Social Class Study Guide

social class

large groups with similar levels of wealth, power, and prestige

property

what people own; wealth

wealth

value of a person’s property

income

incoming wages from a job, rent, interest, or royalties

power

ability to get your way in the face of resistance

power elite

a closely knit alliance of military, gov., and corporate officials perceived as the center of wealth and political power in the US

status consistency

people with similar levels of power, property, and prestige (e.g. a poor homeless person)

status inconsistency

people with varying levels of power, property, and prestige. (e.g. an “old money” family who lost it’s wealth may continue to be influential; a lower class family may win the lottery, but still lack elite prestige)

status

the responsibilities and benefits that a person experiences according to their rank and role in society

contradictory class locations

 Karl Marx theorized that there were two classes, the Bourgeise (owners of factories of production) and the proletariat (workers).

underclass

welfare-dependent families, responsible for most crime. “Intelligence is environmental and inherited and predicts success more accurately than socioeconomic indicators” no evidence to back up this theory

Intergenerational mobility

change in a family’s social class from one generation to the next

Upward social mobility

moving to a higher social class

downward social mobility

moving to a lower social class

structural mobility

society changes, causing a shift in structure

exchange mobility

so many people moving up and down the class ladder that the structure shows little change

prestige to certain jobs

Higher pay, higher education, abstract thought required, greater self direction

main consequences of social class

property, power, prestige, and socioeconomic status

social mobility effects

Moving up and down the social ladder can leave people feeling out of place or a sesnces of “anomie” or normlessness.

upper upper class

 old wealth; elite group; well-established; wealth is inherited from generation to generation; members of exclusive clubs/charity sponsors; powerful

lower upper class

 new wealth (nouveau riche); successful business owners; famous Hollywood actors; not fully accepted by upper-upper class

upper middle class

career focused; professionals; no unusual wealth or status; financially comfortable; active in the community

lowe middle class

 white collar, non-managerial workers, or highly paid blue-collar workers; identify status with good citizenship

upper lower class

largest class segment; blue collar workers; associate status with security

lower lower class

 low skilled workers; often out of work; live “paycheck to paycheck” 

closed social structure

tend to be extremely rigid and allow for little social mobility

open social structure

allow for much more social mobility, both upward and downward