Sociology - Meritocracy Myth Study Guide

Meritocracy

 a social system in which individuals get ahead and earn rewards in direct proportion to their individual efforts and abilities

Ideologies

a system of ideas and/or ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy

Inheritance

the total impact of initial social-class placement at birth on future life outcomes

Great American Contradiction

Americans endorse the right of individuals with minimal state intervention or outside restriction to give up their own property and resources to help their friends and family succeed

but they also want to believe that they system is fair and that everyone has an equal chance to get ahead

Inter Vivos Transfers

The transformative financial resources a parent can provide to their child at particular milestones in their life. This includes paying for weddings, helping them back up after being laid off, medical crisis help, buying a house, and going to college

Where they start

the most consequential determinant of our economic success in life is __

Income

 The total flow of financial resources from all sources

Wealth

what people own (net worth) in terms of financial definitions

70%, 28%, 2%, twice as much

The top 10% have __ of the share of net worth, the bottom 50% have __ of the shared net worth, and the middle 40% have __, meaning the top 10% have more than __ wealth as the bottom 90%

32%, 38%, bottom 90%

The top 1% have __ of the shared net worth, and the other top 9% have __, meaning the top 1% have more wealth than the __ combined

21, 351

The ratio of CEO to average worker pay has increased from __ to 1 in 1965, to __ to 1 in 2020

Social Capital

Who you know, social resources that involve individual and family connections that mediate access to opportunity.

Cultural Capital

What you know, knowledge of the norms, values, beliefs, and ways of life of the groups to which people belong.

Functionalist Theory

all societies make some provision or social arrangement for acquiring and distributing resources necessary for the mutual survival of their members

Conflict Theory

the essential cause of inequality is conflict over surplus. Surplus refers to whatever is left over in the society after its members’ minimum survival needs are met.

Farmer, Factory Worker, Retail sales clerk

The history of the U.S. labor force can be summarized by tracing the evolution of three jobs, __, __, and __

Structural Mobility

Economic upgrading or downgrading caused by the divisions of labor in society.

Large groups of people can increase or decrease their success based on various changes in the organization of society

10%, 22%, decreased slightly, stayed the same

Black households held only __ of the median net worth of White households. Hispanic households only held __ of the median net worth of white households.

The wealth gap between Hispanic households and whites has __, whereas the wealth gap between black households and whites has __ since 1950

Institutional Discrimination

The consequence of cumulative acts of discrimination over time, including actions, practices, and policies, systematically embedded into the organizations of society.

Progressive Tax

the tax rate increases as taxable income increases. In other words, operating on an ability-to-pay principle; those who have higher incomes and can presumably afford to pay more get taxed at higher rates.

Regressive Tax

lower-income groups pay more as a proportion of total income than higher-income groups

Half

The tax rate for capital gains is taxed at about __ the rate of earned income from salary and wages

past-in-present discrimination

the effects of past discrimination continue to have a long reach into the present