1. Social Stratification
A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy

2. Basic Principles A trait of society Persists over generations
Doesn’t reflect individual differences, but society’s structure
Persists over generations
Social mobility happens slowly.
Universal but variable
While universal, it varies in type.
Involves not just inequality, but beliefs
Ideologies justify existence of social stratification.

3. The Caste System Birth determines social position in four ways:
Social stratification based on ascription, or birth
Birth determines social position in four ways:
Occupation
Marriage within caste
Social life is restricted to “own kind.”
Belief systems are often tied to religious dogma.
Many of the world’s societies are caste systems.
Caste system is illegal, but elements survive.

4. Social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement
Class Systems
Social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement
Social mobility for people with education and skills
All people gain equal standing before the law.
Work involves some personal choice.
Meritocracy: Based on personal merit

5. Class Systems
Status consistency–The degree of uniformity in a person's social standing across various dimensions of social inequality.
A caste system has limited social mobility and high status consistency.
The greater mobility of class systems produces less status consistency.

6. Figure 10.1 Economic Inequality in Selected Countries

7. Ideology Plato Marx Spencer
Cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality
Plato
Every culture considers some type of inequality just.
Marx
Capitalist societies keep wealth and power for a few.
Spencer
“Survival of the fittest”

8. The Davis-Moore Thesis
Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of a society
The greater the importance of a position, the more rewards a society attaches to it.
Egalitarian societies offer little incentive for people to try their best.
Positions a society considers more important must reward enough to draw talented people

9. Karl Marx: Class and Conflict
Most people have one of two relationships with the means of production.
Bourgeoisie own productive property.
The proletariat works for the bourgeoisie.
Capitalism creates great inequality in power and wealth.
This oppression would drive the working majority to organize and overthrow capitalism.

10. Why No Marxist Revolution?
Fragmentation of the capitalist class
Higher standard of living
More worker organizations
More extensive legal protections

11. Was Marx Right? Wealth remains highly concentrated.
White-collar jobs offer no more income, security, or satisfaction than factory work did a century ago.

12. Was Marx Right? Current workers’ benefits came from struggle.
Workers have lost benefits recently.
Ordinary people still face disadvantages that the law cannot overcome.

13. Max Weber: Class, Status, and Power
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality
Class position
Viewed classes as a continuum from high to low
Status
Power
Inequality in history

14. Stratification and Interaction
Differences in social class position can affect interaction.
People interact primarily with others of similar social standing.
Conspicuous consumption refers to buying and using products because of the "statement" they make about social position.

15. Figure 10.1 Applying Theory Social Stratification

16. Stratification and Technology: A Global Perspective
Hunting and gathering societies
Horticultural, pastoral, and agrarian societies
Industrial societies
The Kuznets curve
Greater technological sophistication generally is accompanied by more pronounced social stratification.

17. Figure Social Stratification and Technological Development: The Kuznets Curve The Kuznets curve shows that greater technological sophistication is generally accompanied by more pronounced social stratification. The trend reverses itself as industrial societies relax rigid, castelike distinctions in favor of greater opportunity and equality under the law. Political rights are more widely extended, and there is even some leveling of economic differences. However, the emergence of postindustrial society has brought an upturn in economic inequality, as indicated by the broken line added by the author. Source: Created by the author, based on Kuznets (1955) and Lenski (1966).

18. Global Map 10.1: Income Inequality in Global Perspective

19. Social Stratification
Vonnegut: An egalitarian society can exist only if everyone is reduced to the lowest common denominator.
Davis-Moore thesis: Class differences reflect variation in human abilities and the relative importance of different jobs.
Marx: Inequality causes human suffering and conflict; social stratification springs from injustice and greed.

20. Social Class in the United States

21. A Middle-Class Society
Everyone stands equal under the law.
We celebrate individuality.
We interact mostly with people like ourselves.
The US is an affluent society.
Socioeconomic status (SES) reflects money (income, wealth & power), occupational prestige and schooling.

