Social Stratification Chapter 7

Overview of Social Stratification page 186- 190 Social Stratification- division of large numbers of people according to power, property, gender and prestige. This applies to nations, societies, sexes and other groups Social stratification is universal- some societies have greater inequalities than others Three systems of social stratification: slavery, caste and class

Slavery Has been common throughout history Most common in agricultural societies Not based on racism but on debt, war, crime In some cases slavery was temporary and not inheritable In almost all cases slaves owned no property and had no power

Slavery in the New World Slaves used for labor. Indians were tried first but this failed so the Europeans turned to Africans Racism did not lead to slavery but slavery led to racism. Finding it profitable to keep slaves, slave owners developed an ideology to justify owning human beings Slave states passed laws that made slavery inheritable. Civil War did not end legal discrimination in the US, lasted until the 1950’s and 60’s Slavery exists today in West Africa. Many of these countries have outlawed slavery but continues unofficially

Caste Status determined by birth, is lifelong Boundaries remain firm. Practice endogamy, marriage within their own group Ritual pollution reduces contact between classes, contact with inferior castes contaminate superior castes India best example of the caste system, based on religion not race existed for over 3000 years. Four main castes are divided into thousands of other castes. Indian government officially abolished system in 1949, tradition are hard to change Caste based ceremonies remain part of everyday life (birth, marriage, death) Racial Caste system developed in America after the Civil War where African Americans were treated as inferior to all whites and this was written into law

Social Class and Gender Social Class is less rigid than caste or slavery Based on money and material possessions Begins at birth when individuals acquire their ascribed status, as life progresses people can change social class by what they achieve in life. No laws prohibit intermarriage or occupation Class system has fluid boundaries-it allows social mobility. The ability to move up or slide down this ladder is what motivates people to be successful in life Gender is the basis for stratification in all societies- it cuts across all systems of social stratification. It provides or denies access to the things available in society These distinctions always favor males

Global Stratification pages 190-194 Nations are stratified by property, prestige and power Divided in to three categories: Most Industrialized, Industrializing, Least Industrialized Many Middle Eastern countries do not fit into any of these categories (oil rich nations), even though they are non- industrialized. They buy technology from other countries and workers from other countries and use immigrant workers from other nations to do unpleasant, mundane tasks Based on measures of life expectancy, access to education, medical care, GDP, GNP, electricity, telephones, internet access and many other factors Controlling ideas, information and technology through ideology is a means of social control to maintain stratification

How did the World’s Nations become Stratified? Page 194-199 Three theories to how the nations of the world became stratified- colonialism, world system theory, culture of poverty Colonialism- is the process in which one nation takes over another to exploit natural resources and labor Countries that industrialized first took over the other countries. Used industrial profits to build armies to invade weaker nations. Took over these countries they left behind police and administrative force to govern the people and exploit the resources In the 1800’s Europe divided up the entire continent of Africa Economic colonies established to benefit the mother country. US established corporate colonies and let companies dominate the territories government Colonialism shaped many of the Least Industrialized Nations, seen in their map boundaries and the ethnic and tribal violence

World System Theory Immanuel Wallerstein developed the world systems theory that explains the economic and political ties that connect the world’s countries Industrialization led to four groups of nations- core nations, semi periphery, periphery, external area nations Core nations- countries that industrialized first Semi periphery- countries stagnated because they were dependent on trade with core nations Periphery- sold cash crops to core nations External nations- left out of the development of capitalism altogether. As capitalism expanded relationship among these nations changed Globalization of capitalism created extensive ties among world’s nations.

Culture of Poverty Economist John Kenneth Galbraith claimed cultures of Least Industrialized Nations hold them back. Some nations are crippled by culture of poverty, the way of life that perpetuates poverty from one generation to another. These groups possess different values and behaviors Cultural components include: religion, agricultural practices This theory places blame on the victim (nation)

Why is Social Stratification Universal? Pages 199-201 Functionalist Perspective Explains why stratification is universal Inequality is universal and this inequality helps societies survive Kingsley Davis, Wilbert Moore concluded stratification is inevitable because: 1. Society must make sure certain positions are filled 2. Some positions are more important than others 3. Important positions are filled by more qualified people 4. To motivate qualified people, society must offer them greater rewards Concluded that society offers the greatest rewards for the more demanding and accountable positions Explains why stratification is universal- does not justify it How do we know that highest rewards are the most important? If society worked this way it would be a meritocracy Does not benefit everyone

