1. Social Class and Social Stratification
Chapter 9
Social Class and Social Stratification

2. Chapter Outline Social Differentiation and Social Stratification
Why Is There Inequality?
The Class Structure of the United States
Diverse Sources of Stratification
Social Mobility
Poverty

3. Social Differentiation
The process by which different statuses develop in any group, organization, or society.
In a sports organization, players, owners, managers, fans, cheerleaders, and sponsors all have a different status within the organization.

4. Social Stratification
A relatively fixed, hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups have different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth.
In a sports organization:
Owners control the resources of the teams.
Players earn high salaries, yet do not control the team resources.
Sponsors provide the resources.
Fans provide revenue.

5. Inequality in the United States
Nearly 1 in 6 children in the U.S. live poverty:
30% of African American children
29% of Hispanic children
12% of Asian American children
9.4% of White non-Hispanic children

6. Inequality in the United States
15% of the U.S. population has no health insurance.
The average cost of a day’s stay in the hospital is $1, 217—two weeks’ pay for the average worker

7. Inequality in the United States
1% of the U.S. population controls 38% of the total wealth in the nation.
The bottom 20% owe more than they own.
CEOs of major companies earn an average of $13.1 million dollars per year.
Workers earning the minimum wage make $10,712 per year, if they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks per year and hold only one job.

8. Types of Stratification Systems
Estate - Elite owns property and has control over resources.
Caste - rigid hierarchy of classes.
Class - status is partially achieved, there is some potential for movement between classes.

9. Marx: Class and Capitalism
Defined classes in terms of their relationship to the means of production.
Capitalist class owns the means of production.
Working class sells their labor for wages.

10. Weber: Three Dimensions to Stratification
Class - economic dimension
Status - social dimension
Party - political dimension

11. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Inequality
Functionalism
Motivates people to fill positions that are needed for the survival of the whole.
Conflict Theory
Results when those with the most resources exploit others.

12. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Class Structure
Functionalism
Differentiation is essential for a cohesive society.
Conflict Theory
Different groups struggle over resources and compete for social advantage.

13. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Life chances
Functionalism
Those who work hardest and succeed have greater life chances.
Conflict Theory
The most vital jobs in society are usually the least rewarded.

14. Social Class in the U.S. Upper class Upper-middle class Middle class
Lower-middle class
Lower class

15. Polling Question
If you were asked to use one of the following four names for your parents' social class, which would you say they belong in?
A.) Upper class
B.) Middle class
C.) Working class
D.) Lower class

16. The Laddered Model of Stratification

17. Median Income by Race and Household Status

18. Polling Question
People who are rich don't care about those who are less rich.
A.) Strongly agree
B.) Agree somewhat
C.) Unsure
D.) Disagree somewhat
E.) Strongly disagree

19. The Double Diamond Model of Stratification

20. Income Growth by Income Group: Whites

21. Income Growth by Income Group: Blacks

22. Income Growth by Income Group: Hispanics

23. Wealth and Income
Wealth is the monetary value of everything one owns, minus debt.
It is calculated by adding all financial assets and subtracting all debts.
Income is the amount of money brought into a household from various sources during a given period.

24. Distribution of Wealth and Income
The wealthiest 1% own 38% of all net worth; the bottom 80% control only 17%.
The top 1% also owns almost half of all stock; the bottom 80% own only 4% of total stock holdings.

25. Who’s Got a Piece of the Pie?

26. The Tax Burden: For Whom?

27. Diverse Sources of Stratification
Race, class, and gender are overlapping systems of stratification.
Class position is manifested differently, depending on race and gender.
Example: A Black middle-class man who is stopped by police when driving through a White middle-class neighborhood may feel his racial status is his most outstanding characteristic, but his race, class, and gender always influence his life chances.

28. Poverty Among the Old and Young

29. Class Consciousness
The perception that a class structure exists, along with the feeling of shared identification with others in one’s class.
There are two dimensions to the definition of class consciousness:
the idea that a class structure exists
one’s class identification

30. Defining Social Mobility
Social mobility is a person’s movement over time from one class to another.
Social mobility can be up or down, although the American dream emphasizes upward movement.
Mobility can also be either intergenerational, occurring between generations; or intragenerational, occurring within a generation.

31. Social Mobility
Mobility is a collective effort that involves kin and sometimes community.
Upward Mobility
People who are upwardly mobile are often expected to distance themselves from their origins.
Downward Mobility
As income distribution is becoming more skewed toward the top, many in the middle class are experiencing mobility downward.

32. Poverty in the U.S.

33. Who are the Poor?
In 2002, there were 34.6 million poor people in the U.S.
The poor:
31% of Native Americans
24% of African Americans
22% of Hispanics
10% of Asians and Pacific Islanders
10% of Whites

34. Who are the Homeless? Battered women Elderly Disabled
Mentally Ill (20-25%)
Veterans
AIDS victims

35. Who are the Homeless?
A 2001 survey of 27 cities found that the homeless population is:
50% African American
35% White
12% Hispanic
2% Native American
1% Asian

36. Reasons for Homelessness
Unemployment and/or eviction
Reductions in federal support for affordable housing
Eroding work opportunities
Inadequate housing for low-income people

37. Reasons for Homelessness
Reductions in public assistance
Inadequate health care
Domestic violence
Addiction

38. Poverty Status by Family Type and Race

39. Explanations of Poverty
Culture of poverty - poverty is a way of life that is transferred from generation to generation.
Structural causes of poverty - poverty is caused by economic and social transformations taking place in the U.S.

40. Arguments Against “The Culture of Poverty”
Fewer than 5% of the poor are chronically poor.
41% of the able-bodied poor work.
The pattern of “welfare cycling” is promoted by wages too low to support a family.

41. Quick Quiz

42. 1. Karl Marx defined classes in terms of their relationship to:
a. capitalism
b. life chances
c. the infrastructure of society
d. the means of production

43. Answer: d
Karl Marx defined classes in terms of their relationship to the means of production.

44. 2. The monetary value of everything one actually owns is defined as one's:
a. income
b. cumulative income
c. wealth
d. net worth

45. Answer: c
The monetary value of everything one actually owns is defined as one's wealth.

46. 3. Which of the following statements is false regarding social class?
a. Class is a structural phenomenon.
b. Class can be directly observed.
c. Class influences access to societal resources.
Class influences how one is served by social institutions.

47. Answer: b
The statement, class can be directly observed, is false regarding social class.

48. 4. According to the functionalist perspective, differentiation is essential for a cohesive society.
a. True
b. False

49. Answer: True
According to the functionalist perspective, differentiation is essential for a cohesive society.