22. Distribution of Income and Wealth in the United States Income, and especially wealth, is divided unequally in US Society. .

23. Dimensions of Class Income Earning from work or investments Wealth
The total value of money and other assets, minus any debt
Power
The ability to control, even in the face of resistance
Occupational prestige
Job-related status
Schooling
Key to better career opportunities

25. US Stratification: Merit and Caste
Ancestry
Born to privilege or poverty makes a big difference
Race and ethnicity
Disparity still exists when comparing majority and minority groups on social and financial variables.
People of English ancestry have always enjoyed the most wealth and the greatest power in US society.
Gender
More poor families are headed by women.
On average, women have less income, wealth, and occupational prestige than men.

26. Table 11.3 Schooling of U.S. Adults, 2006 (aged 25 and over)

27. Social Classes The upper class 5% of the population
Earn at least $197,000 a year
The middle class
40-45% of the population
Large middle class has tremendous cultural influence.
The working class
33% of the population
Blue-collar jobs yield between $25,000 and $50,000 a year.
The lower class
The remaining 20% of the population
Working poor hold low-prestige jobs that provide little income.

28. Upper Class The upper-uppers The lower-uppers The “blue bloods”
Membership almost always based on ascription
“Old money”
Set apart by the amount of wealth their families control
Devote time to community activities
The lower-uppers
The working rich
The “new rich”
Can still be excluded from some organizations

29. Middle Class More racial and ethnic diversity Upper-middles
$113,000 to $197,000 yearly income
Education is important
High occupational prestige
Involvement in local politics
Average-middles
Less occupational prestige
Few white collar or high-skilled blue collar jobs
Income provides modest security (50k – 112k)

30. Working Class Lower-middle class Marxist “industrial proletariat”
$25,000 to $50,000 annual income
Routine jobs with less satisfaction
2/3 own their own homes
Fewer children go to college (1/3)
Vulnerable to financial problems caused by unemployment or illness

31. Lower Class 37 million Americans classified as poor in 2007
Others are “working poor” with minimum-wage jobs
Half complete high school, one in four attend college
45% own their homes in less desirable urban neighborhoods or rural south

32. Per Capita Income across the United States

33. The Difference Class Makes
Health
Amount and type of health care
Values and attitudes
Vary with position
Politics
Conservative or liberal
Family and gender
Type of parental involvement
Socialization practices
Relationships and responsibilities

34. Social Mobility Upward Downward Structural social mobility
College degree or higher-paying job
Downward
Drop out of school, losing a job or divorce
Structural social mobility
Changes in society or national economic trends
Intra-generational mobility
Change in social position during a person’s lifetime
Intergenerational mobility
Upward or downward movement that takes place across generations within a family

35. Myth vs. Reality Social mobility has been fairly high.
Long-term trend has been upward.
Intergenerational mobility is small, not dramatic.
Social mobility since the 1970s has been uneven.

36. Figure Mean Annual Income, US Families, (in 2007 dollars, adjusted for inflation) The gap between high-income and low-income families is wider today than it was in Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2008).

37. The American Dream Earnings have stalled for many workers
From , worker income rose slightly, even as the number of work hours increased and cost of necessities went way up.
More jobs offer little income
Many industrial jobs have gone overseas, reducing the number of high-paying US jobs.
Young people are remaining at (and returning) home
For the first time ever, half of Americans age 18 to 24 are living with their parents.

38. Median Annual Income, US Families, Average family income in the US grew rapidly between 1950 and Since then, however, the increase has been smaller. Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2008).

39. Global Economy and US Class Structure
Global economic expansion
Jobs changed from manufacturing to service work.
Creates upward mobility for educated people
Investments for those with money
Downsizing in companies affects average workers.
Many US families working harder to stay afloat

40. Extent of Poverty
Relative poverty–The deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more
Absolute poverty–A deprivation of resources that is life-threatening
Poverty line
About three times what the government estimates people must spend for food.
The income of the average poor family is 60% of this amount.
Extent of US poverty
12.5% (37 million) are impoverished.

