Study Notes: American Class Structure, Poverty, and Race

Wealth

Total assets minus debts, a particularly important indicator of an individual's or family's `life chances`.

Income

Money earned from work, investments, etc.

Racial Wealth Divide

Significant disparities in accumulated assets along racial lines, which is growing.

Life Chances

Opportunities and prospects over an individual's or family's lifetime, heavily influenced by wealth.

Intergenerational Class Status

The perpetuation of social position across generations, with wealth playing a key role in passing class status to children.

Social Mobility

The movement of individuals or groups between different socioeconomic positions (e.g., from working class to middle class).

Meritocracy

The belief that a society should be one where individuals advance based on their abilities, talents, and efforts, not their social origins.

American Dream

The widespread belief that anyone in the U.S. can achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination, regardless of background.

Class Persistence

The tendency for individuals to marry someone from their own social class, reinforcing existing class structures.

Digital Divide

The growing gap between those who have ready access to computers and the Internet, and those who do not, impacting opportunities.

Social Capital

Resources such as networks and connections that individuals can draw upon to improve their social and economic standing.

Economic Capital

Financial assets and resources that individuals can draw upon to improve their social and economic standing.

Individual Explanations (Poverty)

Attributing poverty to `personal failure`, such as lack of effort, poor choices, or individual shortcomings.

Structural Explanations (Poverty)

Attributing poverty to broader societal issues, historical contexts, and systemic problems (e.g., historical legacies of inequality, taxation policies, educational system deficiencies).

Government Measurement of Poverty

Establishing specific income thresholds, below which individuals or families are officially considered poor.