Sociology: Stratification and Social Mobility Study Guide

Overview of Stratification and Social Mobility

• This lecture examines the concepts of social stratification and social mobility, focusing on how individuals and groups are positioned within a societal hierarchy.
• The United States is used as a primary case study for a class-based system, though the principles discussed are applicable on a global scale.
• Key metrics for assessing these levels include income range, Gross Domestic Product ($GDP$), and Gross Development Index ($GDI$), where $GDI$ is the more contemporary definition to be noted.
• The ability to move between societal categories is fundamentally dictated by the type of system in place: a caste system or a class system.

Defining Socioeconomic Status ($SES$)

• Stratification is rooted in the concept of socioeconomic status ($SES$). This metric looks at the division of wealth within a country or across the globe.
• $SES$ measures the gap between those living in absolute poverty and the elite or minority groups who hold the majority of wealth.
• Sociology focuses heavily on how $SES$ leads to marginalization. While factors like race, ethnicity, religion, and education are important, education is frequently tied directly to $SES$.
• Societal perception often links human worth to wealth. For instance, in the United States, the question "What do you do?" serves as a primary definer of status.
  • Jobs like lawyers, doctors, professors, or lecturers are afforded high status.
  • Skilled blue-collar jobs like a machinist are respected but viewed differently.
  • General laborers are often subject to stereotypes suggesting a lack of intelligence or inability to move up the social scale.

Characteristics and Universality of Stratification

• Stratification is a trait of society rather than an individual's specific merit or ability.
• The lecturer provides a personal anecdote: at $14$ years old, he was a homeless teenager living under bridges or in shacks. Despite having the same intelligence, aptitude, and talent he possesses today, he was viewed as the "dregs of society" solely due to his placement at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.
• Key traits of stratification include:
  • Universality: Every society has some form of stratified system, whether it is based on economics, politics, religion, or even marital status.
  • Persistence over Generations: Social mobility tends to happen very slowly, often taking multiple generations for a family's status to change significantly.
  • Ideological Support: Stratification is tied to a society's belief system or ideology to justify its existence.
    • In a capitalist society, the belief in the "American Dream" and the idea that a degree provides a "foot in the door" justifies the high costs and debt associated with higher education.
    • Without this belief in mobility, individuals would likely protest and dismantle the existing societal structures.

The Caste System: Closed Stratification

• In a caste system, social mobility is virtually non-existent; it is based entirely on ascription, or ascribed status.
• Definition: A status assigned at birth that determines an individual's life path, occupation, and social standing permanently.
• Characteristics of Caste Systems:
  • Occupation: Careers often pass from father to son due to patriarchy. For example, the son of a rickshaw driver in a true caste system must remain a rickshaw driver regardless of talent or ambition.
  • Endogamy: The practice of marrying strictly within one's own socioeconomic strata, religion, or educational level. This prevents the mixing of classes and ensures the preservation of the hierarchy.
  • Segregation: Physical and social boundaries prevent interaction between classes. In some cultures, moving "uptown" or into a wealthier district if you are from a poor district might result in physical violence.
  • Bodyguards Example: A student shared a photo of a wealthy man in a poor open-air market in India; however, close inspection revealed the man had $4$ bodyguards, highlighting the lack of free movement between social classes.
• Religious Justification: In some interpretations of Hinduism, the concept of Karma and the goal of achieving Moksha (enlightenment) are used to justify one's "lot in life." To protest one's status is seen as failing to accept the spiritual lessons required to move beyond this life.
• Historically, countries like India and China were strict caste systems, but industrialization and the global market are shifting them toward mixed systems with greater mobility.

The Class System: Open Stratification

• Open systems like a class system are based on achievement rather than ascription.
• In theory, individuals can "write their own ticket" by working hard and attaining education.
• The concept of the "American Dream" often centers on home ownership. The lecturer notes that over the last $75$ years, the return on home ownership (adjusted for inflation) is only about $2.7\%$, which is less than the stock market. Despite this, owning a home (effectively renting from a bank for $30$ years) is a primary goal that motivates people to work within the class system.
• In a class system, everyone theoretically has access to education and jobs, providing an "even playing field." Although systemic marginalization exists, hard work is seen as the mechanism to bypass roadblocks.

The Meritocracy Debate: Benefits and Marginalization

• Meritocracy: A system where rewards and social position are based on individual ability and effort. The core idea is that "you get what you deserve."
• Positive aspects: It provides motivation for individuals to spend years in school (e.g., the lecturer's $13.5$ years to get a $PhD$ starting at age $27$) to become doctors or specialized professionals.
• Negative aspects: Meritocracy can be used to "blame the victim." If a person is poor, the logic suggests it is their own fault for being "lazy" or not working hard enough.
• This ignores systemic blocks, such as attending schools with poor support, lack of information regarding community college pathways, or cultural devaluations of education.

