, national origin, gender, or religion. For middle- and upper-
income people, the American Dream typically means that each
subsequent generation will be able to acquire more material possessions
and wealth than people in the preceding generations. To some people,
achieving the American Dream means having a secure job, owning a
home, and getting a good education for their children. To others, it is the
promise that anyone may rise from poverty to wealth (from “rags to
riches”) if he or she works hard enough.
REF: page 214-215 OBJ: 8.14
2. Describe the concept of global systems of stratification.
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Chapter 8
ANS: Around the globe, one of the most important characteristics of

systems of stratification is their degree of flexibility. Sociologists
distinguish among such systems based on the extent to which they are
open or closed. In an open system, the boundaries between levels in the
hierarchies are more flexible and may be influenced (positively or
negatively) by people’s achieved statuses. Open systems are assumed to
have some degree of social mobility. Social mobility is the movement of
individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another.
This movement can be either upward or downward. Intergenerational
mobility is the social movement experienced by family members from one
generation to the next. By contrast, intragenerational mobility is the social
movement of individuals within their own lifetime. In a closed system, the
boundaries between levels in the hierarchies of social stratification are
rigid, and people’s positions are set by ascribed status. Open and closed
systems are ideal-type constructs; no actual stratification system is
completely open or closed.
REF: pages 216-217 OBJ: 8.9
3. Outline the three major systems of stratification.
ANS: Slavery is an extreme form of stratification in which some people are

owned by others. It is a closed system in which people designated as
“slaves” are treated as property and have little or no control over their
lives. As practiced in the United States, slavery had four primary
characteristics: (1) it was for life and was inherited (children of slaves were
considered to be slaves); (2) slaves were considered property, not human
beings; (3) slaves were denied rights; and (4) coercion was used to keep
slaves “in their place.” Despite the fact that slavery in this country officially
ended many years ago, sociologists believe that its legacy is deeply
embedded in current patterns of prejudice and discrimination against
African Americans. The caste system is also a closed system of social
stratification. A caste system is a system of social inequality in which
people’s status is permanently determined at birth based on their parents’
ascribed characteristics. In India, caste is based in part on occupation. By
contrast, the caste system in South Africa was based on racial
classifications and the belief of white South Africans that they were
morally superior to the black majority. Until the 1990s, the white South
Africans controlled the government, the police, and the military by
enforcing apartheid (the separation of the races). The class system is a
type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and
on the type of work people do. At least theoretically, a class system is
more open than a caste system because the boundaries between classes
are less distinct than the boundaries between castes. In a class system,
status comes at least partly through achievement rather than entirely by
ascription.
393
4. Explain sociologist Karl Marx’s perspective on class position and class

relationships.
ANS: According to sociologist Karl Marx, class position and the extent of
our income and wealth are determined by our work situation, or our
relationship to the means of production. Marx stated that capitalistic
societies consist of two classes—the capitalists and the workers. The
capitalist class (bourgeoisie) consists of those who own the means of
production—the land and capital necessary for factories and mines. The
working class (proletariat) consists of those who must sell their labor to the
owners in order to earn enough money to survive. According to Marx,
class relationships involve inequality and exploitation. The workers are
exploited as capitalists maximize their profits by paying workers less than
the resale value of what they produce but do not own. Marx suggests
exploitation involves ongoing interactions between the two antagonistic
classes that are structured by a set of social relations that binds the
exploiter and the exploited together. Continual exploitation results in
workers’ alienation—a feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from
other people and from oneself. According to Marx, the capitalists
maintains its positions at the top of the class structure by control of the
society’s superstructure, which is composed of the government, schools,
churches, and other social institutions that produce and disseminate ideas
perpetuating the existing system of exploitation. Marx predicted that the
exploitation of workers by the capitalist class would ultimately lead to class
conflict—the struggle between the capitalist class and the working class.
According to Marx, when the workers realized that capitalists were the
source of their oppression, they would overthrow the capitalists and their
agents of social control, leading to the end of capitalism. The workers
would then take over the government and create a more egalitarian
society.
5. Outline sociologist Max Weber’s multidimensional approach to social

stratification and explain how people are ranked on all three dimensions.
ANS: According to sociologist Max Weber, no single factor (such as

economic divisions between capitalists and workers) was sufficient for
defining the location of categories of people within the class structure.
Weber stated that the access that people have to important societal
resources (such as economic, social, and political power) is crucial in
determining life chances.
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Chapter 8
Weber developed a multidimensional approach to social stratification that

reflects the interplay among wealth, prestige, and power. Wealth is the
value of all of a person’s or family’s economic assets, including income,
personal property, and income-producing property. Weber placed
categories of people who have a similar level of wealth and income in the
same class. He identified a privileged commercial class of
entrepreneurs—wealthy bankers, ship owners, professionals, and
merchants who possess similar financial resources. He also described a
class of rentiers—wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do
not have to work. According to Weber, entrepreneurs and rentiers have
much in common. Both are able to purchase expensive consumer goods,
control other people’s opportunities to acquire wealth and property, and
monopolize costly status privileges (such as education) that provide
contacts and skills for their children. Weber divided those who work for
wages into two classes: the middle class and the working class. The
middle class consists of white-collar workers, public officials, managers,
and professionals. The working class consists of skilled, semiskilled, and
unskilled workers. The second dimension of Weber’s system of
stratification is prestige—the respect or regard with which a person or
status position is regarded by others. Fame, respect, honor, and esteem
are the most common forms of prestige. A person who has a high level of
prestige is assumed to receive deferential and respectful treatment fro
others. Weber suggested that individuals who share a common level of
social prestige belong to the same status group regardless of their level of
wealth. They tend to socialize with one another, marry within their own
group of social equals, spend their leisure time together, and safeguard
their status by restricting outsiders’ opportunities to join their ranks. Style
of life, formal education, and occupation are often significant factors in
establishing and maintaining prestige in industrial and postindustrial
societies. The other dimension of Weber’s system is power—the ability of
people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others.
The powerful can shape society in accordance with their own interests and
direct the actions of others. Weber stated that wealth, prestige, and power
are separate continuums on which people can be ranked from high to low.
Individuals may be high on one dimension while being low on another. In
Weber’s multidimensional approach, people are ranked on all three
dimensions.
6. Describe sociologists Dennis Gilbert’s class structure in the United States.
ANS: Sociologists Dennis Gilbert developed a widely used model of social

classes based on three elements: (1) education, (2) occupation of family
head, and (3) family income. They identified six different categories. The
upper (capitalist) class—which is the wealthiest and most powerful in the
395
United States—includes about one percent of the population whose

members own substantial income-producing assets and operate on both
the national and international levels. The upper-middle class—persons in
this class are often highly educated professionals who have built their
careers as physicians, attorneys, etc. About 14 percent of the population
is in this category. A combination of three factors qualifies people for the
upper-middle class: university degrees, authority and independence on
the job, and high income. Of all the class categories, the upper-middle
class is the one that is most shaped by formal education. In the middle
class of today, two-year and four-year college degrees are necessary for
entry-level requirements for employment in any middle-class occupations,
including medical technicians, nurses, etc. An estimated 30 percent of the
population is in this category. The working class is an estimated 30
percent of the population. The core of this class is made up of semiskilled
machine operators who work in factories. Working class families not only
earn less than middle-class families, but they also have less financial
security, particularly because of high rates of layoffs and plant closings.
Few people in this class have more than a high school diploma, and many
have less, which makes job opportunities scarce for them in a “high-tech”
society. The working poor account for about 20 percent of the population.
Members of this class live from just above to just below the poverty line;
they typically hold unskilled jobs, seasonal migrant jobs in agriculture,
lower-paid factory jobs, and service jobs (such as counter help at
restaurants). Employed single mothers often belong to this class. For this
category, living from paycheck to paycheck makes it impossible to save
money for emergencies. The underclass—people in this category are
poor, seldom employed, and caught in long-term deprivation that results
from low levels of education and income and high rates of unemployment.
Single mothers are overrepresented in this class because of the lack of
jobs, the lack of affordable child care, and many other impediments to the
mother’s future and that of her children. About 3 to 5 percent of the
population is in this category.
7. Discuss sociologist Erik Wright’s Marxian Model of the U.S. class

