Sociology: Economy, Social Stratification, and Labor Markets

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering social stratification, class hierarchy, economic systems (capitalism, socialism, welfare capitalism), and labor market structures.

Social Class

The stratification of members of a society into a hierarchy, encompassing both subjective perceptions and objective measures.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A composite measure considered a more objective representation of social class, derived from income, occupational status, and education.

Meritocracy

A system of social stratification in which an individual's rank or position in society is based entirely on their talents.

Caste System

A closed system of stratification where an individual's social rank is permanently determined by factors outside of their control.

Occupational Prestige

The social respect and status accorded to an individual's job, which influences social deference and connects directly to income.

Upper Class

The social stratum comprising the top $5\%$ of the U.S. population, characterized by possessing an incredible amount of wealth and low racial and ethnic diversity.

Middle Class

The social stratum comprising $40\%$ to $45\%$ of the U.S. population, notable for being racially and ethnically diverse and influencing a vast amount of culture, yet accumulating relatively little wealth.

Working Class

The social stratum comprising $33\%$ of the U.S. population, typically employed in blue-collar occupations, possessing minimal wealth, and highly vulnerable to financial distress from illness or unemployment.

Lower Class

The remaining $20\%$ of the U.S. population, characterized by families earning less than \\$29{,}000 per year.

Income

Direct earnings gained from work, labor, or investments over a given period.

Income Inequality

The extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner across a given population.

Wealth

The total monetary value of all accumulated money and physical or financial assets (such as stocks, bonds, and real estate), minus outstanding debts.

Wealth Inequality

The unequal distribution of assets and accumulated debt across a population, which exhibits a wider disparity than income inequality.

Stock Market

A marketplace where investors buy and sell ownership shares of publicly traded companies, reflecting investor expectations and sentiment rather than the broader economy.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of natural resources and means of production, driven by the pursuit of personal profit and competition/consumer choice.

Socialism

An economic system characterized by collective ownership of natural resources and production, pursuit of collective goals, and government control.

Communism

A hypothetical economic and political system in which all members of a society are socially equal without class distinctions.

Welfare Capitalism

An economic and political system combining a mostly market-based economy with extensive social welfare programs, heavy private sector regulation, and high taxation.

State Capitalism

An economic system where companies remain privately owned but cooperate closely with the government via partnerships, financial aid, and trade protections.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total dollar value of all finished goods and services produced within a nation annually.

Per Capita GDP

A metric dividing total GDP by a nation's population to enable meaningful economic comparisons between countries of different population sizes.

Primary Labor Market

The segment of the labor market consisting of stable, high-paying jobs that provide extensive benefits to workers.

Secondary Labor Market

The segment of the labor market consisting of low-paying service jobs that provide minimal benefits, where women and underrepresented minorities are disproportionately concentrated.

Labor Union

An organization of workers formed to improve wages, benefits, and working conditions through collective bargaining negotiations and strikes.

Right-to-Work Law

A statute permitting a union to represent workplace employees while prohibiting agreements that compel workers to join or pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Majority Sign-Up

A labor arrangement requiring all workers at an enterprise to join the union, pay dues, and be represented by the union.

Fairness in Capitalism

The philosophical perspective that economic fairness is achieved through the open freedom and self-regulation of a competitive marketplace.

Fairness in Socialism

The philosophical perspective that economic fairness means meeting everyone's basic survival and life needs in roughly an equal manner.