Chapter 8 Social Class: The Structure of Inequality

2 Overview Social Stratification  Components of Social Class Theories of Social Class  Video Presentation: “People Like Us” SES and Life Chances Social Mobility  “The American Dream” Poverty and the Poor

3 SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Macro-level analysis Society is grouped into strata  Hierarchy, levels, layers A system for ranking and dividing large groups of people  Every society stratifies members  Almost every aspect of life is linked to position in social hierarchy  Persistent over generations Results in social inequality  Unequal division and sharing of social resources/rewards Systems of stratification  Slavery, caste, social class Stratification in the U.S.  Social class; race and ethnicity; sex and gender

4 SOCIAL CLASS Defining Social Class  Based on access to social resources/rewards  A large group who rank closely to one another in: wealth, power, prestige  Socioeconomic Status (SES) A measure of one’s place within class system

Components of Social Class: WEALTH Wealth consists of property and income  Wealth and income are not the same  Some have wealth but little income “Old” and “New” Money Unequal distribution of wealth in the U.S.  Top 1% owns 35%  Top 20% owns 50%  Bottom 80% owns 15%

6 Components of Social Class: POWER  The ability to carry out one’s will despite resistance  The “Power Elite” C. Wright Mills Those who make the big decisions in U.S. society  Power is concentrated in the hands of the few PRESTIGE  Social honor Membership in well- regarded group  Occupational prestige How a person is perceived by others Can affect wealth and power

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Components of Social Class: STATUS Social ranking  Similar in wealth, power, prestige: Status consistency  A mix of high and low rankings: Status inconsistency

10 Theories of Social Class: Postmodernism Social Reproduction  Pierre Bourdieu Classes remain relatively stable  Status passed down through generations Each generation acquires cultural capital  Tastes, habits, expectations, skills, etc.  Can help or hinder us from gaining advantages

11 Theories of Social Class: Symbolic Interactionism Class Consciousness (Awareness) Erving Goffman How we use status “cues” to categorize ourselves and others  Speech, gestures, clothing, possessions, friends, activities, etc.

12 Video Presentation

13 Socioeconomic Status and Life Chances  Inequality shapes life course Privileges, hardships, differences  Family Homogamy, age of marriage, child rearing  Education Access, attitudes and expectations; attainment and status  Work White- vs. blue-collar occupations, income gap, un- and under- employment  Criminal Justice Who gets caught, prosecuted and sentenced; victimhood  Health Feeling good, health practices, life expectancy

14 SOCIAL MOBILITY Movement of individuals or groups within class hierarchy  U.S. has “open” system Change is possible What are your chances?  Vertical (upward and downward)  Horizontal Types:  Intergenerational mobility Movement from one generation to the next  Intragenerational mobility Movement during one’s own lifetime  Structural mobility Movement of large groups of people

15 Country ACountry B Country C Which nations do the charts above represent? 1. The United States, Spain and Egypt 2. Freedonia, Sweden and the United States 3. Luxembourg, the United States and Somalia Wealth Quiz

16 Country ACountry B Country C Which place would you like to live in? 1. Country A 2. Country B 3. Country C Wealth Quiz

17 Video Clip “Land of the Free, Home of the Poor”

The “American Dream” The belief that: 1.Everyone can participate equally and can always start over 2. It is reasonable to anticipate success 3. Success is a result of individual characteristics and actions under one’s control 4. Success is associated with virtue and merit

The American Dream Questioning the Dream  The “good life” and consumption Americans are less secure and satisfied –More in debt Less free time and more rushed  The Simplicity Movement Alternative, non-materialist values Encourages downsizing Ideology  A belief system that legitimizes stratification Everyone has equal chance Success or failure depends on individual  The U.S. meritocracy Rewards are based on merit  Upward mobility may be limited Factors such as nationality, race and gender Recession  Shrinking middle class In-Class Exercise

POVERTY AND THE POOR Definitions:  Relative deprivation Inability to maintain customary standard of living  Absolute deprivation Inability to meet minimal standards  Poverty line (2010) Based on household budget –$22,314 family of 4; $11,139 individual Poverty in U.S.—2010  46.2 million people  or 15.1% of the population  or 1 in every 6.5 citizens

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23 Who are the Poor? They are a very diverse group  Clustered by: Race and Ethnicity Age Gender Educational Level Geographic Region Country of Origin

25 The Working Poor Minimum Wage  Federal: $7.25  California: $8.00 Many adults below poverty line work for a living  Often low-paying, seasonal, temp, or part-time jobs

Social Welfare Programs The “New Deal” and social safety nets  FDR Social insurance programs: Social Security, disability, minimum wage The “Great Society” and the war on poverty  LBJ Public assistance programs: Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps, Head Start Welfare Reform  Clinton “Welfare to work”, limit of 5 years The “New New Deal”  Obama 2009-

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28 Poverty in the U.S. “The Culture of Poverty”  Focus on attitudes among poor Resignation and fatalism –Rather than trying to improve circumstances Poverty is self-perpetuating  Critics call this “blaming the victim” Must see structural conditions that lead to poverty The “Just-World Hypothesis”  The deep need to see the world as orderly, predictable and fair Tendency to view victims of injustice as deserving of their fate Invisibility of Poverty  Large part of U.S. population remains hidden Few images of poverty in America Residential Segregation  Separation or isolation of poor from rest of the population Often occurs along racial lines Political Disenfranchisement  Removal of rights through economic or political means Poor participate in politics less Lack power and visibility of their issues

29 Global Poverty Global Rich List (globalrichlist.com)  The 225 richest people in the world have a combined wealth of $1,000,000,000,000 (trillion)  Equal to the combined income of the world’s 2.5 billion poorest people Wonder what it would be like to have that kind of money?  Where would you be on a list of the richest people in the world? If you have an annual income of $50,000  You are in the top 0.98% richest people in the world  You are the 59,029,289 richest person in the world How do you feel about being so rich?  The lives of many of the poorest in the world could be improved dramatically if you donated just one hour's salary (approx $26.70) The One Campaign (one.org)  Campaign to make poverty history  Increase federal budget aid to world poverty one percent

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