structure.
ANS: Sociologist Erik Wright outlined four criteria for placement in the
class structure: (1) ownership of the means of production, (2) purchase of
the labor of others (employing others), (3) control of the labor of others
(supervising others on the job), and (4) sale of one’s own labor (being
employed by someone else). Wright assumes that these criteria can be
used to determine the class placement of all workers, regardless of
race/ethnicity in a capitalist society.
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Wright identified four classes. The capitalist class holds most of the
wealth and power in society through ownership of capital—banks,
corporations, factories, etc. The “ruling elites” or “ruling class” within this
category hold political power and are often elected or appointed to
influential political positions. The capitalist class is composed of
individuals who have inherited fortunes, own major corporations, or are
top corporate executives with extensive stock holdings or control of
company investments. The major sources of income for the capitalist class
are profits, interest, and very high salaries. Members of this class make
important decisions about the workplace, including which products and
services to make available to consumers and how many workers to hire or
fire.
The managerial class has substantial control over the means of
production and over workers. However, these upper-level managers,
supervisors, and professionals typically do not participate in key corporate
decisions such as how to invest profits. Top professionals may control the
structure of their own work; however, they typically do not own the means
of production and may not have supervisory authority over more than a
few people. Members of the managerial class occupy a contradictory
class location between the capitalist and working classes. The small-
business class consists of small-business owners and craftspeople that
may hire a small number of employees but largely do their own work. It is
in the small-business class that we find many people’s hopes of achieving
the American Dream. Recent economic trends, including corporate
downsizing, telecommuting, and the movement of jobs to other countries,
have encouraged more people to think about starting their own business.
As a result, more people today are self-employed or own a small business
than at any time in the past. The working class is made up of a number of
subgroups, one of which is blue-collar workers, some of whom are highly
skilled and well paid, and others of whom are unskilled and poorly paid.
Skilled blue-collar workers include electricians and plumbers; unskilled
blue-collar workers include janitors and gardeners. White-collar workers
are another subgroup of the working class; they include secretaries, other
clerical workers, and sales workers. These workers are at the bottom of
the class structure in terms of domination and control in the workplace.
The working class contains about half of all employees in the United
States.
8. Compare the distribution of income and wealth (inequality) in the United

States, providing statistical information to illustrate the inequality.
ANS: Money in the form of both income and wealth is very unevenly
distributed in the United States. Money is essential for acquiring goods
and services.
397
People without money cannot purchase food, shelter, clothing, medical

care, legal aid, education, and the other things they need or desire.
Median household income varies widely from one state to another. Among
the prosperous nations, the United States is number one in inequality of
income distribution. In regard to income inequality in the United States,
sociologist Dennis Gilbert identified that in 2009, the wealthiest 20 percent
of households received almost 50 percent of the total income, while the
poorest 20 percent of households received less than 3 percent of all
income. Income distribution varies by race/ethnicity as well as class.
9. Describe consequences of inequality in relation to physical and mental

health and nutrition.
ANS: People who are wealthy and well educated and who have high-
paying jobs are much more likely to be healthy than are poor people. As
people’s economic status increases, so does their health status. The poor
have shorter life expectancies and are at greater risk for chronic illnesses
such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, as well as infectious
diseases such as tuberculosis. Children born into poor families are at
much greater risk of dying during their first year of life. Most of the poor do
not receive preventive medical and dental check-ups; many do not receive
adequate medical care after they experience illness or injury. Many high-
poverty areas lack an adequate supply of doctors and medical facilities.
Some “charity” clinics and hospitals may provide indigent patients (those
who cannot pay) with minimal emergency care but make them feel
stigmatized in the process. For many of the working poor, medical
insurance is out of the question. Good health is basic to good life chances;
in turn, adequate nutrition is essential for good health. Hunger is related to
class position and income inequality. Lack of adequate nutrition has been
linked to children’s problems in school.
REF: pages 237-238 OBJ: 8.14
10. Discuss consequences of inequality in relation to housing.
ANS: Homelessness is a major problem in the United States. The lack of

affordable housing is a pressing concern for many low-income individuals
and families. With the economic prosperity of the 1990s, low-cost housing
units in many cities were replaced with expensive condominiums and
luxury single-family residences for affluent people. Since then, housing
costs have remained high compared to many families’ ability to pay for
food, shelter, clothing, and other necessities. The economic crisis of the
2000s contributed to increased numbers of foreclosures that have placed
more families in danger of becoming homeless.
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Lack of affordable housing is one consequence. Another concern is

substandard housing.
REF: pages 238-239 OBJ: 8.12
11. In relation to consequences of inequality in education, compare

functionalist and conflict perspectives.
ANS: Educational opportunities and life chances are directly linked. Some
functionalist theorists view education as the “elevator” to social mobility.
Improvements in the educational achievement levels (measured in
number of years school completed) of the poor, people of color, and white
women have been cited as evidence that students’ abilities are now more
important than their class, race, or gender. From this perspective,
inequality in education is declining and students have an opportunity to
achieve upward mobility through achievements at school. Functionalists
generally see the education system as flexible, allowing most students the
opportunity to attend college if they apply themselves. In contrast, most
conflict theorists stress that schools are agencies for reproducing the
capitalist class system and perpetuating inequality in society. From this
perspective, education perpetuates poverty. Parents with limited income
are not able to provide the same educational opportunities for their
children as are families with greater financial resources. Today, great
disparities exist in the distribution of educational resources. Because
funding for education primarily comes from local property taxes, school
district in suburban areas generally pay higher teachers’ salaries, have
newer buildings, and provide state-of-the-art equipment. By contrast,
schools in poorer areas have a limited funding base.
REF: pages 239-240 OBJ: 8.11
12. Define the official poverty line and differentiate between absolute poverty
and relative poverty.
ANS: The U.S. Social Security Administration has established an official

poverty line, which is based on what is considered to be the minimum
amount of money required for living at a subsistence level. The poverty
line is computed by determining the cost of a minimally nutritious diet (a
low-cost food budget on which a family could survive nutritionally on a
short-term, emergency basis) and multiplying this figure by three to allow
for nonfood costs. Absolute poverty exists when people do not have the
means to secure the most basic necessities of life. Absolute poverty often
has life-threatening consequences, such as when a homeless person
freezes to death on a park bench. By comparison, relative poverty exists
when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still unable to
maintain an average standard of living.
399
REF: pages 240 OBJ: 8.3
13. Describe the poor in the United States, referencing age, gender, and
race/ethnicity elements.
ANS: Poverty in the United States is highly concentrated according to age,

