Chapter 6: Social Stratification:​ Canadian and Global​ Perspectives

Social stratification

The organization of society into layers or strata reflecting the hierarchical structures of class ​
and status. ​

• COVID-19 increased the gap between the higher and lower strata.

Patterns of Social Inequality

• Wealth

• Income

• After-Tax Income

Wealth

Assets minus liabilities​ (what you own minus what you owe).

• Wealth as power:

  • Max Weber defined power as the ability to achieve one’s goals despite resistance.

  • Wealth enables influence, such as through political donations that help shape laws.

• Wealth and health:

  • Greater wealth allows access to better food, leisure, medical care, and less stress—leading to longer, healthier lives.

Income

The amount of money earned in a given period.

After-Tax Income

The amount of money earned in a given period after paying income tax and receiving government benefits such as​

• Employment Insurance payments ​

• child tax credits ​

• GST credits​

• welfare payments

Factors in economic success

Degree of natural talent + Degree of effort​

Plus​

Economic capital​

Ownership of land, real estate, industrial plants and equipment, and stocks and bonds.​

Plus​

Human capital​

Investment in education and training.

Factors in economic success (cultural and social)

Degree of natural talent + Degree of effort + Economic capital + Human capital​

Plus​

Social capital​

The social networks to which people are connected.​

Plus​

Cultural capital​

The set of social skills that can be used to influence and persuade people.

Poverty

• Homelessness as poverty:

  • The number of homeless people in Canada has increased significantly in recent decades.

  • Homelessness is a visible and extreme form of poverty, but exact numbers are hard to determine.

• Debate over defining poverty:

  • No single, agreed-upon definition of poverty exists.

• Absolute vs. relative poverty:

  • Absolute poverty: Defined by lack of essentials (food, shelter, clothing), but what's considered “essential” varies by time, place, and culture.

  • Relative poverty: Defined in comparison to societal standards (e.g., income level, housing quality), but raises questions:

    • Relative to what (average income, community norms)?

    • How relative (e.g., one-third or one-half of average income)?

Poverty in Canada

In 2018, Canada established an official definition of poverty.​

• Market Basket Measure (MBM) – the cost of a basket of goods and services needed to cover basic needs and enjoy a reasonable standard of living.​

• https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/sc/video/mbm ​

• Criticized by Campaign 2000 (anti-poverty group) ​

Myths about Poverty: Myth #1

People are poor because they don’t want to work. (“lazy”…)​

What about the …​

• people who want to work but can’t work because ​
  of a disability?​

• people who want to work but can’t work since there are no adequate childcare provisions in Canada, and their children are too young to be left on their own?​

• people who are poor but are working, full and part-time jobs at minimum wage?​

Myths about Poverty: Myth #2

• Most poor people are immigrants.

  Actually, only recent immigrants experience poverty rates significantly higher than the Canadian-born, and recent immigrants are only a small fraction of all Canadian immigrants. Moreover, once they are established, immigrants have lower poverty rates than do people born in Canada

Myths about Poverty: Myth #3

• Most poor people are trapped in poverty.

  In fact, 80 percent of people with low income in a given year escape poverty in less than a year; and another 12 percent escape within two years. I conclude that most people try to move out of difficult financial circumstances and most succeed, at least for a time.

Explaining Poverty​: Types of Explanations: Individual-level explanations

Focus on attributes of people who are poor, and ​
ask how these people differ from those who are ​
not poor.​

• Inherited attributes​

• Acquired attributes (social-psychological)

Explaining Poverty​: Types of Explanations: Structural explanations

Focuses on the social organizations of society, or subsystems in society as explanations of poverty.​

• The organization of the economy and the lack ​of good jobs​

• Social policy affecting poverty levels​

• System of tax collection and tax allocation (4 problems related to the overall tax system)

Explaining Poverty​: Types of Explanations: Ideological Perspectives

Negative images of various groups lead to an undervaluing of the ways of life of some people.​

• Leads to discrimination​

• Leads to less success in finding jobs

Canada’s income tax is progressive (higher incomes taxed at higher rates), but the overall tax system is nearly neutral due to:

• Regressive taxes like HST and fuel/property tax (everyone pays the same rate, hitting the poor harder).

• Tax shelters (RRSPs, RESPs) used by higher-income earners.

• Lower tax rates on dividends and investment profits.

• Tax evasion by the wealthy using offshore tax havens—Canada loses $6–7.8 billion annually this way.

Is Stratification Inevitable?: Marx’s Conflict Theory

Did not view social stratification as inevitable—believed capitalist growth would produce a society without classes and class conflict.​

Class: Determined by a person’s “relationship to ​
the means of production.”​

• Bourgeoisie – Ownership class​ earns profit

• Proletariat – Working class earns wage

Workers would develop a growing sense of ​class consciousness​

• leading to growth of unions and workers’ political parties​

Believed capitalism would experience escalating economic crises of ‘overproduction’ or ‘underconsumption.’

Critical Evaluation of Marx’s Conflict Theory

1. Industrial societies did not polarize into two opposed classes engaged in bitter conflict.​

2. Investment in technology resulted in higher profits for capitalists AND made it possible for higher wages for workers.​

3. Efforts by workers resulted in improved living standards.​

4. Communism did not emerge in highly industrialized countries.​

5. Economic crises of “overproduction” and “underconsumption” averted by demand stimulation

Is Stratification Inevitable?: Functionalist Theory of Davis and Moore

Asserts the inevitability of social stratification.​

• Social inequality (stratification) is necessary and beneficial to society.

• It ensures that the most important jobs are filled by the most capable people.