41. Figure The Poverty Rate in the United States, The share of our population in poverty fell dramatically between 1960 and Since then, the poverty rate has remained between 10% and 15% of the population. Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2008).

42. Demographics of Poverty
Age
In 2007, 50% of US poor were age 24 or younger.
Race and ethnicity
Two-thirds of all poor are white.
In 2007, 24.5% of all African Americans and 21.5% of Hispanics were poor.
Gender
56% of poor are women.
Women who head households are at high risk of poverty.

43. Explaining Poverty Blame the poor Blame society
The poor are mostly responsible for their own poverty.
Culture of poverty produces a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty
Time limits for welfare
Blame society
Little opportunity for work
William Julius Wilson: Little opportunity for work; not enough jobs to support families

44. National Map 11.2 Poverty across the United States

45. The Working Poor
In 2007, 18% of heads of poor families worked at least 50 weeks a year.
Individual ability and personal effort play a part in shaping social position.
However, society is the primary cause of poverty.
A rising share of available jobs offers only low wages

46. Homeless No precise count Causes
Experts estimate 754,000 on any given night
Causes
Poverty
One-third are substance abusers
One-fourth are mentally ill
Many homeless are entire families due to structural changes in economy.

47. Global Stratification
Patterns of social inequality in the world as a whole

48. Changing Terminology Old terminology Problems with old terminology
First world–Industrial rich countries
Second world–Less industrial socialist countries
Third world–Non-industrial poor countries
Problems with old terminology
After the Cold War, the second world no longer existed.
Third World is too economically diverse to be meaningful.

49. Changing Terminology New terminology
High-income–Nations with the highest standard of living
Middle-income–Somewhat poorer nations with economic development typical for the world as a whole
Low-income–Nations with lowest productivity and extensive poverty
The extent of global inequality is much greater than these comparisons suggest. Well-off people in rich countries live “worlds apart” from the poorest people in low-income countries.

50. High-Income Countries
First to develop during industrial revolution two centuries ago
Enjoy over half the world’s income
More income means control of world’s financial markets.
Control of financial markets means control of other countries.
Examples: United States, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, etc.

51. Distribution of World Income and Wealth

53. Middle-Income Countries
Limited industrialization
Many people are rural and engage in agricultural activities.
A general lack of good education, medical care, and safe water
Examples: Russia, Eastern European countries, Latin America, and some African countries

54. Low-Income Countries Mostly poor, rural economies
Agrarian, with some industry
Life expectancy is very short.
Examples: Africa, and much of Asia

55. Figure 12.2 The Relative Share of Income and Population by Level of Economic Development

56. The Severity of Poverty
Poverty in poor countries is more severe than it is in rich countries.
The United Nations found that:
Norway had the highest “quality of life” rating; United States followed close behind
Niger had the lowest

57. Global Map 12.2 Median Age at Death in Global Perspective

58. The Severity of Poverty
Relative poverty
People lack resources that others take for granted.
This sort of poverty exists in every society, rich or poor.
Absolute poverty
A life-threatening lack of resources
One-third or more of the people in low-income countries experience poverty at this level.

59. Extent of Poverty Is poverty life threatening?
In some African countries, half of annual deaths are children under the age of 10.
Every 10 minutes, 100 people around the world die of hunger.
1.4 billion people suffer from chronic hunger in the world.

60. Poverty and Children Poverty and children
100 million children in poor countries are forced to work the streets (e.g., beg, steal, selling sex).
100 million children have deserted their families and live on the streets.
Many girls, with little or no access to medical assistance, become pregnant.
50 million street children are found in Latin American cities.
In Darfur (Sudan), impoverished children are forced to join armed groups, provide physical labor without pay, and work as sex slaves.

61. Women, Slavery, and Poverty
In all societies, a woman’s work is unrecognized, undervalued, and underpaid.
Sweatshop workers are mostly women.
70% of the world’s 1 billion people living near absolute poverty are women.
Slavery
Chattel slavery–One person owns another.
Child slavery–A more common form of bondage
Debt bondage–Employers hold workers to pay debts.
Servile forms of marriage–Women married against their will or forced into prostitution.