gender, and race/ethnicity. Today, children are at a much greater risk of
living in poverty than are older persons. The age category most vulnerable
to poverty today is the very young. One out of every three persons below
the poverty line is under 18 years of age. The precarious position of
African American and Latino/a children is even more striking. In 2003,
about 30 percent of all African Americans under the age of 18 lived in
poverty; 28 percent of Latino/a children were also poor, as compared to
less than 10 percent of non-Latino/a white children. Children as a group
are poorer now than they were at the beginning of the 1980s, whether
they live in one- or two-parent families. The majority live in two-parent
families in which one or both parents are employed. However, children in
single-parent households headed by women have a much greater
likelihood of living in poverty. In 2003, approximately 29 percent of white
(non-Latino/a) children under age 18 in female-headed households lived
below the poverty line, as sharply contrasted with about 50 percent of
Latino/a and 49 percent of African American children in the same
category.
About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women. In 2003,
single-parent families headed by women had a 35 percent poverty rate as
compared with a 10 percent rate for two-parent families. Sociologist Diana
Pearce coined a term to describe this problem. The feminization of poverty
refers to the trend in which women are disproportionately represented
among individuals living in poverty. According to Pearce, women have a
higher risk of being poor because they bear the major economic and
emotional burdens of raising children when they are single heads of
households, but earn between 70 and 80 cents for every dollar a male
worker earns.
According to some stereotypes, most of the poor and virtually all
welfare recipients are people of color. However, this stereotype is false;
white Americans (non-Latinos/as) account for approximately two-thirds of
those below the official poverty line. Native Americans are among the
most severely disadvantaged persons in the United States. About one-
third are below the poverty line, and some of these individuals live in
conditions of extreme poverty.
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14. Distinguish between functionalist perspectives and conflict perspectives in

regards to explaining social inequality in the U.S.
ANS: According to sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore,

inequality is not only inevitable but also necessary for the smooth
functioning of society.
The Davis-Moore thesis is summarized as follows: (1) all societies
have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain positions that
must be filled; (2) some positions are more important for the survival of
society than others; (3) the most important positions must be filled by the
most qualified people; (4) the positions that are the most important for
society and that require scarce talent, extensive training, or both, must be
the most highly rewarded; and (5) the most highly rewarded positions
should be those that are functionally unique (no other position can perform
the same function) and on which other positions rely for expertise,
direction, or financing. The Davis-Moore thesis assumes that social
stratification results in meritocracy—a hierarchy in which all positions are
rewarded based on people’s ability and credentials. From a conflict
perspective, people with economic and political power are able to shape
and distribute the rewards, resources, privileges, and opportunities in
society for their own benefit. Conflict theorists do not believe that
inequality serves as a motivating force for people; they argue that powerful
individuals and groups use ideology to maintain their favored positions at
the expense of others. According to conflict theorists, certain stereotypes
suggest that wealthy people might be smarter than others. Conflict
theorists also note that laws and informal social norms support inequality
in the United States. According to conflict theorists, the reason inequality
is growing in the United States partially lies in the concept of surplus
value—the value produced, or the profit created when the cost of labor is
less than the cost of the goods or services that are produced by the
workers. Thus, surplus value is created by the workers’ labor power, which
is bought and employed by members of the capitalist and managerial
classes, who work on behalf of the capitalist class. When profits are made,
they are either reinvested in the business or used for the enrichment of
members of the capitalist class, which includes wealthy shareholders.
REF: page 245 OBJ: 8.6
15. Discuss U.S. stratification in the future.
ANS: Many social scientists believe that existing trends point to an

increase in social inequality in the United States. The purchasing power of
the dollar has stagnated or declined since the early 1970s.
401
As families started to lose ground financially, more family members

(especially women) entered the labor force in an attempt to support
themselves and their families. Wealth continues to become more
concentrated at the top of the U. S. class structure. As the rich have grown
richer, many people have found themselves among the ranks of the poor.
Federal tax laws in recent years have benefited corporations and wealthy
families at the expense of middle- and lower-income families. Structural
sources of upward mobility are shrinking whereas the rate of downward
mobility has increased.
It has been said that a chain is no stronger than its weakest link. It
is to our advantage to see that those who cannot find work or do not have
a job that provides a living wage receive adequate training and
employment. Innovative programs can combine job training with producing
something useful to meet the immediate needs of people living in poverty.
Children today (the adults of tomorrow) need nutrition, education, health
care, and safety as they grow up. Some social scientists believe that the
United States will become a better nation if it attempts to regain the
American Dream by attacking poverty.
REF: pages 246-248 OBJ: 8.12
ESSAY SECTION
1. Discuss your personal perspective of the American Dream.
REF: pages 214-215 OBJ: 8.14
The following are suggested areas for students to address in their essays:
Describe what living the American Dream would entail for you
Discuss whether or not you think the American Dream is a reality for most
people today
2. Summarize global systems of stratification.
Describe an open system and provide an example
Describe a closed system and provide an example
Define “social mobility”
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Discuss intergenerational mobility and provide an example
Discuss intragenerational mobility and provide an example
Encourage students to include any personal experience with global

systems of stratification, such as intergenerational/intragenerational
mobility, in their responses
3. Outline sociologist Karl Marx’s theory on the relationship to the means of

production and apply the theory to contemporary America.
Define the means of production
Describe the bourgeoisie (capitalist class)
Describe the proletariat (working class)
Explain alienation
Provide a contemporary application of Marx’s theory to America
Encourage students to include any personal experience with Marx’s

means of production in their responses; for example, if they are
employed—what class are they and do they experience alienation
4. Imagine you were walking along the beach and found a bottle. You rubbed
the bottle and a genie appeared. The genie could grant you any one of the
following elements: wealth, power, or prestige. Which would you choose?
Explain.
Provide a personal definition of wealth, power, and prestige
Identify which of the three elements you would choose to have and
explain why you selected it over the others
Describe what you would do with the selected element
403
Discuss how you could use the selected element to acquire the other two
elements
Encourage students to include any personal experience, in regards to

acquiring wealth, power, or prestige in their life, in their responses
5. Describe the ways that SES has shaped the life choices of members of
your own family.
Describe what sociologists mean by the term “socioeconomic status”

(SES)
Explain how your parents’ income level has assisted or hampered your
pursuit of attending college
Analyze your parents’ role in encouraging you to attend college
Reflect on your parents’ ability to provide material and non-

material goods and services
Discuss the ways your life choices would have been increased by greater
family income and wealth as well as the ways your life choices would have
been changed if your family had lower income and wealth
6. Utilizing sociologists Dennis Gilbert’s model of the United States class

system, locate where your parents are on the ladder and discuss.
Identify the specific class your parents are in
Describe their education level
Discuss their occupation
Indicate their income level
Summarize how your parents got to their social class standing
7. Utilizing sociologists Dennis Gilbert’s model of the United States class

system, locate where you are currently or locate where you aspire to be.
404
Chapter 8
Identify the specific class you are currently in
Describe your current education level
Discuss your current occupation
Indicate your current income level
Summarize how you got to your current social class standing
Identify the specific class you aspire to be in
Describe your education goals
Discuss your occupational goals
Summarize how you plan to get to your aspired social class standing
8. In relation to consequences of inequality, discuss how your family’s social

class influenced the following areas of your life when growing up: physical
health, mental health, and education.
REF: pages 237-240 OBJ: 8.14
Discuss the type of health care that was available
Describe how good health and nutrition are tied to income and wealth
Describe the type of housing/neighborhood that you were raised in and

how it influenced your life
Identify the type of education that you received (public/private and quality
of the schooling) and how it influenced your life
9. Imagine you have recently been appointed to the United States