1. Some jobs are more important than others.​

2. People must make sacrifices to train for important jobs.​

• Incentives (money / prestige) are required for motivation.​

3. Substantial inequality is necessary.

Critical Evaluation of Functionalism

1. Classification of “important” and “less important” jobs is problematic. ​

2. The theory ignores the pool of talent lying undiscovered because of inequality.​

3. The theory fails to examine how advantages are passed from generation to generation.

Is Stratification Inevitable?: Weber’s Compromise

Argued that we must analyze 1. classes, 2. status groups, and 3. parties as independent bases of social inequality.​

1. Four main classes in capitalist societies:​

1. Large property owners​

2. Small property owners​

3. Property-less but relatively highly educated and well-paid employees​

4. Propertyless manual workers

The level of social stratification in a society is dependent upon the complex interplay of class, status, and party, and their effect on social mobility.​

Movement up and down the stratification system

Class (Economic Dimension)

• Like Marx, Weber saw class as central, but he defined it more broadly.

• Class is based on “market situation”:

  • Possession of goods

  • Opportunities for income

  • Education and skill level

• Weber identified four main classes:

  1. Large property owners

  2. Small property owners (e.g., shopkeepers)

  3. Highly educated employees (e.g., professionals, managers)

  4. Manual workers (e.g., labourers)

Status Groups (Social Dimension)

• Unlike Marx, Weber emphasized status or prestige as a separate form of inequality.

• Status groups are ranked by social honour or lifestyle.

  • Example: Celebrities like Kim Kardashian may have little economic or political power but still hold high status due to public recognition.

• This shows that prestige can exist independently of wealth or talent.

• Differ from one another in the prestige or social honour that they enjoy, and in their lifestyle.​

• Prestige as a result of wealth or talent​

• Prestige as a result of attracting attention ​
  (“well-knownness”)

Parties (Political Dimension)

• Weber added political power to the picture.

• Parties are groups that seek to influence social action, typically through institutions like government or unions.

• These groups affect stratification by organizing to gain or distribute power.

• (not necessarily political)​

  • Organizations that seek to impose their will ​ on others through the exercise of power:​

  • Political​

  • Military​

  • Scientific​

  • Other bureaucratic organizations​

  • Control over parties does not depend just ​
    on wealth.

Social Mobility

Opportunity for movement is reflected in the following:​

Intragenerational mobility​

• Social mobility that occurs within a single generation.​

Intergenerational mobility ​

• Social mobility that occurs between generations.

Open or fluid societies

• Have greater equality of access to all positions ​
  in the hierarchy of inequality.​

• You are more likely to rise or fall to a position that reflects your capabilities.

Closed or rigid societies

• Your social origins have major consequences ​
  for where you are located in the hierarchy of inequality.

Stratification Systems

• Ascription-based

• Achievement-based

Ascription-Based Stratification

• The allocation of rank depends on the features with which a person is born (ascribed characteristics).

• Definition: Social status is inherited rather than earned.

• Examples: Caste systems, aristocracies, or being born into wealth or poverty.

• Implication: Little to no social mobility. Your family background largely determines your life chances.

Achievement-Based Stratification

• The allocation of rank depends on a person’s accomplishments.

• Definition: Social status is based on individual effort, talent, and achievement.

• Examples: Getting a good education, landing a high-skilled job, rising through the ranks.

• Implication: Social mobility is possible; people can improve their socioeconomic position through hard work and skill.

Explaining Global Inequality​
Modernization Theory: A variant of functionalism

Global inequality results from the various dysfunctional characteristics of poor societies. ​

1. Lack sufficient capital for investment in ​
   Western-style agriculture and industry. ​

2. Lack rational Western-style business techniques.​

3. Lack stable Western-style governments.​

4. Lack a Western mentality.

Key Points of Modernization Theory

1. Internal Causes of Poverty

Modernization theory argues that poverty in poor countries stems primarily from internal dysfunctions

2. Western Model as the Ideal

The theory assumes that the path to development requires emulating the West, including:

• Western business practices and economic systems

• Western-style governance and democratic institutions

• Cultural shifts toward individualism, achievement, and reduced fertility

3. Role of Rich Countries

Wealthy nations are seen as drivers of global development, tasked with:

• Providing foreign aid

• Encouraging Western businesses to invest in poor countries

• Increasing trade between rich and poor nations

• Transferring technology and values that support modernization

Criticisms of Modernization Theory

• It often blames poor countries for their own poverty without addressing historical factors like colonialism.

• It tends to be ethnocentric, assuming Western ways are superior.

• It may underestimate global power imbalances and how rich countries benefit from cheap labour and resources in poor ones.

Explaining Global Inequality ​
Dependency Theory: A variant of conflict theory

Global inequality is the result of patterns of domination and submission—with the colonizing countries impoverishing the less powerful countries.

Cause of poverty: ​Historical and ongoing external exploitation

Role of Rich Countries: Perpetuators of inequality (colonialism, corporate control, debt traps)

• Exploitation by direct political control was soon replaced by new means of achieving the same end:​

1. Substantial foreign investment​

2. Support for authoritarian governments​

3. Mounting debt

There are three types of countries in the world:

1. Core countries that are the world’s major sources of capital and technology (the United States, Japan, and Germany).​

2. Peripheral countries that are the world’s major sources ​
   of raw materials and cheap labour (the former colonies).​

3. Semiperipheral countries that are former colonies and that are making considerable headway in their attempt ​
   to become prosperous.

Semiperipheral countries differ from peripheral countries in four main ways:

1. Type of colonialism​

2. Geopolitical position​

3. State policy​

4. Social structure +land reforms +no wars