62. Human Trafficking
The movement of men, women, and children from one place to another for the purpose of performing forced labor
People are lured to a new country with the promise of a job, then forced to become prostitutes or farm laborers. Or people adopt foreign children and force them to work in sweatshops.

63. Explanations of Global Poverty
Technology
One-quarter of the people in low-income countries use human or animal power to farm land.
Population growth
Population for poor countries in Africa doubles every 25 years.
Cultural patterns
People resist innovations, accept slavery as a way of life.
Social stratification
Low-income countries distribute wealth very unequally.

64. Correlates of Global Poverty
Gender inequality
Raising living standards means improving women’s standing.
Global power relationships
Colonialism–The process by which some nations enrich themselves through political and economic control of other nations
Neocolonialism–A “new” form of global power relationships that involves not direct political control but economic exploitation by multinational corporations
Multinational corporation–A huge business that operates in many countries

65. Applying Theory Global Poverty

66. Modernization Theory Historical perspective Cultural perspective
Model of economic development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between societies
Historical perspective
Centuries ago, the entire world was poor.
Exploration, trade, and the industrial revolution transformed Western Europe then North America.
Cultural perspective
Weber: Protestant Reformation reshaped traditional Catholicism.
Individualism replaced the traditional emphasis on family and community.

67. Rostow’s Stages of Modernization
Traditional stage
Changing traditional views
Take-off stage
Use of talents and imaginations
Drive to technological maturity
Diversified economy takes over
High mass consumption
Mass production stimulates consumption

68. The Role of Rich Nations
Controlling population
Exporting birth control and educating people on its importance
Increasing food production
The use of new hybrid seeds, modern irrigation methods, the use of chemicals and pesticides
Introducing industrial technology
Machinery and information must be shared if shifts in economies are to happen.
Providing foreign aid
Money can be used for equipment necessary for change.

69. Critical Evaluation
Modernization simply hasn’t happened in many nations.
Fails to recognize how rich nations benefit from the status quo of poor nations
Fails to see that international relations affect all nations
Ethnocentric: It holds up the richest nations as the standard to judge other societies
Blames global poverty on the poor societies

70. Dependency Theory Historical perspective Importance of colonialism
A model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones.
Historical perspective
People living in poor countries were better off in the past than they are now. Economic position of rich & poor are linked.
Importance of colonialism
Europeans colonized much of the west, south & east.
African slave trade is the most brutal form of human exploitation.
Neocolonialism is the “essence” of the modern capitalistic world economy.

71. Figure Africa’s Colonial History For more than a century, most of Africa was colonized by European nations, with France dominating in the northwest region of the continent and Great Britain dominating in the east and south.

72. Wallerstein’s Capitalist World Economy
Today’s world economy is rooted in the colonization that began 500 years ago.
Rich countries form the core of the world economy being enriched by raw materials from around the world.
Low-income countries are the periphery, providing inexpensive labor and a market for industrial products.
Middle-income countries form the semiperiphery, having a closer tie to the core.

73. Wallerstein’s Ideas
The world economy benefits rich nations by generating profits and harms the rest of the world by perpetuating poverty; thus the world economy makes poor nations dependent on rich ones.
Three factors:
Narrow, export-oriented economies: Poor countries produce only a few crops for export to rich countries.
Lack of industrial capacity: Poor countries must sell raw materials to rich countries, then buy finished products at high prices.
Foreign debt: Poor countries owe the rich countries $1 trillion dollars, including hundreds of billions to the United States.

74. Critical Evaluation Wrongly treats wealth as a zero-sum game
Wrong to blame rich nations for global poverty
Too simplistic citing capitalism as the single factor
Repressive corrupt regimes, stifling cultural tradition
More protest than policy
Thinly disguised call for world socialism

75. Figure 12.5 The World’s Increasing Economic Inequality