Commission Against Poverty. Discuss what specific reforms and
strategies (assume that you have a blank check at your disposal) you
would attempt to implement in order to reduce or alleviate poverty in
America.
405
Identify what you believe is the primary reason for poverty in America
Define “absolute poverty” and provide an example
Define “relative poverty” and provide an example
Outline strategies that you would employ to reduce child poverty
Summarize strategies that you would employ to reduce female poverty
Describe strategies that you would employ to reduce racial minority

poverty
Encourage students to discuss any personal experience, with poverty, in

their responses
10. Analyze the legitimacy of Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore’s functionalist
perspective on social inequality in the United States.
REF: page 245 OBJ: 8.6
Describe five distinctive aspects of the Davis-Moore thesis
Analyze the validity of the meritocracy system
Discuss the criticisms of the Davis-Moore thesis
Encourage students to suggest their own alternatives to combating social

inequality in the United States
406
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FIG. 57.
Diagram to represent the Mode of Action of Counter-irritants applied to

the Chest (Lauder Brunton). The irritation of the afferent nerves by the
blister on the chest wall gives rise to a vaso-constrictor reflex in the
vessels of the lung.
Since the vaso-motor nerves are connected almost exclusively with

the dorsal portion of the spinal cord, it is very natural to conclude that
the vaso-motor reflex centres are situated in this region; and the
hypothesis has been advanced by Jacubovitch, and strongly urged
by Gaskell,11 that the cells of the vesicular columns of Clarke, which
are peculiar to this region, are the seat of these reflex mechanisms.
This hypothesis gains some support from the pathology of syringo-
myelia. In this disease the gray matter surrounding the central canal
and the vesicular columns are destroyed. The characteristic
symptoms are vaso-motor and trophic disturbances, consisting of
changes in the vascular tone, changes of local temperature, and
various eruptions, in some cases going on to ulceration in the skin
and mucous membranes. It is, however, undecided whether the
vaso-motor centres of the cord are limited to the columns of Clarke,
or are situated in the gray matter surrounding the central canal, since
both these parts are destroyed in this disease.12 That they are not
located in the anterior or posterior gray cornua is determined by the
fact that diseases limited exclusively to these areas do not cause
vaso-motor disturbances. The situation of the various reflex centres
for the various parts of the body is at different levels of the cord, as
has been determined by the experiments already cited to establish
the level of origin of the vaso-motor nerves. The exact location of the
vaso-constrictor and vaso-dilator reflex centres for definite parts is
yet to be ascertained.
11 Loc. cit.
12 See Fürstner, Arch. für Psych., xiv. 422.
Vaso-motor Tracts.—These reflex centres are connected with the

medulla by tracts which lie in the lateral columns of the spinal cord,13
although it is not determined in which part of these columns. It is not
possible as yet to separate the constrictors from the dilators in this
tract, nor to determine whether it transmits impulses in both
directions or only from above downward. Nor is the course of
associating fibres between reflex centres at different levels known. In
cases of transverse myelitis the control of the medulla is removed
from the vascular centres below the lesion, and the lack of vascular
tone seen in the paralyzed limbs, together with the susceptibility to
local irritation, is the result of this division of the vaso-motor tracts.
13 “Owsjanikow and Tschirijew,” Bull. de l'Acad. de St. Petersbourg, xviii. 18.
Medullary Centres.—It has been stated already that a general vaso-

motor centre with both constrictor and dilator powers is situated in
the medulla. This lies in two divisions on each side of the middle line,
in or just beneath the floor of the fourth ventricle, from the calamus
scriptorius up to the level of the sixth nerve-nucleus. Each division
governs the vascular tone of its own side of the body,14 and lesions
in its region in man produce unilateral vaso-motor symptoms.15 This
centre can be excited to reflex action by strong irritation locally or
through the blood, in which case a general constriction or dilatation
of the vessels of the entire body will ensue. It seems probable,
however, that the general centre in the medulla is made up of a
number of special centres, each of which governs a definite set of
organs. The vascular tone of the thoracic and abdominal viscera is
certainly regulated by a series of such centres. Brown-Séquard and
Schiff have produced hemorrhages in the lungs, pleura, stomach,
intestines, and kidneys at different times by destructive lesions of the
medulla, and the well-known experiments of Bernard, in which by
puncture of the medulla local hyperæmia of the liver or kidneys was
caused, producing glycosuria or polyuria, confirm this view. Lesions
of these parts in man produce similar effects. Charcot has shown
that in cerebral hemorrhage ecchymoses may be found in the
stomach, pleura, and endocardium, and that pneumonia is especially
frequent upon the paralyzed side. De Jonge16 has been able to
collect thirteen cases of diabetes mellitus in which a lesion of the
medulla (hemorrhage or tumor) was found after death; and Flatten17
has proven the existence of similar lesions in diabetes insipidus. The
connection of these centres with the liver and kidneys has been
traced elsewhere.18 The medulla contains a special centre for the
vaso-motor nerves of the abdomen, which are in the domain of the
splanchnic nerves. This centre is excited reflexly by impulses
reaching it through the depressor nerve of Cyon from the heart; so
that when that organ is overburdened it may be relieved by a fall of
arterial pressure produced by dilatation of the abdominal vessels.
Whether the connection of the medulla with the centres in the
semilunar ganglion which preside directly over these vessels is
made by way of the spinal cord or by way of the pneumogastric
nerve is still undetermined, though the researches of Gaskell favor
the former view. Gastric and intestinal disturbances are certainly
produced by nervous lesions in the medulla, but whether they are
due to vascular changes is uncertain. The vomiting of mucus and
blood, and the large watery evacuations which accompany mental
shock or anxiety, as well as the polyuria associated with mental
effort, have been ascribed to irritation of local centres in the medulla
governing the gastro-intestinal and urinary organs by impulses
received from the cortex above. The spleen is under the control of
vaso-motor centres, since section of the splenic branches of the
semilunar ganglia will produce a great enlargement of the organ, and
irritation of the cut end of these branches will produce contraction.19
The medulla also contains a vaso-dilator centre for the erectile
tissues of the genital organs, irritation of which by mental action or
local disease causes impulses to pass to the nervi erigentes by way
of the spinal cord, resulting in a flow of blood to the parts. Although a
centre has been thought to exist controlling the circulation in the
lungs, whose paralysis has been supposed to explain the occurrence
of sudden pulmonary œdema without other known cause, no definite
facts regarding it are known. That the action of the heart is under the
control of the medulla is a fact too well known to require more than a
mention. The physiology of the nervous control of the heart cannot
be discussed here.
14 Owsjanikow, Arbeiten aus d. Physiol. Instit. zu Leipzig, 1871.
15 M. A. Starr, “Sensory Tract in Central Nervous System,” Journ. Nerv. and Ment.
Dis., July, 1884, pp. 396-398.
16 Arch. f. Psych., xiii.
17 Ibid.
18 See Tyson, “Diabetes Mellitus,” Pepper's System of Medicine, Vol. I. p. 195; Edes,
“Diabetes Insipidus,” ibid., Vol. IV. p. 30.
19 Tarchanoff, Pflüger's Arch., viii. p. 97; Ross, Diseases of the Nervous System, vol.
i. p. 225.
While these medullary centres are certainly influenced by impulses

reaching them from the cerebral hemispheres, as is evident from the
vaso-motor symptoms produced by mental action—e.g. pallor from
fright, blushing, etc.—it is impossible to state in what portion of the
hemispheres in man the higher vaso-motor centres lie. Eulenburg
and Landois locate them in the motor area in animals.20 They are
certainly beyond control of the will, and are wholly reflex in their
action, a purely mental act in this case being the excitant of a purely
physical result.21
20 Arch. f. Path. Anat., Bd. lxviii. p. 245.
21 In addition to the articles already cited the reader is referred to Landois's