Conflict Perspective of Social Stratification Conflict is the reason for social stratification Karl Marx believed that human history is the story of class struggle. Those in power use society’s resources to benefit themselves and keep others oppressed Groups compete for the world’s resources and powerful nations try to maintain power These groups use economic, social institutions, military to maintain power According to Marx social class is based on peoples relationship to the means of production (tools, factories, land , capital used to produce wealth)

What Determines Social Class? Pages 201-203 Marx argued access to means of production created class distinctions People were divided into the bourgeoisie and proletariat These groups developed class consciousness, a shared identity based on position in society and access to means of production. Property determines lifestyles, shapes ideas and establishes relationships Weber critic of Marx. Social class made up of three components property, prestige, power, all interrelated Property- ability to control the means of production, power can be used for their benefit Prestige- people with prestige are admired, power and property can come from prestige Power- ability to control others. Property is a form of power

Social Class in the United States pages 203-209 Primary dimension of social class is property Two types- wealth and income Wealth- total value somebody owns Income- money received from job, business or assets 70% of nations wealth owned by 10% of nations families, 1% own one third of nations assets Those at the top of the income scale and those at the bottom experience vastly different lifestyles

Prestige Jobs that pay more, require more education, entail more abstract thought, offer greater autonomy Job prestige brings power- power elite term by C. Wright Mills for the top people in corporations, military, politics that make nations major decisions Different occupations have different levels of prestige (7.4 pg. 208) Social Class is a fact of life influences attitudes, life chances, friends, outlook on the world Each person tries to maximize their status. Mixture of high and low status creates status inconsistency (pgs 208-209) Displaying Prestige- people want others to acknowledge their prestige (saluting, zip codes, standing when somebody enters the room

Social Model pgs 209-214 Sociologist Joseph Kahl, Dennis Gilbert developed six tier model to portray the class structure of the United States. Each rung of this ladder is determined by wealth, power, prestige, education Six classes are Capitalist, Upper Middle, Lower Middle, Working, Working Poor, Underclass

Consequences of Social Class pages 214-216 Each class is a subculture with different approaches to life. Class influences family life, education, religion, political views, health Family Life- choice of husband or wife in capitalist class influenced by parents, lower classes tension of everyday life leads to more divorce Education- increases as one goes up the ladder in social class, privileged classes more likely to graduate from college Politics- Rich and poor have different political views, people at the bottom of the social structure less likely to be politically active Religion- Classes cluster around different denominations. Lower classes more attracted to expressive worship services. People often change their religion when they move up in social class Physical health- lower social class, shorter life expectancy. Two tier medical system in the US higher social class can afford better medical care, lower classes have more unhealthy lifestyle, rich have more resources to deal with problems Mental Health- more stress on lower classes they have more mental health problems, upper classes have greater control over their lives, key to good mental health

Social Mobility pages 216-216 Why do people climb the social ladder and what affects their chances? Three types of social mobility Intergenerational mobility- change family members make from one generation to the next. It can be upward or downward Structural mobility- movement on the social ladder due to changes in the structure of society Exchange mobility- when the same number of people move up and down the social ladder so the class system shows little change

Poverty pages 218-221 Twenty percent of the US population finds the “American Dream” elusive US government determines poverty line as less than three times of a low cost food budget, this is the official measure of poverty and is an inadequate measure of poverty Poverty is determined by many factors- geography, race- ethnicity, education, age, family structure

Geography Poverty is greater in the south and in rural areas than other areas of the country

Race and Ethnicity, Elderly, Children Whites less likely to be poor than Latinos or African- Americans, but whites are higher in number Elderly are less likely than other groups to live in poverty Children more likely than elderly or adults to live in poverty

Education Only two percent of people that finish college end up in poverty, 20% for high school dropouts

Head of Household Families least likely to be poor have two parents Households headed by single mothers have higher rates of poverty Association of poverty and single women is known as the feminization of poverty

Culture of Poverty Poor tend to get trapped in a culture of poverty, attitudes and beliefs keep them poor Most poor in America are poor for a year or less and eventually move out of poverty

Why are people poor? Sociologists have two theories- social structure denies access characteristics of individuals contribute to living in poverty (blames victim) Horatio Alger Myth- late nineteenth century author wrote rags- to- riches stories about the belief that limitless possibilities exist for everyone. If you don’t make it is your own fault Myth help’s stabilize society, makes it an individual problem- not society’s Reduces pressure to change