Social Stratification, Social Class, and Ethnicity

Social Stratification A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy based on their access to scarce resources. Looking Up

Four Basic Principles of Social Stratification:  It is a characteristic of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences.  It persists over generations.  It is universal but variable.  It involves not just inequality but beliefs.  Constitutional Peasant Constitutional Peasant

Cultural beliefs serve to justify social stratification. That is part of the reason why it persists.

Types of Stratification Systems  Caste System- social stratification based on ascribed status.  India and South Africa  Class System- social stratification based on achieved status.

Caste System Classes  Brahmin- scholars and priests  Kshatriya- political leaders and warriors  Vaishaya- merchants  Shudras- menial workers, artisans  Untouchables  Caste System Caste System

Status: Position in society  Ascribed born into or comes without effort e.g., kinship, race, gender  Achieved must work to get

Interpretations of Stratification  Functionalist Meritocracy  Social Conflict (Marx)  Max Weber Wealth, Prestige, Power Socioeconomic status- An individual’s comparative status in a society based on factors (education, income and occupation).

People in the US are stratified based on the following: Income Prestige Wealth Education Power

Income  Wages or salaries from work and earnings from investments.  Distribution of Income in the US –Top 5 th 47% –Next 5 th 24% –Third 5 th 16% –Fourth 5 th 10% –Bottom 5 th 4%

Wealth  Total value of money and other assets, minus outstanding debts.  Distribution of Wealth in the US –Top 5 th 80% –Next 5 th 15% –Third 5 th 5% –Fourth 5 th less than 1% –Bottom 5 th less than 1%

Social mobility—moving across ‘class’ lines  Intergenerational mobility— change in social position of children relative to their parents  Intragenerational mobility— change in social position of a person within their life  What factors encourage or discourage each form of social mobility?

Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity  A process by which people come to define a group as a race based in part on physical characteristics, but also on historical, cultural (religious) and economic factors  Often an ideology constructed by the dominant or majority group which has the power to define itself legally but also to shape a society’s values

Social Construction of Gender  A process by which people come to define a gender based on social distinctions between males and females that do not inevitably result from biological differences between the sexes.  Gender-role socialization begins at birth and continues throughout life  An ideology constructed by the dominant or majority group which has the power to define itself legally but also to shape a society’s values

Institutional Discrimination  Affects gender, racial and ethnic groups, and possibly other minorities  Denial of opportunities and equal rights to individuals or groups that result from the normal operations of a society Bank loan policy that single women (or African Americans) are poor lending risks Zoning policies that require large lots Other examples?