Physiology, to Duval's article, “Vaso-moteurs,” in the Dictionnaire de Médecine et de
Chirurgie, vol. xxxviii. (1885), for a summary of vaso-motor physiology, and to
Gerhardt's “Ueber Angio-neurosen,” Volkmann's Sammlung klin. Vorträge, No. 209.
Gaskell's researches, published in the Journal of Physiology, are the most recent and
satisfactory.
PATHOGENESIS.—From this review of the physiology of the vaso-motor
system it becomes evident that disturbances of vascular tone may
be produced by many different causes acting upon many various
parts. They may be due to local affections of the part in which the
symptoms are present, as in the case of erythema22 after burns or
frost-bite, or congestion of any organ after injury. They may be due
to affections of the vaso-motor nerves passing to the part affected,
as in the case of vascular changes due to peripheral nerve lesions.23
They may be due to affections of the sympathetic ganglia connected
with the part affected, as in the case of migraine,24 sudden flushing
of one ear, certain cases of polyuria,25 and Basedow's disease.26
They may be due to lesions in the spinal cord affecting the vaso-
motor centres27 or compressing the nerve-roots on their way to and
from the sympathetic ganglia,28 as is the case in the various forms of
myelitis and in Raynaud's disease or symmetrical gangrene, and in
meningitis, tumors of the cord, or Pott's disease. They may also be
caused by such conditions in the cord as cut off the vaso-motor
centres from the medullary centres, such as transverse myelitis from
compression or traumatism.29 They may be due to lesions of the
medulla oblongata,30 as is seen in some cases of polyuria and
glycosuria,31 and in cases of universal erythema32 following acute
fevers. They may be due to diseases of the cerebral hemispheres,
as is evident from the vaso-motor symptoms occurring in hemiplegia
and hysteria. Finally, they may be of a reflex origin, dependent upon
some obscure source of irritation in a part quite distant from the
region in which the symptoms appear.33
22 Vol. IV. p. 511.
23 Vol. V., “Neuritis.”
24 Vol. V., “Migraine.”
25 Vol. IV., “Polyuria.”
26 Vol. III. p. 761.
27 Vol. V., “Syringo-myelitis.”

28 Vol. V., “Meningitis Spinalis.”
29 Vol. V., “Transverse Myelitis.”
30 Vol. V., “Medulla.”
31 Vol. I., “Diabetes Mellitus.”
32 Vol. IV. p. 512.
33 Vol. V. p. 205.
The DIAGNOSIS of the seat of the lesion in many cases of vaso-motor

neurosis may be made if the organ or the exact limitation of the area
affected be ascertained, and the history of the case, together with
the concurrent symptoms of other kinds, be considered. In some
cases no organic cause can be found, and in these a reflex cause
should be diligently searched for.
SYMPTOMS.—A vaso-motor affection may manifest itself either by a

spasm or a paralysis of the vessels. In angiospasm the part affected
becomes pale, and irritation no longer causes a vaso-motor reflex. It
looks shrunken, and if the skin over it is loose it may be thrown into
folds or shrivelled, presenting the appearance seen in the hands
after long immersion in hot water. The lack of blood in the part
arrests the processes of metabolism which are normally constant,
and if the condition continues this may result in such a disturbance of
nutrition that ulceration, or even gangrene, may ensue. The local
anæmia, combined with the cessation of metabolism, produces a fall
of temperature in the affected part, which is then more easily
affected by the temperature of the air than in a normal state, so that
exposure to cold is very liable to cause freezing. These conditions
necessarily produce an impairment of function, so that if the affection
is located in the extremities, as the fingers, they are soon rendered
useless. The term digiti mortui has been applied to this state. In the
surface of the body angiospasm causes cutis anserina, pallor,
numbness, tingling, slight anæsthesia, and analgesia. If it occurs in a
limb, the finer motions are imperfectly performed, and in time the
nutrition of the muscles may be so impaired as to produce atrophy
and paresis. It may even lead to gangrene. Nothnagel has
recorded34 five cases of sciatica in which the pain produced a reflex
spasm of the vessels of the leg, which, persisting, resulted in partial
paralysis, atrophy, lowering of temperature, pallor, and sensory
disturbances. Ross mentions35 the sudden appearance of
circumscribed patches on the hands and forearms of washerwomen,
in which there is a pallor, coldness, and partial anæsthesia. These
may be limited to the distribution of a single nerve, and may be
accompanied by trophic affections.
34 Arch. f. Psych., v.
35 Vol. I. p. 221.
Spasm of the veins may occur as well as of the arteries,36 or

independently of them. In the latter case the blood will not pass out
of the capillaries. The part will then be blue, swollen, œdematous,
and painful; the temperature will be lowered by increased radiation of
heat, and all the sensations and functions be impaired in greater or
less degree. If this continues, nutrition may suffer, and in the end
gangrene develop, which will take its course and lead to the throwing
off of the part. Grainger Stewart has described such a condition
occurring in both hands and feet.37 It may be likened to a severe
form of Raynaud's disease.
36 Weiss, “Symmetrische Gangrän,” Wiener Klinik, 1882.
37 Grainger Stewart, An Introduction to the Study of Nervous Diseases, p. 138.
Angio-paralysis is more frequent than angiospasm, and may be due

either to paralysis of the vaso-constrictors or to excitement of the
vaso-dilators. It shows itself by a bright-red or mottled appearance of
the skin, and increase of local temperature, and more rapid
processes of nutrition, together with an increase of secretion if the
part is a gland or a mucous membrane, and an increase of sweat if it
is the skin. In the latter case an increased sensitiveness to changes
of temperature, a subjective sensation of heat, and hyperæsthesia
and hyperalgesia may occur. The hyperæsthesia on the paralyzed
side which is present in hemiparaplegia spinalis is ascribed to the
vaso-motor paralysis. But these symptoms soon give place to others.
The dilatation of the vessels, which at first caused an increased flow
of blood to the part, produces a slowing of the blood-current in the
part, just as a river runs less rapidly where it becomes wider. The
slowing of the current in the skin allows of a more complete cooling
of the part as the radiation of heat and the evaporation of moisture
are increased, and the slowness of the renewal of blood impairs the
processes of nutrition, so that to the first stage of redness, heat, and
increased metabolism there ensues a stage of blueness, cold, and
defective nutrition, and the function of the part may be impaired. In
this stage it usually presents a mottled appearance, and may be
slightly swollen and œdematous, and the continued increase of
perspiration gives it a clammy coldness to the touch. In all of these
conditions severe pain, sometimes of a burning character, is a very
distressing symptom (causalgia). These conditions are seen in
peripheral nerve-lesions, and give rise to the appearances which
have been so admirably described by Weir Mitchell.38
38 Injuries of Nerves.
A peculiar combination of symptoms may be mentioned here, to

which Weir Mitchell has given the name of erythromelalgia.39 This
disease begins with tenderness and pain in the soles of the feet,
which are soon followed by a marked distension of the capillary
vessels. The congestion is attended by a sensation of burning pain
similar to that produced by a blister. The surface is at first of a dull
dusky-red color; later it appears purple. The redness is not uniformly
distributed over the sole, but occurs in patches of irregular shape,
being especially frequent over prominent parts exposed to pressure
and friction, and the attacks seem to be brought on by long standing
or walking. At first there is a rise of temperature in the affected
surface, the arteries pulsate visibly, the veins are swollen, and there
may be some œdema. Later, the foot is cold and pale. Sensations of
touch and temperature are normal, but the part is so extremely
tender that walking is impossible. There is no paralysis. One or both
feet may be affected, but the patches of redness are rarely
symmetrical. The hands are occasionally affected. The condition
may occur in paroxysms or may remain for some time. It resists all
known methods of treatment, although applications of cold relieve
the burning pain to some extent and the tenderness enforces rest.
39 Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sci., July, 1878.
With angio-paralysis may be classed the taches cérébrales of

