Sociology: Social Inequalities and Stratification

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering classical and contemporary theories of social inequality, stratification systems, ideological frameworks, and mobility based on Dr. Gbenga Adejare's lecture notes.

Social Inequality

The long-term existence of significant differences in access to goods and services among social groups, shaped by factors such as ethnicity, race, gender, and class.

Class (Marxist Definition)

A relational social group reflecting people's relationship to the means of production—the resources needed to produce goods.

Means of Production

Capital consisting of the funds, properties, and resources necessary for large-scale manufacturing and trading.

Bourgeoisie

The collective class of capitalists who own the means of production.

Proletariat

The class of wage-earning workers who succeeded the peasant class of the pre-industrial era and lack resources apart from their own labour power.

Petty (Petite) Bourgeoisie

A sub-class identified by Karl Marx composed of small-time business owners possessing little capital.

Lumpenproletariat

A sub-class identified by Karl Marx consisting of small-time criminals, beggars, and the unemployed.

Class Consciousness

An awareness of what is in the best interests of one's own social class, which the owner class possesses.

False Consciousness

A mistaken belief held by workers that something is in their best interests when it is actually not.

Economic Determinism

Karl Marx's deterministic view that the economy is the single all-important imperative, institution, or structure that determines what happens in all other societal structures.

Marx's Base and Superstructure Model

A structural model positing that the economic base determines the societal superstructure, which includes government, family, religion, education, and culture.

Max Weber's Three Elements of Social Inequality

The three components that determine social stratification beyond mere ownership of the means of production: wealth, prestige, and power.

Prestige (Weber)

The degree of respect with which individuals, their socially valued possessions, and their master statuses are viewed by the majority of people in a society.

Power (Weber)

The ability of individuals or groups to achieve their goals despite the opposition of others.

Mobility Sports

Sports such as basketball, soccer, and boxing that offer individuals from poorer socio-economic backgrounds opportunities to achieve financial rewards.

Social Stratification

The sociological concept that describes society as though it is divided into a series of hierarchical layers.

Stratum

A group to which people belong on the basis of income, education, or occupation for statistical analysis.

Stratified Sampling

A research method in which equal samples are drawn from each stratum of the population.

Closed vs. Open Systems of Stratification

The division between closed systems of stratification where movement is restricted (e.g., slavery and caste systems) and open systems where movement between strata is possible (e.g., Canada's class system).

Quintile

A segment, or stratum, representing each of five equal groups into which a population is divided, each comprising $20\%$ of the population.

Ideology

A set of beliefs about society and the people in it, usually forming the basis of a particular economic or political theory.

Dominant Ideology

The set of beliefs put forward by, and generally supportive of, society's dominant culture and dominant classes.

Trickle-Down Theory

A dominant ideology assertion that if wealthy individuals are given the freedom to generate more wealth, others in society will benefit.

Neoliberal Ideology

A dominant ideology viewing the individual as an independent player, emphasizing upward mobility, and asserting that success or failure rests solely with individual motivation and hard work.

Blaming the Victim

Assigning responsibility for disadvantageous events or failure to the individual rather than to broader social causes that are beyond their control.

Counter-Ideology

An ideology that critiques a dominant ideology, challenges its justice and universal applicability, and seeks to create significant social change.

Hegemony

A concept formulated by Antonio Gramsci referring to a set of non-coercive methods of maintaining power used by the dominant class through institutions such as the media or education.

Dependency Theory

A neo-Marxian theory (advanced by Andre Gunder Frank and Walter Rodney) stating that global capitalism consists of core, semi-periphery, and periphery nations, where core capitalist nations depend upon exploiting the peripheries.

Neo-Colonialism

The rebranding of colonial exploitation through modern mechanisms such as international trade rules, multinational corporations (MNCs), official aid from organizations like the IMF, and non-transfer of technology.

Food Banks

Non-profit organizations that collect, store, and distribute food free of charge directly or through frontline agencies to assist individuals experiencing food insecurity.

Minimum Wage

The legally mandated lowest hourly rate an employer can pay a worker for their labour.

Living Wage

A targeted income level set above the legal minimum wage that represents the real income required for the working poor to afford basic living expenses.

Social Mobility

The movement of individuals or groups within and between social classes.

Vertical Mobility

Movement upward or downward from one social class or stratum to another.

Horizontal Mobility

Movement within the same social class or stratum without a change in overall class standing.