Socio: Chapter 10

Life Chances

the likelihood that our success is shaped by our access to valued material, social, and cultural resources

Stratification

structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuate unequal economic rewards and power in a society

Slavery

enforced servitude - people are owned

• usually because of ascribed status

Caste

boundaries between strata are clear, relations between levels are regulated, social status is ascribed

Estate System

divides power to three sectors - church, nobility, and commoners

Social Class

based on socioeconomic status - both real and perceived

US Class System

• Upper Class - 200,000/yr - 2%

• Upper Middle Class - 100,000 - 15%

• Lower Middle Class - 50,000 - 30-35%

• Working Class - 35,000 - 30-35%

• Lower Class - <30,000 - 15-20%

India’s Caste System

• individual cannot switch to a higher class socially

• levels are ascribed

• can change via occupation/edu

Social Mobility

movement within or between systems strata

Open System

allows for social mobility

Closed System

social positions are ascribed - will remain in the same strata throughout life

Horizontal Stratification

ranks individuals within same social stratum/occupation (ranking types of teachers)

Vertical Stratification

ranking separate stratum (bus driver → nurse)

Intergenerational

changes in social position relative to parents

Intragenerational

change w/i adult life

Income

$ over time

Wealth

total value of all assets minus debts at a certain time

Median Household Income

81600 - 83700

Top 1% Own:

30-38% of total US wealth

Bottom 50% Own:

2.5-2.6% of US wealth

Absolute Poverty

minimum level of substinence

Relative Poverty

floating standard of deprivation in which people at the bottom of society are judged to be poor in comparison

Inflation Effects:

1. Widens gap between social classes

2. Essentials dominate budgets

3. Less Flexibility

4. Limited Savings

5. Wage Lag

Meritocracy

faith in opportunity - hard work = reward

Aristocracy

social status is ascribed - elite membership is inherited

Key Resources Illuminating Power

1. Material - money

2. Social - prestige

3. Cultural - ethnicity

Functionalist - Social Inequality

• deemed necessary for society to function as different positions requite different skills + incentives

Conflict - Social Inequality

resources are not shared equally causing social inequality

Class Consciousness

awareness of common interests held by members of certain classes

Bourgeoisie

owners of the means of production

Proletariat

do not own means of production, so they must sell themselves as labor in exchange of wage

Weber/Multidimensional System

1. Class - group of people w/ similar economic resources (economic)

2. Status Group - people who have some perceived level of prestige (social standing)

Socioeconomic Status (SES) - measure fo social class position based on edu/occ/income

Interactionist - Social Inequality

social inequality as a socially constructed reality maintained through everyday face-to-face interactions

Bordieau

argued some cultures are valued over other cultures making it a form of power

Cultural Capital

our tastes, knowledge, language, ways of thinking that we exchange in interaction with others