Trousseau no longer considered diagnostic of meningitis, but
denoting a weakened condition of vaso-constrictor action in the local
ganglia of the vessel-wall which may occur upon local irritation of the
skin in any severe disease affecting the nutrition of the general
nervous system.
Actual rupture of the capillaries in the course of vaso-motor diseases

is rarely observed, although the stigmata appearing in hysterical and
cataleptic patients may be ascribed to this cause. In this connection
tabetic ecchymoses may be mentioned, which appear suddenly
without local injury, and resemble an ordinary bruise, running a
similar course. They occur only in the course of locomotor ataxia.40
40 Straus, Arch. de Neurologie, tome i. p. 536.
In addition to these forms of vaso-motor affections there is a

condition of instability of vascular tone which manifests itself by
sudden transient changes in the circulation of various organs. This is
a functional affection, usually due to malnutrition. It is seen in many
cases of neurasthenia and hysteria, and manifests itself by sudden
flushes or pallor, alternations of heat and cold, local sweating,
attacks of mental confusion, and inability to use any organ
continuously from disturbance of the power of the vaso-dilators to
maintain a condition of functional hyperæmia.41 Little is actually
known about the causes of this state of the vascular system,
although much has been written about it. (For a fuller description the
article on Neurasthenia may be consulted.)
41 Anjel, Arch. für Psychiatrie, xv. 618.
Many functional derangements of the internal viscera have been
ascribed to such vaso-motor instability with more or less probability,42
but hypothesis of this kind, however plausible, is evidently beyond
confirmation. It is especially in affections of this kind that causes of
reflex irritation are to be carefully sought. Cutaneous angio-
neuroses, such as have just been described, may affect any part of
the body. They usually appear suddenly, producing much discomfort
and an impairment of function in the part if it is an extremity. They
disappear as rapidly as they come. The duration of such attacks
varies from a few minutes to several days. They are very liable to
recur. If it is the vessels under the control of the cervical sympathetic
which are affected, the symptoms will be those of migraine or of
lesion of the ganglia.43 If it is the vessels in the extremities which are
involved, the condition of digiti mortui or erythromelalgia or
symmetrical gangrene44 may be produced.
42 Fox, The Influence of the Sympathetic System in Disease, London, 1885.
43 See p. 1263.
44 See p. 1257.
A singular epidemic occurred in France in 1828 and 1830 which was

termed acrodynia. Many persons were suddenly seized with vomiting
and purging, and soon after the onset the extremities became red or
mottled in blotches, swollen and œdematous, and hot, painful, and
tender. The attacks lasted from a few days to two months, and
during this time the skin became thick and hard, the muscles weak
and subject to spasms, and the general health was impaired.
Relapses occurred in many cases, but all finally recovered, and
hence the exact nature of the disease was not ascertained.
COURSE.—In any case of vaso-motor neurosis the course of the

disease and its termination will depend chiefly upon its cause. If the
cause is some permanent lesion of the nervous system, the
condition will remain, and in this case the termination will depend
upon the severity of the symptoms. Angiospasm may be so severe
as to lead to gangrene ana the separation of the part affected, or
may be so slight as to cause only subjective discomfort and a little
pallor. Angio-paralysis may lead to an extreme degree of congestion,
which is attended by heat and pain at first, later by paræsthesia and
coolness, with increased liability of the part to be affected by
changes in the surrounding air. This stage is succeeded by one of
less marked dilatation of the vessels and a spontaneous partial
recovery, although the more moderate symptoms may continue
indefinitely and seriously impair the function of the part. If the cause
is a temporary derangement of function in the vascular mechanism,
is reflex irritation which can be removed, or is a curable organic
disease, the symptoms will subside rapidly or gradually and perfect
recovery may follow. If the condition is one of irritability in the vaso-
motor centres, producing alternations of flashing or pallor, such as is
observed in nervous exhaustion, it may recur irregularly for a
considerable length of time until the causative condition can be
removed.
PROGNOSIS.—The prognosis must be determined in each case by a

consideration of the cause of the affection, of the nature of the
symptoms, of the severity of the disease, and of the possibility of
success in both symptomatic and causative treatment. In the angio-
paralytic cases an eventual spontaneous relief from much of the
discomfort may be promised, although the duration of the symptoms
cannot be predicted.
TREATMENT.—Treatment must be directed primarily to removing or

diminishing the severity of the cause. A review of the section on
Pathogenesis will indicate how wide a field this may include, and the
reader must be referred to the special articles which are alluded to in
that place for therapeutic measures. Special diligence is to be shown
in searching for a source of reflex irritation. When the cause cannot
be reached, and when the symptoms are of such severity as to
demand immediate attention, treatment may be directed to them.
In all conditions of vaso-motor disease it is important to shield the

part from external injury; for if the vessels are dilated they are liable
to rupture, and any abrasion of the surface may produce serious
inflammation and ulceration; and if the vessels are contracted any
injury will be repaired slowly and imperfectly on account of the
anæmia, and may even hasten the approach of gangrene.
Perfect rest, bandaging with cotton, and even the application of a

light splint to the extremities will be advisable in cases of
angiospasm. It is desirable to retain the animal heat, inasmuch as its
supply is deficient. In angio-paralysis rest in a somewhat elevated
position and applications of mild evaporating lotions are indicated in
the early stage; later, the limb may be bandaged. It is not advisable
to attempt by tight bandaging to counteract the effect of the vascular
paralysis, for the nutrition of the limb is liable to suffer and gangrene
may be induced.
Massage of a part affected with vaso-motor symptoms is of great

service, since the circulation can be increased in the veins, and thus
indirectly in the capillaries, and the nutrition of the part can thus be
favored. It is more efficacious in angio-paralysis than in angiospasm.
Too rough rubbing is of course to be avoided, lest the skin be injured.
All counter-irritation is to be strictly forbidden.
Electricity has been used with varying results. According to Erb,45

moderate faradic applications contract the vessels; strong faradic
applications, especially with the brush, dilate the vessels. The
galvanic current at first contracts the vessels, but this is followed by
a secondary dilatation, which will be greater and occur more rapidly
the stronger the current used.46 Cathodal closures contract the
vessels; the anodal continuous current dilates them widely. Stabile
continuous currents through a nerve dilate the vessels which the
nerve supplies. Inasmuch as vaso-constrictors and vaso-dilators
pass together in many nerves, and are found together in all parts, it
is impossible to apply electricity to either alone. In those cases,
therefore, in which it has been ascertained which set of vaso-motors
is affected, it is not always possible to produce a direct effect upon
that set by electrical treatment. Erb recommends, in conditions of
vaso-motor spasm a trial of the galvanic current, the cathode on an
indifferent point, the anode being applied over the vaso-motor
centres governing the part, and also over the area of the body which
is affected, and held there while a moderate continuous current is
passing, interruptions being avoided; or, the cathode being placed on
the neck, the anode may be applied to the nerves passing to the
affected part; or a strong continuous current may be sent through the
nerve, its direction being changed several times during a moderately
long application. Finally, the faradic brush applied to the part or a
strong faradic current sent through its nerve may relax the spasm. In
any case, all these methods should be tried before electrical
treatment is abandoned.
45 Electrothérapie, 562.
46 To this statement Lauder Brunton assents—Pharmacology, p. 250.
In vaso-motor paralysis other methods are used. The cathode is

placed on the part congested, and a weak galvanic current is
employed with frequent interruptions or even with changes of the
pole; or the cathode may be moved about upon the reddened skin
while a mild continuous current is passing. A very weak faradic
current with wet electrodes, or even a weak faradic current applied
with a brush, may be of service. Here, again, various methods may
be tried.
If the extremities are affected, it may be well to immerse them in a

basin of water which is connected with one pole of the battery, and
the current directed in the manner just described, according to the
case. It must be confessed that no definite results can be predicted
from the use of electricity in these cases, and much more experience
is needed before definite rules can be laid down. The records show
that in apparently similar cases opposite methods of application have
produced favorable effects, while in other cases all methods have
failed. Too much reliance should not be placed in electrical
treatment. Erythromelalgia is an obstinate affection, and
symptomatic treatment, directed chiefly to quieting the pain by opium
and allaying the sensation of burning by cool baths, must be resorted
to.
Internal remedies may be tried appropriate to the condition present.
In angiospasm nitrite of amyl inhaled, or nitro-glycerin 1/100 gr. t. i. d.,
may give considerable relief, although both of these drugs are to be
used with caution. Chloral hydrate is also of some service, and
where the patient is in pain and suffers from insomnia this may fulfil
several indications. In angio-paralysis ergot has been used with
advantage. Oxygen inhalations are of service. Chloride of potassium
may also be tried. It is evident, however, that such remedies, acting
as they do upon the general arterial system, are not to be depended
upon in the treatment of local conditions, since they have no
selective action upon the affected part. The majority of the drugs
known as sedatives and antispasmodics have been used in these
conditions, but the records of individual cases show that they are not
of much avail. Theoretical therapeutic measures based upon
experimentation on animals have been fully discussed by Lauder
Brunton,47 but practical experience has not yet been sufficiently
extensive to warrant any further statements.
47 Pharmacology, Therapeutics, and Materia Medica, pp. 229-360. Lea Bros., 1886.
Symmetrical Gangrene.
SYNONYMS.—Local asphyxia, Asphyxie locale, Raynaud's disease;

