1. Social Differentiation
The process by which different statuses develop in any group, organization, or society.
In a sports organization, players, owners, managers, fans, cheerleaders, and sponsors all have a different status within the organization.

2. Social Stratification
A relatively fixed, hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups have different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth.
In a sports organization:
Owners control the resources of the teams.
Players earn high salaries, yet do not control the team resources.
Sponsors provide the resources.
Fans provide revenue.

3. Types of Stratification Systems
Estate - Elite owns property and has control over resources.
Caste - rigid hierarchy of classes.
Class - status is partially achieved, there is some potential for movement between classes.

4. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Refers to persistent patterns of social inequality in a society
Is perpetuated by the way wealth, power, and prestige are distributed and passed on from one generation to the next
Exists in all societies*
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5. FEATURES OF SOCIAL HIERARCHIES
Status: Rank or position in a social hierarchy
Statuses may be:
Ascribed (assigned at birth), or
Achieved (earned by performance)*
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6. TYPES OF STRATIFICATION SYSTEMS
Open stratification system:
Stratification system in which merit rather than inheritance (ascribed characteristics) determines social rank
Allows for social change
Is reflected in a meritocracy:
Positions are achieved, not ascribed
Characterized by equal opportunity and high social mobility (movement up or down a social hierarchy)*
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7. TYPES OF STRATIFICATION SYSTEMS
Closed stratification system
Stratification system in which inheritance rather than merit determines social rank
Little social change possible
Reflected in a caste system:
Positions are ascribed, not achieved
Characterized by little social mobility
Although Turkey is in principal a meritocracy, ascribed statuses still play an important role*
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8. CLASS AND CLASS STRUCTURE
Class: Position in an economic hierarchy occupied by individuals or families with similar access to, or control over, material resources (e.g., working class, professional class)
Class structure: Relatively permanent economic hierarchy comprising different social classes
Socioeconomic status: Person’s general status within an economic hierarchy, based on income, education, and occupation*
Existence of classes has been questioned recently because some scholars believe that material inequalities are decreasing
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9. Diverse Sources of Stratification
Race, class, and gender are overlapping systems of stratification.
Class position is manifested differently, depending on race and gender.
Example: A Black middle-class man who is stopped by police when driving through a White middle-class neighborhood may feel his racial status is his most outstanding characteristic, but his race, class, and gender always influence his life chances.

10. EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Several theories or explanations of social stratification
Accounts offered by Marx, Weber, Davis and Moore, Lenski, Wright, and Parkin
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11. Marx: Class and Capitalism
Defined classes in terms of their relationship to the means of production.
Capitalist class owns the means of production.
Working class sells their labor for wages.

12. MARX ON STRATIFICATION
Industrial Revolution: Tremendous increase in level of economic production and degree of inequality
Key concepts in Marx’s theory:
Mode of production: Overall system of economic activity (e.g., slavery, capitalism)…*
Marx lived during a time when large, mechanized factory-based systems of production were emerging; cities were growing rapidly as rural peasants were being forced off the land or attracted to the city by the possibility of jobs in factories; and material inequality was extreme, as factory owners and merchants made huge profits while labourers lived in poverty
Trade unions, labour laws, and other arrangements that offer some protection to workers did not yet exist
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13. MARX ON STRATIFICATION
Mode of production comprises:
Means of production: Technology, capital investments, raw materials used in production
Social relations of production: Relationships between main classes involved in production*
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MARX: SOCIAL CLASSES
Two major classes within industrial capitalism:
The bourgeoisie: Owners of the means of production
The proletariat: Workers who exchange their labour for a wages
Secondary class:
The petite bourgeoisie: Independent owners/ producers (e.g., farmers) and small business owners*
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MARX: CLASS CONFLICT
Class conflict: Conflict between major classes within a mode of production
Is driving force behind social change
Eventually leads to evolution of new mode of production
Envisioned capitalism being replaced with socialist mode of production (i.e., no private property with its attendant exploitation and inequality)*
Marx noted previous modes of production has collapsed and been replaced because of class conflict (e.g., feudalism had given way to capitalism)
Socialist mode of production: No private ownership of property and attendant exploitation and inequality it produces
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RESPONSES TO MARX
Criticized for predictions not finding support in:
Later capitalist societies, which were characterized by absence of widespread class conflict, growth of the middle class, and relative decline in material inequality in 20th century
Example: Western Europe and North America
Later socialist systems of government, which were characterized by persistent inequality, and new hierarchy that controls political and bureaucratic apparatus
Example: Russia*
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17. Weber: Three Dimensions to Stratification
Class - economic dimension
Status - social dimension
Party - political dimension

