Sociology 101 Chapter 7 Class & Stratification in the U.S.

Stratification: Layering of Society  Slavery  The caste system  The class system

Stratification Can Be Based On:  Achieved Status  Gender (Ascribed Status)  Race/Ethnicity (Ascribed Status)  Class (Ascribed Status)

Wealth Vs. Income  Wealth  Refers to property such as buildings, land, farms, houses, factories and cars, as well as other assets such as stock, bonds, bank accounts, insurance policies  Computed by taking the value of all of the above and subtracting all debt obligations  Americans were worth about $56.8 trillion in 2010  10% of the nation’s families owns 77% of all available wealth in 2010  The richest 1% of the nation’s families are worth more than the entire bottom 90% of Americans

 Income  Refers to wages, salaries, governmental aid, and money earned through ownership of property (e.g. rent)  The top 5% receive around 20% of all income  This is more than the total that the bottom 95% receive  The income of the top 5% increased by 28% between

Source: Wealth, Income & Power (William Domhoff)

Income Distribution in the United States

What is Poverty?  The Social Security Administration calculates the poverty line  In 2010, the OPL was $22,162 for a family of 4 with 2 children under the age of 18  This is $5,540/person per year or $462/month per person

Who Are The Poor?  46.2 million Americans were poor in 2010  This figure is low because it is easy for the census to miss the poor and the OPL is very low  Concentration of the poor  Racial minorities  Women  2/3 of poor adult population  Children  The child poverty rate is higher in the U.S. than in any other industrialized country  Location  The south has the highest rate of poverty  The Poor-poor  Those living at or under ½ the OPL

Avoiding Poverty  Finish high school  Get married before having your first child  Don’t have a child before you reach the age of 20  Go to college  Stay married  Avoid alcholism/drug abuse

Theories of Stratification  Weberian  Functionalism  Conflict

The Functionalist Perspective  Durkheim, Kingsley Davis & Wilbert Moore  Feel that stratification is inevitable and necessary for society to function smoothly  Typically supports the status quo  Can be summarized as follows:  Society has several tasks that must be filled  some positions are more important than others  The most important positions need to be filled by the most qualified

 positions that require scarce talent and/or extensive training must be highly rewarded  The most highly rewarded should be those that are functionally unique  They assume that social stratification results in a meritocracy  a hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people’s ability and credentials  Ignores inequalities based on inherited wealth, favoritism, etc.

The Conflict Perspective  Marx suggests that capitalistic societies consist of 2 classes:  Bourgeoisie: those who own the means of production  Proletariat: those who sell their labor  Always a conflict between these 2 classes  Workers (proletariat) are exploited by capitalists (bourgeoisie)  This exploitation leads to worker’s alienation: a feeling of powerlessness  Marx predicted that this exploitation would lead to class conflict  Eventually, the workers would overthrow the capitalists

Marx’s View of History Ancient (Slave vs. Owner Primitive Modes of Production: The 6 Epochs Feudal (Lord Vs. Serf) Capitalism (Cap. Vs. Worker) Socialism Communism

The Interpretive Perspective  Max Weber felt that Marx focused too much on economics  felt that there were other ways in which classes could be stratified  Class/property/Economics  Refers to Wealth & income  This is what Marx focuses on  Party/power/politics  CEO, Senior civil servants  Status/prestige/culture  People may not have much wealth or income but lots of prestige  E.g. College professors, Priests

Erik Wright’s Critique of Marx  Wright assumes that these criteria can be used to determine the class placement of all workers, regardless of race/ethnicity, in a capitalist society:  Ownership of the means of production  Purchase of the labor of others (employing others).  Control of the labor of others (supervising others on the job).  Sale of one’s own labor (being employed by someone else).