Symmetrische Gangrän.
DEFINITION.—Symmetrical gangrene is an affection of the nervous

system characterized by arterial or venous spasm appearing in
symmetrical parts of the body, especially in the phalanges of all the
extremities, which may result in trophic changes or in gangrene.
There are various stages in the disease, which have given rise to the
various names by which it is known. The stage of local syncope, in
which there occurs a moderate contraction of the arterioles and
consequent pallor of the part, may be followed by a stage of local
asphyxia, in which the complete contraction of the arterioles cuts off
entirely the supply of arterial blood, and the regurgitation of venous
blood produces cyanosis of the part; and this, if continued, may
result in the gangrene of the part, which is then thrown off. Instead of
a condition of local asphyxia, there may be a spasm of the smaller
veins, resulting in a local erythema, which may go on to capillary
stasis and then to gangrene. The spasm of the vessels may cease at
any stage as suddenly as it began; and if this occurs in the first or
second stage, no gangrene results.
HISTORY.—While isolated cases of this affection had been recorded

as curiosities during the past two centuries,48 the disease was first
studied with care by Raynaud in his Thèse de Paris in 1862. He
collected twenty-eight cases which had been described with
accuracy or had been personally observed in the hospitals of Paris,
and after a thorough analysis of the symptoms defined the disease
as “a neurosis characterized by an exaggeration of the excito-motor
power of the cord presiding over the vaso-motor nerves.” He called
particular attention to the condition of spasm in the vessels, and
proposed the name asphyxie locale to designate the peculiar
appearance of the parts affected. He also noticed the resulting
gangrene as a new variety of gangrene, not dependent upon
embolism or upon changes of an atheromatous nature in the coats of
the vessels.
48 Schrader, 1629; Hertius, 1685; Bouquet, 1808; Moulin, 1830; Racle, 1859—cited in
full by Weiss, “Symmetrische Gangrän,” Wiener Klinik, 1882.
The condition was at once recognized by others, and several cases

had been reported prior to 1873, when Raynaud published a more
complete article on the subject in the Dictionnaire de Médecine et de
Chirurgie under the title gangrene symmétrique; in 1874 he recorded
five new cases in the Archives générales de Médecine, vol. i. pp. 5
and 189.
The disease, having been thus established as a definite nervous

affection, began to be noticed in other countries than France; and
Billroth in Vienna,49 Weir Mitchell,50 Mills,51 A. McL. Hamilton,52 and J.
C. Warren53 in this country, and many other careful observers,
published cases, together with more or less complete articles upon
the disease. In 1882, Weiss produced a monograph54 upon the
subject containing references to all the cases which had appeared;
and this is still the most complete article to be found, although the
essay of R. Lauer55 and the discussion of the disease by the Berlin
Medical Society,56 as well as the short articles of Schulz57 and Lutz,58
deserve mention, for they contain additional observations of cases
and numerous facts not to be found elsewhere.
49 Wiener Med. Wochensch., 1878, No. 23.
50 Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sci., 1878, July.
51 Ibid., 1878, Oct.
52 N. Y. Med. Journ., 1874, Oct.
53 Boston Surg. and Med. Journ., 1879, No. 3.
54 Weiss, Wiener Klinik, 1882, “Symmetrische Gangrän;” also Zeitschrift für Prac.
Heilkunde, 1882.
55 Inaug. Dissert., Strasburg, 1884.
56 Zeitschrift für klin. Med., vi. p. 277, 1883.
57 Deut. Arch. f. klin. Med., xxxv. 183, 1884.
58 Bäyr. ärzt Intell. Blatt, 1884, xxxi. 24.
SYMPTOMS.—The disease begins suddenly in all cases, and the

constitutional symptoms are less prominent than the local ones. In
some cases there are noticed a certain degree of mental
disturbance, a condition of depression with a tendency to sigh and
cry without cause, disturbed sleep with unpleasant dreams,
irritability, and headache. A loss of appetite and disorders of
digestion may follow, and then the local symptoms appear. In other
cases, which seem to be the majority, the local condition develops
without any such premonitory disturbances of the nervous and
digestive systems, although these may ensue. The local symptoms
first noticed may be paræsthesiæ or pain in all the extremities,
usually limited to the tips of the fingers and the toes. These are
continuous and severe, and are immediately followed (and
occasionally preceded) by an appearance of ischæmia or of
cyanosis or of erythema, in the order of frequency named.
(1) The fingers may look pale and dead, presenting the appearance
of the so-called digiti mortui, and may be cold, painful, and
anæsthetic. If this condition is moderate in degree, a certain amount
of blood will continue to flow through the contracted arterioles, and
then it corresponds to the description given by Raynaud of syncope
locale. If it is extreme, the part may be wholly deprived of arterial
blood, and then a true local asphyxia is present. In this stage the
patients usually suffer considerably, although some do not complain
of pain until the next stage. The ischæmia is attended with an
impairment of sensation to touch, temperature, and pain, and finer
motions become clumsy on account of the subjective numbness and
actual anæsthesia. At the same time, the fingers look shrunken, the
skin being thrown into folds, as if the hand had been soaked in hot
water, or they may appear as if frozen, the skin being hard and
immovable.59 The secretion of perspiration may be increased, and
the fingers feel damp as well as cold, or it may be suspended. The
local temperature is lowered. If the part is cut, little or no blood will
flow. At this stage the arterial spasm may suddenly relax and the part
return gradually to its normal condition, the cessation of the
constriction of the arteries and the return of blood being usually
accompanied by burning pain, which may last for some hours. The
duration of such an attack may vary from a few moments to several
days. If it continues longer, this stage is usually succeeded by the
second stage, of cyanosis.
59 Finlayson, Medical Chronicle, 1885, No. 4.
(2) The stage of cyanosis results from one of two conditions: either
the arterial spasm is so complete that no blood passes into the part,
in which case venous blood from lack of vis a tergo or in response to
gravitation regurgitates into the capillaries, distending them and
producing a state of blueness; or a venous spasm occurs, preventing
the exit of blood from the part, which then becomes actively
congested, and the blood in the capillaries, from want of renewal,
soon becomes venous and produces the cyanotic appearance. The
stage of ischæmia may be so short that it is hardly noticed, so that
the patient's attention is first attracted by the swollen, blue, and
extremely painful condition. The skin may be stretched, the tissue
infiltrated with products of exudation, which can be pressed out, as
can also the venous blood, and the surface may itch as well as be
painful. Anæsthesia is rarely present in this stage, and there may
even be hyperæsthesia. The part is cool from the increased radiation
of heat and cessation of the processes of metabolism, the local
temperature being lowered. The small vessels on the surface will be
visibly injected, and capillary ecchymoses may rarely be seen. There
is less liability to difficulty in movement in this stage than in the
former one, as the sensations of the part are not benumbed, but if
present it is due to the swelling. This condition, like that in the former
stage, may cease suddenly, the recovery of the normal appearance
being, as a rule, slower than after a simple ischæmia. The duration
of this stage has varied from a few seconds to several days. It is
usually followed by gangrene.
(3) The condition of local erythema is described here because it may

