2. Social Stratification Ranking of individuals or categories of individuals on the basis of unequal access to scarce resources & social rewards

3. Social Inequality The unequal sharing of social rewards & resources

6. Why haven’t large ‘unstratified’ societies existed?

7. What criteria would you use to stratify a society if it were up to you? How would you distribute scarce resources & social rewards?

8. Caste ascribed Distribute resources & rewards on ascribed characteristics

9. Class achieved Distribute resources & rewards on achieved characteristics

10. U.S. Class system US law forbids discrimination based on ascribed characteristics (race, sex, ethnicity, religion, etc.) Therefore, all Americans have equal access to resources needed for social advancement. Does everyone have equal access? Does everyone have equal access?

11. Social Class Grouping people with similar levels of wealth, power, and prestige Upper, middle, lower

12. Wealth Made up of his or her assets (value of belongings) and income (money earned through salary, returns, and gains) In the US… Wealth is concentrated in the hands of a small percent of the population. -Richest 1% of population controls 1/3 of wealth -Top 1/5 th of income earners receive 50% of the national income -Average executive makes 419x the average worker

13. Power The ability to control the behaviors of others with or without their consent Based on: FORCEPOSSESSION OF A SPECIAL SKILL SOCIAL STATUSSPECIAL KNOWLEDGE CUSTOMSPERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

14. Prestige Respect, honor, recognition, or courtesy an individual receives from the other members of society Income OccupationEducation Family BackgroundArea of Residence PossessionsClub Memberships

15. SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS Combines social factors such as educational level, occupational prestige, place of residence, and income

16. Prestige Ratings On the next page in your packet, there are 20 occupations. By yourself, please rank the occupations based on Prestige. There are no right or wrong answers, just opinions.

17. Explaining Stratification Functionalist Theory Social Stratification is a necessary feature of Social Structure Certain roles must be performed in order to maintain society Opposition to the Functionalist Theory -Not everyone has equal access to education -Unrecognized talent in lower classes -Some rewards don’t reflect social values of the role

18. Explaining Stratification Conflict Theory Competition over resources as the cause of social inequality Stratification comes from class exploitation

19. 6 Classes Upper-upper- UPPER CLASS Lower-upper- UPPER MIDDLE CLASS Upper-middle- LOWER MIDDLE CLASS Lower-middle- WORKING CLASS Upper-lower- WORKING POOR Lower-lower- UNDERCLASS

20. UPPER CLASS 1% of population Old money vs. New Money -wealthy for gen.- Newly rich -Family name- Not as respected -Upper class holds power and influence -Usually associated with Charity work and philanthropy -Pay their dues to society

21. UPPER MIDDLE CLASS High income businesspeople and professionals Status based on income rather than assets Have more influence in community

22. LOWER MIDDLE CLASS White collar jobs (Do not require manual labor) Require less education and receive less income Have comfortable life, but must work hard to maintain traditional values

23. WORKING CLASS Jobs require more manual labor Blue collar Factory workers, trades-people Don’t carry much prestige Few financial reserves If emergencies happen…

24. WORKING POOR Lowest paying jobs Often temporary or seasonal Housecleaning, migrant farmers, day laborers Barely make a living wage Depend on government assistance

25. UNDERCLASS Families have been poor or unemployed for generations Chief source of income is public assistance 50% of children make it to a higher class Life is a day to day struggle

28. 3 ways to rank individuals 1. Reputational Indiv. In the community rank others 2. Subjective Indiv. rank themselves (middle) 3. Objective Sociologists define class based on occupation, income & education