Economic Inequality

Capital

the resources we use to get things we want and need

Economic Capital

financial resources that are or can be converted into money

Working Poor

people in the labor force who earn poverty- level wages

Glass Ceiling

an invisible barrier that restricts upward mobility

Glass Floor

an invisible barrier that restricts downward mobility

Glass Escalator

an invisible ride to the top offered to men in female-dominated occupations

Economic Elite

the minority of people who control a disproportionate amount of wealth

Social Mobility

opportunity to move up or down in the economic hierarchy

What impacts social mobility to move up or down in the economic hierarchy?

glass escalator, glass ceiling, glass floor

Capitalism

an economic system based on private ownership of the resources used to create wealth and the right of individuals to personally profit

Wages

cash payments given to workers in exchange of their labor

Free Market Capitalism

a capitalist system with little or no government regulation

Proletariat

a class of people who are employed by others and work for a wage

Means of Production

resources that can be used to create wealth

Bourgeoisie

a class of people who employ the workers

Contradictory class locations

positions in the economy that are in some ways like the proletariat and in other ways like bourgeoisie

Karl Marx’s Critique of Capitalism includes:

proletariat, means of production, bourgeoisie, contradictory class locations, Alienation, Class Consciousness, Crisis of Capitalism, Labor

Alienation

the feeling of dissatisfaction and disconnection from the fruits of one’s labor

Class Consciousness

an understanding that members of social class share economic interests

Crisis of Capitalism

a coming catastrophic implosion from which capitalism would never recover

Labor

the work people can do with their bodies and mind

Social Safety Net

a patchwork of programs intended to ensure that the most economically vulnerable do not go without basic necessities like food, clothing, and shelter

Welfare Capitalism

a capitalist economic system with some socialist policy aimed at distributing the profits of capitalism more evenly across the population

Labor Unions

associations that organize workers so they can negotiate with their employers as a group instead of as individuals

Social Supports include:

social safety net, welfare capitalism, labor unions, living wage

Living wage

income that allows full time worker to afford their basic needs

Socialism

economic system based on shared ownership of the resources used to create wealth that is then distributed by governments for the enrichment of all