The Davis-Moore Thesis: The Functional Necessity of Stratification

• Davis and Moore argue that stratification is necessary to ensure that the most important positions in society are filled by the most qualified people.
• Society provides incentives in three forms: Income, Prestige, and Power.
• Example: To attract the "best and brightest" to medicine, society offers high rewards to compensate for the difficulty of medical school and residency.
• Education and the Job Market: Because roughly $300$ applicants might have the same degree for a single job, employers look at specific markers like $GPA$, internships, and research to differentiate candidates. In this context, "$C$ equals degree" might be true, but it no longer guarantees a career.

Social Class Categories in the United States

• Upper Class ($5\%$ to $7\%$):
  • Upper-Uppers: Represent "old money." Wealth is inherited and intergenerational.
  • Lower-Uppers: Represent "new money." Individuals like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos (the world's potential first trillionaire) have massive wealth but are not part of the traditional old-money elite because they earned it within their lifetime.
• Middle Class: Often split into Upper-Middle (high income, college-educated) and Average-Middle.
  • The Upper-Middle class typically earns between $\$120,000$ and $\$175,000$ annually (adjusted for inflation).
  • The Average-Middle class may earn between $\$35,000$ and $\$50,000$, placing them just above the poverty line for a family of four.
• Working Class ($30\%$): Known as the "industrial proletariat." These individuals often perform routine tasks and may lack the resources (like childcare) to pursue further education.
• Lower Class ($20\%$): Sometimes called the "Lumpen proletariat." This group includes people earning below $\$25,000$ annually, the functionally illiterate, and those reliant on state assistance. In $2014$, this accounted for approximately $70$ to $80$ million people.

Varieties of Social Mobility

• Vertical Mobility: Moving up or down the socioeconomic ladder (e.g., losing a business or earning a degree).
• Horizontal Mobility: Moving between positions within the same social class. For example, moving from mid-level management to a Vice President role at a startup with the same salary is upward mobility in prestige/power but horizontal in economics.
• Intergenerational Mobility: Changes in social position relative to one's parents (e.g., being the first in family history to go to college). This is the most common form of mobility.
• Intragenerational Mobility: A change in social position occurring during a single person's lifetime (e.g., moving from the working class to the lower-upper class via business success).

Contemporary Trends in Social Mobility

• Stalled Earnings: Incomes have not kept pace with the cost of living, leading many to work two jobs. The lecturer notes his son once worked $60$ to $70$ hours a week across two jobs just to make ends meet.
• The "Twixters": A term coined by Time Magazine for young adults ($26$ to $32$ years old) who are "betwixt and between" childhood and full adulthood. They often live at home not by choice, but because rents are too high relative to their income.
• Temp Situations: Corporations often hire "temporary" employees for long-term contracts (e.g., $3$ or $5$ years) to avoid paying for sick leave, vacation, and subsidized health insurance. An employee making $\$42,000$ in a temp role may pay $\$1,000$ a month for health insurance that an employer would otherwise subsidize, reducing their actual take-home pay.
• Gender Shift: More women are now in college and the workplace than men in the United States. This is slowly challenging traditional patriarchy and moving toward a more egalitarian structure.

Poverty in the United States: Relative vs. Absolute

• Relative Poverty: Feeling poor compared to those in higher social strata (e.g., the working class compared to the upper-middle class).
• Absolute Poverty: A life-threatening lack of resources where an individual lacks even a single dollar for food.
• The Federal Poverty Line: In $2019$, the poverty threshold for a family of four was $\$25,750$. In $1993$, it was $\$14,763$.
• Hunger: Approximately $50\%$ of those in poverty in the U.S. endure hunger daily. This is often "malnutritional hunger," where families can only afford low-nutrient foods like noodles with butter or Mac and cheese.

The Feminization of Poverty

• The "new face" of homelessness in America is the single mother with children.
• Factors include lower-paying jobs for women, teen pregnancies, and the impact of "No-fault divorce."
• Before no-fault divorce, alimony was more common. Now, a woman often has $100\%$ custody of children but limited support. While a father might be praised for paying $10\%$ to $15\%$ of his disposable income in child support, the mother's entire income is often consumed by childcare and living expenses.

Homelessness and Vulnerable Populations

• Accurate counts are difficult, but estimates range from $500,000$ to $1.5$ million people homeless on any given night, with some sociologists suggesting the number is closer to $3$ to $5$ million annually.
• Stereotypes attribute homelessness to substance abuse or mental illness (a meritocratic bias), but the population includes many single parents and veterans with $PTSD$ who struggle to reintegrate.
• The lecturer emphasizes a "hate the situation, not the person" approach to addressing the structural flaws of the system.