lead to gangrene, and has therefore been considered by Weiss as
one of the early stages of the disease. As a rule, however, it is not
followed by the death of the part, and the affection in these cases is
probably one of erythromelalgia rather than of symmetrical
gangrene. Like the stage of ischæmia, the stage of erythema may
appear suddenly. The part presents a bright-red or a mottled
appearance—is hot and swollen, and painful. The vessels are visibly
injected, the local temperature is raised, the secretion of sweat may
or may not be increased, and the patient feels a burning sensation
rather than pain. Hyperæsthesia to touch and temperature and pain
is usually present, or the sensations are normal. The blood can be
pressed out, but returns immediately. In this condition of hyperæmia
slight injuries lead frequently to an inflammatory process, ulcers may
form in the pulps of the fingers or around the nails, and the eschars
may appear dark and even gangrenous; or an actual condition of
gangrene may appear in the tips of the fingers, the exact method of
its occurrence being a matter of dispute. The erythematous condition
is much more likely to be permanent than are the other stages of the
disease—another fact which has led to some hesitation in
considering it a true stage. This condition of erythema may be due to
a paralysis of the vaso-constrictors, the converse of the spasm
occurring in ischæmia. It has also been ascribed to an irritation of the
vaso-dilators; and this appears to be the more probable hypothesis.
(4) The stage of gangrene is always preceded by that of cyanosis,

and the death of the tissue is due to the arrest of nutrition
consequent upon a stasis of the blood. It is not necessary to invoke
the injury of trophic nerves to explain its appearance. In the tips of
the cyanotic fingers, on their palmar surface, beneath the epidermis,
a small blister appears, filled with a dark serous fluid or with pus or
blood. This soon ruptures, and a dark dry scab forms, beneath which
an ulceration may go on destroying the corium, but not penetrating
deeper. In the majority of cases the gangrene is limited to a small
area of the pulps of the fingers, and only involves the superficial
layers of the corium. The gangrenous spot is surrounded by a purple
margin. When the sphacelus has separated a scar remains which is
frequently insensitive. In other cases when the sphacelus is thrown
off it leaves a deep ulcer, which may look as if the lost tissue had
been cut out with a punch, and this gradually granulates and heals.
In still other cases the entire skin of the terminal phalanx may
become black and dry, presenting a true gangrenous appearance.
Then a line of demarcation is formed, usually at the junction of the
terminal with the middle phalanx; separation of the gangrenous part
occurs, and a stump is left covered with thin, glossy skin. This
extensive gangrene, involving an entire phalanx, is the exception
rather than the rule.
While the gangrenous process is in progress in the tip of the finger

the nails cease to grow, and may become bulbous and rigid; the
epidermis elsewhere may become dry and desquamate, and
ulceration around the root of the nail may take place. With the
completion of the stage of gangrene, which may last from one to five
weeks according to its extent, the local symptoms terminate.
It is the symmetrical distribution of the local symptoms just

enumerated which is the peculiar characteristic of the disease. The
fingers of both hands, the toes of both feet, symmetrically situated
spots upon the back, trunk, thighs, legs, forearms, and arms (in the
order of frequency named), are affected either singly or in
combination. In the majority of cases fingers and toes are affected
together, and a few spots are seen on the trunk. In many cases the
toes escape. In a large number of cases the face has been affected,
spots of cyanosis appearing on the nose or ears or lips. As a rule,
the stage of gangrene only ensues in the tips of the extremities, but
a few cases are recorded in which little areas of skin elsewhere have
passed through all the stages of the disease. Pigmentation occurs in
spots upon the body when the process does not go on to gangrene.
Among the rare symptoms which have occurred in some cases are
great impairment of temperature, pain, and electric sensations in the
affected extremities; swelling, pain, redness about, and effusion into,
the joints; considerable loss of motion in the muscles of the hands
and feet, with diminution of electric excitability, but no qualitative
change; and oculo-pupillary changes ascribed to an irritation of the
cervical sympathetic fibres at their origin in the spinal cord.
In addition to the constitutional symptoms mentioned, which may

usher in the disease and may continue during its course, there have
been observed temporary albuminuria, glycosuria, and hæmaturia.
Fever never occurs as a symptom of the disease, and if present
must be ascribed to some other condition. The special senses have
been affected in a few cases. In one case a spastic contraction of
the retinal arteries alternated with attacks of ischæmia in the
extremities.60 The intellect is usually unaffected, but Weiss observed
a case in which transient aphasia occurred, which he attributes to
local spasm in the arteries of the cortex. The patient could find words
only after long thought, and spoke slowly and with difficulty.
60 Raynaud, Arch. gén. de méd., 1874, p. 11; Galezowski examined the discs.

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Sociology in Our Times 9th Edition

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CHAPTER 8: CLASS AND STRATIFICATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Category Chapter 8: Learning Objectives

COMPREHENSION: 4. Compare socioeconomic status and social class.

APPLICATION: 6. Compare functionalist and conflict approaches to measuring class.

ANALYSIS: The ability to 9. Outline Weber’s multidimensional approach to social stratification

MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION

1. __________ is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based

ANS: c REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

2. Sociologist Max Weber’s term, __________, addresses how much access

ANS: a REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

3. __________ are anything valued in a society, ranging from money and

ANS: b REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

4. One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is

a. there is no social mobility

ANS: b REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

5. __________ is the movement of individuals or groups from one level in a

ANS: d REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

6. Social movement experienced by family members from one generation to

ANS: b REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

7. Sarah’s father is a carpenter who makes good wages in good

ANS: c REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: application

8. The social movement of individuals within their own lifetime is called:

ANS: d REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

9. RaShandra began her career as a high-tech factory worker. Through

ANS: d REF: page 216 OBJ: 8.1 DIF: application

10. One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is

a. people’s positions are set by achieved statuses

ANS: b REF: pages 216-217 OBJ: 8.1 DIF: concept

11. Systems of stratification are characterized by different hierarchical

ANS: d REF: page 216-217 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: fact

12. The __________ system is an extreme form of stratification in which some

ANS: b REF: page 217 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: concept

a. It was for life and was inherited.

ANS: b REF: page 217 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: fact

14. A __________ is a system of social inequality in which people’s status is

ANS: d REF: pages 218-222 OBJ: 8.10 DIF: concept

a. racial classification; occupation

ANS: c REF: pages 218-222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact

16. The separation of the races refers to:

ANS: a REF: page 218 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact

17. In a __________, marriage is endogamous, meaning that people are

ANS: c REF: page 220 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: fact

18. The __________ system is a type of stratification based on the ownership

ANS: d REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

ANS: a REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

20. A university professor is promoted from the rank of assistant to associate

ANS: b REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: application

21. __________ occurs when people experience movement either up or down

ANS: b REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.9 DIF: concept

ANS: d REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: fact

24. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the __________ (capitalist class)

ANS: d REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: concept

25. According to sociologist Karl Marx, the __________ (working class)

ANS: a REF: page 222 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: concept

26. Sociologist Karl Marx acknowledged that classes may have:

a. many important overlapping socioeconomic interests

ANS: c REF: page 224 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: concept application

27. According to Karl Marx, continual exploitation results in workers’

ANS: d REF: pages 222-223 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: application

ANS: b REF: page 223 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: concept

ANS: c REF: page 223 OBJ: 8.2 DIF: application