Chapter 8 :

Social Class and Stratification

Social Stratification
• System of ranking categories of people
• Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3nllBT9ACg
Stratification
1. Societal trait – not based on individual abilities or efforts
2. Carry over from generation to generation
3. Universal but variable
4. Inequality as well as beliefs
Systems of Stratification
• Slavery: People as property; servitude
• Caste: Ascribed at birth
• Meritocracy: Personal effort
• Class System: Economic position and achieved status

Which one best describes the United States?

Stratification
• Social Class
• Upper class (1-2%)
• Upper-middle class (10-15%)
• Upper Middle: Dr’s, Lawyers, Architects 10-15%
• Middle class (30-35%)
• Teachers, Nurses, Office Administrators
• Working class (40-45%)
• Manual and blue collar positions.
• Under class (the “poor”) (20-25%)
• Low paid wages, job history interruptions and little to no education.
• Women with dependent children
• Minorities
• Elderly
Social Mobility
• Open System: A system of
stratification that allows for
social mobility between the
strata

• Closed System: A system of

stratification that does not
allow for social mobility
between the strata

Which best describes the United States?

Types of Social Mobility

• Horizontal Mobility

• Vertical Mobility

• Intergenerational Mobility

• Intragenerational Mobility
Total Poverty
 Example

• Household of two: $15,930(before taxes)

• $306/week
• @ 40 hours per week = $7.66/hour total

• US minimum wage???

• https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2017/demo/p60-259.html
 Feminization of Poverty
• Percentage of nation’s poor who are female:
• 1959– 28.3%
• 2007– 53%
 Click icon to add picture

Chart taken from

www.census.gov

Feminization of Poverty
The trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor.
Total Workers by Sex
 How does sex affect poverty?
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/P60-259.pd
f
Intersectionality
 How does race affect poverty?
https://
www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/P60-259.pdf
Quality of life for ND & SD Native American Reservations,
Dana Williams

Reservations Median household Unemployment rate Below poverty level

income

Spirit Lake $15,394 28.94% 43.37%

Standing Rock $14,541 18.66% 44.81%
Yankton $15,275 7.53% 37.30%
Cheyenne River $14,489 15.69% 46.32%
Fort Berthold $16,786 15.73% 35.08%
Lake Traverse $16,654 6.91% 28.43%
Lower Brule $19,250 15.63% 49.58%
Crow Creek $14,103 22.68% 48.83%
Flandreau $18,636 10.79% 22.50%
Turtle Mountain $11,304 31.10% 54.00%
Pine Ridge $11,260 28.94% 62.64%
Rosebud $12,618 22.37% 53.58%
 Education (2011-2015)

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf
Davis-Moore Thesis
• “social stratification has beneficial consequences for the
function of society”

• Every society has some sort of inequality

• Which perspective?
Davis-Moore Thesis
• Society as a meritocracy
• The greater function a position serves, the more reward
society attaches to it
• Unequal rewards benefit society as a whole
• Egalitarianism provides little incentive for people to put forth
effort
Davis-Moore Thesis
• Some occupational fields have more prestige than others
• Criticism: Rewards do not reflect contributions to society
• Athletes versus doctors?
• Caste systems do not allow gifted poor children the same
opportunities as gifted rich children
 Herbert Gans (1995) and Functions of Poverty

1) The poor do the “dirty work” of society

2) Poverty creates jobs for those who provide services to the

poor

3) Poverty upholds legitimacy of norms– hard work, success,

honesty, individualism

4) Guarantees the higher status of the affluent

5) Because of lack of political power, the poor absorb the cost

of social change
 Life Chances

• According to Max Weber, what

are life chances?
• Opportunities to provide
themselves with material goods,
positive living conditions and
favorable life experiences.

• What are some of your life

chances?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETR9qrVS17g
Marx and Material Resources
• Distribution of material resources

• Power is determined by ownership of the means of production

Bourgeoisie VS Proletariat
Functions of Belief in Meritocracy
• Reinforces idea that mobility is achievable

• Powerful belong in dominant positions

• Powerless belong in subordinate positions

Max Weber
• Three dimensions of social inequality
• Social class
• People who have similar level of economic resources
• Status (or social prestige)
• The respect and admiration that a particular status holds in a society
• Party (this could be seen as power)
• The capacity to organize to accomplish some particular goal
Socioeconomic Status (SES)

• A measure of social class

position that combines
education, occupation,
and income

• Class and status are not

necessarily linked.
Status Consistency

• High social mobility = low

• Low social mobility = high

Status Consistency
• Caste systems = high status consistency

• Class systems = low status consistency

• College professors
• Clergy
• Drug dealers
Pierre Bourdieu
and Cultural Resources
• Cultural capital
• It is rooted in our perception of reality itself
• Drawn from interactions with others
• Necessary for mobility
• Represents a form of power
• High culture
• Pop culture
• Hiring
• Connection to life chances?
Controversy and Debate
• How does our cultural emphasis on self-reliance help explain
the controversy surrounding public assistance?

• Why do people not criticize benefits (such as home mortgage

interest deductions) for people who are better off?

• Do you approve of the time limits on benefits built into the

TANF program? Why or why not?

• Why do you think the welfare reforms have done little to

reduce poverty?
 Population in the US by Race
(323,127,513)
Racial Group Percentage Number of People
White 76.9 248,485,057
African American 13.3 42,975,959
American Indian/Alaska 1.3 4,200,657
Native
Asian 5.7 18,418,268
Native Hawaiian 0.2 646,255
Two or more races 2.6 8,401,315
Hispanic or Latino 17.8 57,516,697
Who is most likely to utilize
welfare?
The truth about welfare
• White children

• $391 per month average

• Blame victim rather than society

• Reform has greatly reduced the number of people receiving

welfare, but has done little to reduce the extent of poverty
Cost of raising a child
• The average middle-class family will spend $229,320 to feed, clothe,
and shelter a child from birth to age 18