1. Social Class: The Structure of Inequality
Chapter 8
Social Class:
The Structure of Inequality

2. Overview Social Stratification Theories of Social Class
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

5. 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

8. 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
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
The movement of individuals or groups within the social class hierarchy
The U.S. considered an “open” system
Change in status possible
What are chances for social mobility?
Vertical (upward and downward)
Horizontal
Types of social mobility:
Intergenerational mobility
Movement from one generation to the next
Intragenerational mobility
Movement during one’s lifetime
Structural mobility
Movement of large groups of people

15. 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

16. In-Class Exercise: The American Dream
Interview a classmate:

17. The American Dream The Simplicity Movement Ideology
A belief system that legitimizes stratification
Everyone has the same chance
Success or failure depends on individual
The U.S. meritocracy
Rewards are distributed based on merit
Social mobility may be limited
Factors such as nationality, race and gender
Questioning the American Dream
The “good life” and consumption
Americans are less secure and satisfied
Less free time and more rushed
The Simplicity Movement
Alternative, non-materialist values
Encourages downsizing

18. POVERTY AND THE POOR Poverty defined in two ways: Relative deprivation
Inability to maintain customary standard of living of others
Absolute deprivation
Inability to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, and health care

19. Extent of Poverty in the U.S.
Numbers living in poverty—2007
37 million people
or 1 in 8 citizens
or 12.6% of the population
Inequality of income
The wealthiest 20% receive over 50%
The poorest 20% receive less than 4%

22. Who are the Poor? People living below the “poverty line”
Based on government household budget figures
The poor are a very diverse group
Clustered by:
Race and Ethnicity
Age
Gender
Educational Level
Geographic Region
Country of Origin

24. 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-

26. The Working Poor
Many adults below the poverty line do work for a living
Often low-paying (minimum wage = $7.25/hr.), seasonal or part-time jobs

27. 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

28. 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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