18. WEBER ON STRATIFICATION
Focused on determinants of power: Ability to impose one’s wishes on others
Structural basis of power:
Class (power derived from position in economic hierarchy)
Status (power derived from culturally and socially defined position that person occupies in a group)
Party (political power)
Power depends on one’s location in these three structures*
Max Weber was born in Germany half a century later than Marx, in 1864
He had the advantage of seeing the direction in which more mature industrial capitalism was taking European society; he saw more complexity in social stratification system and recognized more classes than Marx
The three bases of power may or may not overlap
Argued that, historically, the economic dimension of stratification tends to become dominant
Unlike Marx, Weber did not think that the development of class consciousness was inevitable, and did not think that class conflict would lead to the ultimate demise of capitalism
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19. WEBER: SOCIAL CLASS AND LIFE CHANCES
Gave primary emphasis in social stratification to economic underpinnings
Claimed there was larger variety of class positions than found in Marx’s theory
Emphasized life chances:
Opportunities (or lack thereof) for higher standard of living and a better quality of life that are available to members of a given class*
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20. DAVIS AND MOORE: FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF STRATIFICATION
Inequality exists in all societies  Must be necessary
All societies have occupational roles that need to be filled, with some roles requiring more training than others (e.g., the more important roles)
Greater rewards (e.g., money, prestige) necessary to encourage people to undertake extended training and fill these important roles
Social inequality is therefore necessary and inevitable*
Structural-functionalist theory emphasizes consensus and shared values over conflict
Theory arose in reaction to the conflict-oriented and socially radical theories of Marx (and to a lesser extent, Weber)
Theory was published in 1945 and reflected the optimistic view in postwar North America that affluence was increasing, social conflict was decreasing, and a harmonious future for society was dawning
Some jobs (e.g., physician) are more important than others (e.g., farmer)
To motivate people to make the sacrifices necessary to train for important jobs, they must receive more rewards for their work
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21. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Inequality
Functionalism
Motivates people to fill positions that are needed for the survival of the whole.
Conflict Theory
Results when those with the most resources exploit others.

22. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Class Structure
Functionalism
Differentiation is essential for a cohesive society.
Conflict Theory
Different groups struggle over resources and compete for social advantage.

23. Functional and Conflict Theories of Stratification
Life chances
Functionalism
Those who work hardest and succeed have greater life chances.
Conflict Theory
The most vital jobs in society are usually the least rewarded.

24. The Double Diamond Model of Stratification

25. Social Class in the U.S. Upper class Upper-middle class Middle class
Lower-middle class
Lower class

26. OCCUPATIONS, SOCIAL CLASS, AND INEQUALITY IN TURKEY
Most prominent occupational shift over 20th century was decline in agricultural occupations
Also decline (albeit less) in other natural resource- based occupations (e.g., forestry, fishing, mining)
Increase in white-collar occupations (e.g., managerial, professional, clerical [office jobs], sales, and service categories)
Have come to greatly outnumber blue-collar occupations (e.g., manufacturing, construction, transportation, and resource-based operations)*
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27. OCCUPATIONS, SOCIAL CLASS, AND INEQUALITY
Increase in proportion of occupations requiring higher education
Rise in average incomes
Occupational shifts suggest:
Greater class diversity, not polarization of classes
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28. OCCUPATIONS, SOCIAL CLASS, AND INEQUALITY
Gender-based labour market stratification has continued:
Since middle of last century, proportion of women in labour force has risen
But mostly in low-paid, low status “pink-collar” sector (clerical, sales, and service occupations)
Large class of paid workers differentiated by:
Decision-making authority
Income status
Occupational power*
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29. OCCUPATIONS, SOCIAL CLASS, AND INEQUALITY
Dramatic decrease in proportion of self-employed
Increase in unemployment
Income growth has stopped
Increase in income and wealth inequality*
Researchers still have not determined whether more Canadians are voluntarily choosing self-employment or are being pushed into it as a result of higher levels of unemployment and growing corporate and public-sector “downsizing”
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30. Defining Social Mobility
Social mobility is a person’s movement over time from one class to another.
Social mobility can be up or down, although the American dream emphasizes upward movement.
Mobility can also be either intergenerational, occurring between generations; or intragenerational, occurring within a generation.

