Principles of Sociology: Exam 3

John Toth

social Inequality

condition in which people have different amounts of stuff

Example: power, money, income, prestige

Stratification

Key 1: refers to a structured ranking of entire groups

Key 2: structured ranking of entire group of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in society

Systems of Stratification

slavery, estate, social class, castes

Slavery

historically most extreme case of stratification

Castes

family origin, family you’re born into locks your position

Estate

either you owned land or you didn’t

Social Class

tax bracket, income

Cumulative (Dis)Advantage

perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in society → problematic for some in society

Open Systems

allow people to move around these systems. BUT, according to data, most people stay in the ranking they were born in

Closed Systems

people cannot change their ranking in the system

Life Choices

the opportunities to provide ourselves with healthy food, good health care, good housing, and good leisure opportunities

Role of Wealth

wealth is everything we own except for what we owe, something that accumulates over time

Benefits: the wealthier the more access you have to better health care

2 Benefits of Wealth

acts as a buffer between economic downturns/hardships (ability to ride out the storm during a rough time)

allows wealth to be passed down to offspring (allows one to pass wealth forward)

Mobility Outlook

if we work hard then we can achieve anything

typically small incremental movements

Fathers → Sons $

we want the son to make more money than their father

look at the men’s income for the measurements of mobility, intergender

Karl Marx

the business cycle

Class Consciousness (Karl Marx)

an awareness of a collective group membership and the realization we have to change something and do something about it; his belief and hope for the working class

False Consciousness (Karl Marx)

“people have to get over this before class consciousness”

an attitude that doesn’t reflect the objective reality

Example: workers don’t see they are being exploited

Bourgeoisie

capital class, owns the mean of production, the physical stuff

Example: tire shops, doughnut shops

Proletariat

the working class, sell their labor for money

Is Stratification Universal? (Functionalist View)

Yes, not only is it universal but it is also necessary. Where would the incentive be without it? Who would fill all the jobs from lowest to the highest positions?

Need poor people to buy the cheaper things and wealthy people to buy the expensive things

Is Stratification Universal? (Conflict View)

Yes… BUT it doesn’t have to be. It’s only universal because capital is universal. You don’t need extreme gaps in order to incentives people into jobs and careers

Example: social workers are overworked and might not always be making the most but they also stick with the job because they feel that they are helping and making a difference

Colonialism (Global Strat)

historical period, when one nation dominates another nation for an extended period of time

Neocolonialism (Global Strat)

Example: doing the washing of someone’s car but they won’t let you drive it, finally after years you are given the car but everything that could be wrong with it is wrong with it. You wanna drive it but you don’t have the expertise to drive it. So you go back to the person ho gave you the car

World Systems Analysis/Theory

Immanuel Wallerstein

Periphery

provide minerals for the rest of the world

Bolivia, Haiti, Egypt, Phillippines, Vietnam

Semi-Periphery

industrializing powers

China, Mexico, India, Russia

Core

US:UK, Germany, Japan, Canada

they share that they’re colonizers; privileged themselves

World Bank

global institutions to collect world data, charged with making loans to nations

focuses on long-term economic development and poverty reduction by funding specific infrastructure and development projects

IMF (International Monetary Fund)

global institutions to collect world data, charged with making loans to nations

focuses on short- to medium-term macroeconomic stability and exchange rates to prevent global financial crises

Why does Stratification/Inequality Continue? (J. Charon)

1. efforts of the powerful

2. social institutions

3. culture: acceptance of inequality

4. socialization

5. instruments of force

Efforts of the Powerful (J. Charon)

those in power like to remain in power

Social Institutions (J. Charon)

are slow to change once in place

Culture: Acceptance of Inequality (J. Charon)

we can justify it away

if we think life is all about choices; work hard receive good rewards

Socialization (J. Charon)

most people accept the class they were born in/are in

Instruments of Force (J. Charon)

Example: protesting goes on for too long, government sends in military to take care of problem; “tank man”