31. Social Mobility
Mobility is a collective effort that involves kin and sometimes community.
Upward Mobility
People who are upwardly mobile are often expected to distance themselves from their origins.
Downward Mobility
As income distribution is becoming more skewed toward the top, many in the middle class are experiencing mobility downward.

32. OCCUPATIONAL MOBILITY AND STATUS ATTAINMENT
Occupational mobility: Moving up and down occupational and income ladders
Intragenerational occupational mobility: Mobility within an individual’s lifetime
Intergenerational occupational mobility: Process of reaching occupation location higher or lower than location held by parents
Occupational status attainment: Main determinant of status of a person’s current job is status of first job (dependent on educational attainment)*
Represents another important feature of stratification systems in modern societies
The status of one’s father’s occupation still contributes to determining who gets better jobs (more status, higher income)
For a variety of reasons (e.g., more money for higher education, more well-educated role models), children from more advantaged backgrounds can build on their initial advantages
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33. THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH
Limited number of people continue to own or control very large portion of wealth
Concentration of ownership and wealth inequality continue to increase:
Wealthiest 10% of families holds most of the wealth in the world
We need to look carefully at the distributional side of the occupation and class structures, at “who gets what” in return for their employment, as well as the occupational and class positions that people hold
In 2000, one-quarter of the companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange 300 Index were each controlled by a single owner holding more than 50% of the voting shares
In 1999, the wealthiest 10% of families, with an average net worth of almost $1.5 million, held almost half (49%) of all wealth in Canada
Families such as Weston, Thomson, Bronfman, Irving, etc., form a distinct upper class
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34. INCOME DISTRIBUTION: HIGH-PAYING AND LOW-PAYING OCCUPATIONS
Upper middle class: Those with well-paid managerial and professional occupations (e.g., lawyers, dentists)
Lower working class: Retail workers and those employed in service occupations (e.g., childcare and home support services)
Gender differences hidden in occupational earning patterns:
Females earn less than males in all occupations but earnings ratio varies considerably by occupation*
In 2000, women’s earnings were 71% of men’s earnings
Female dentists earned, on average, 64% of what their male counterparts earned
Female university professors earned 80% of the earnings of their male counterparts
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35. THE POOR: DEFINING AND MEASURING POVERTY
Various ways of defining poverty:
Absolute poverty: Those with so little income that survival is difficult
Relative poverty: Those with significantly less income than others in their society
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36. Who are the Homeless? Battered women Elderly Disabled
Mentally Ill (20-25%)
Veterans
AIDS victims

37. Reasons for Homelessness
Unemployment and/or eviction
Reductions in federal support for affordable housing
Eroding work opportunities
Inadequate housing for low-income people

38. Reasons for Homelessness
Reductions in public assistance
Inadequate health care
Domestic violence
Addiction

39. Explanations of Poverty
Culture of poverty - poverty is a way of life that is transferred from generation to generation.
Structural causes of poverty - poverty is caused by economic and social transformations taking place in the U.S.

40. Arguments Against “The Culture of Poverty”
Fewer than 5% of the poor are chronically poor.
41% of the able-bodied poor work.
The pattern of “welfare cycling” is promoted by wages too low to support a family.

41. WHO ARE THE POOR IN CANADA?
Proportion of poor Canadians in 2001: 14.4%
Only minority unemployed or out of labour force
Working poor (those employed in low wage jobs) make up large proportion of the poor
Aboriginal Canadians among poorest citizens
Poverty rate for single-parent families and seniors (aged 65+) living alone: Both 42% in 2001
Poverty not a static status: Sizable number move in and out of poverty each year*
While the poverty tracks the unemployment rate, most poor people work.
Therefore, not only rising unemployment but also any decline in real wages will lead to an increase in the number of people below the poverty line
Unemployment rates among Aboriginal Canadians are more than twice as high as among non-Aboriginals
Therefore, Aboriginals are also twice as likely to be living in low-income households
42% of single-parent families headed by a female were poor in 2001.
42% of Canadians 65 and older living alone (especially women) were poor.
Poverty rate for two-parent families was 10%, while poverty rate for senior couples was 6%
In 2001, 46% of single older women were in the low-income category, compared with only 33% of single older men
While poverty is not a static status, a small minority do remain stuck in poverty year after year
Losing a job, having to take a lower-paying job, become a single parent, or being widowed can drastically increase the chance of falling into and remaining trapped in poverty
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42. Inequality in the United States
Nearly 1 in 6 children in the U.S. live poverty:
30% of African American children
29% of Hispanic children
12% of Asian American children
9.4% of White non-Hispanic children

43. Inequality in the United States
15% of the U.S. population has no health insurance.
The average cost of a day’s stay in the hospital is $1, 217—two weeks’ pay for the average worker

44. Inequality in the United States
1% of the U.S. population controls 38% of the total wealth in the nation.
The bottom 20% owe more than they own.
CEOs of major companies earn an average of $13.1 million dollars per year.
Workers earning the minimum wage make $10,712 per year, if they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks per year and hold only one job.

45. MATERIAL INEQUALITY IN TURKEY: A SUMMARY
We have witnessed increases in:
Corporate concentration
Wealth inequality
Income inequality
Number of working poor
Unemployment rates (long-term trend)
Part-time and temporary employment
Inequality in earnings (re: polarization in hours worked)*
A similar pattern has been observed in Britain and the United States
This is not to suggest that a new era of massive inequalities is dawning; however, the evidence is clear that material inequalities are rising, not declining, and that society is becoming more polarized in terms of access to and control over economic resources
Using Weber’s definition of class, class differences in Canada and the United States are becoming more pronounced
For a decade and perhaps two, the gap between the advantaged and disadvantaged has been widening in Canada
There is more wealth and income inequality and an increase in the number of poor due to high levels of unemployment and more part-time, temporary, and poorly paid jobs.
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46. MATERIAL INEQUALITY: A SUMMARY
Reduction in employment opportunities
More competitive economic environment (due to globalization)
Routine layoffs and downsizing
Replacement of full-time permanent jobs with part- time and temporary positions
Weakened labour movement
Decrease in state efforts to reduce material inequalities*
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47. CONSEQUENCES OF MATERIAL INEQUALITY
Position in class structure has effect on belief systems, behaviours, voting patterns, lifestyles, and, most importantly, life chances (e.g., health, longevity, educational attainment, criminality)
Increasing inequality may mean more social unrest among the poor
But more opposition today from better-organized, better-funded middle class*
Children from poorer families typically do not do as well in school as more affluent children, are more likely to drop out before completing high school, and are less likely to go on to higher education
Such effects of poverty are largely responsible for the perpetuation of class inequalities from one generation to the next
For a variety of reasons, including better nutrition, access to better health care, and less hazardous working conditions, those who are situated higher in the economic hierarchy are typically healthier than the poor
On average, the poor do not live as long as those who are better off
Similarly, when dealing with the criminal justice system, those with greater access to and control over economic resources tend to fare better; the poor are consequently overrepresented in jails
Life-chances are a function of position in the class structure: Those higher up in the economic hierarchy enjoy a better quality of life
For society, increasing inequality may mean more unrest among the poor; but there is more opposition today from better-organized middle class than from the poor
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48. RESPONDING TO INEQUALITY
Two views:
Inequality is inevitable and need not be addressed (tends to be espoused by the well-off)
Inequality is unjust and needs to be addressed (tends to be espoused by the poor):
Socialist response: Overthrow capitalism
Reformist response: Government redistribution of wealth to the poor (e.g., through pensions, minimum-wage legislation, unemployment insurance, etc.)*
Reactions to, and recommendations about, inequality reflect personal values and political orientation
A large part of the problem lies in the fact that any serious effort to redistribute the wealth and income from the well-off to the poor would probably be opposed by the former
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49. RESPONDING TO INEQUALITY
“liberal” welfare policies espouse faith in power of free market to produce wealth and improve condition of poor (despite little evidence of success)
Priority today given to deficit-reducing initiatives rather than reduction of material inequality
Responding to inequality effectively will require willingness on part of many to accept less so that others can have more**
If we really want to do something about material inequality in Canada, and globally, if we want a different kind of society and a different kind of world, many of us have to be willing to accept less so that others can have more
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