Stratification and Social Mobility in the United States

Stratification

1. Introduction to Stratification

  • Stratification: Structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal, hierarchical economic rewards in a society.

  • Social Inequality: Condition in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

    • Income: Salaries and wages.

    • Wealth: Encompasses all of a person's material assets.

2. Systems of Stratification

  • Slavery: Individuals owned by other people who treat them as property.

  • Castes: Hereditary ranks usually dictated by religion; tend to be fixed and immobile.

  • Estate System (Feudalism): Required peasants to work land leased to them in exchange for military protection and other services.

3. Social Classes

  • Class System: Social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility.

  • Rossides (1997) five-class model to describe the U.S. class system:

    • Upper Class

    • Middle Class

    • Working Class

    • Working Poor Class

    • Poor Class

4. Theories of Social Inequality

4.1. Structural Functionalism

  • Davis and Moore’s Theory: Argues that social stratification has beneficial consequences in society.

    • Functionalist View: Social inequality is necessary so people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions.

    • Functional Importance of Position: Some positions are more critical than others.

    • Scarcity of Trained Personnel: The need for qualified individuals drives the stratification system.

4.2. Social Conflict Theory

  • Social relations depend on who controls the primary mode of production.

    • Capitalism: Means of production are largely held in private hands; the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

    • Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class that owns the means of production.

    • Proletariat: The working class.

4.3. Karl Marx’s View of Class Differentiation

  • Class Consciousness: Subjective awareness of common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about change.

  • False Consciousness: Attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position.

4.4. Max Weber’s View of Stratification

  • No single characteristic totally defines a person’s position within the stratification system:

    • Class: Group of people with a similar level of wealth and income.

    • Status Group: People who have the same prestige or lifestyle.

    • Power: Ability to exercise one's will over others.

4.5. Symbolic Interactionism

  • Interactionists focus on the importance of social class in shaping a person's lifestyle.

    • Conspicuous Consumption: Wealthy individuals convert part of their wealth into leisure and conspicuous consumption to signal status.

5. Is Stratification Universal?

  • Conflict View: Human beings are prone to conflict over scarce resources.

    • Stratification is a major source of societal tension, leading to instability and social change.

  • Lenski’s View: As a society advances technologically, it becomes capable of producing surplus goods, expanding the possibilities for inequality in status, influence, and power.

6. Perspectives on Social Stratification

6.1. Major Perspectives

  1. Structural-Functional Theory

    • Macro-level analysis, viewing stratification as a system of unequal rewards benefiting society as a whole.

  2. Social-Conflict Theory

    • Macro-level analysis where stratification is seen as a division of resources that harms some and benefits others.

  3. Symbolic-Interaction Theory

    • Micro-level analysis that highlights how stratification shape interactions in daily life.

6.2. Fairness of Unequal Rewards

  • Support for Inequality: Unequal rewards boost economic production by motivating people to work harder and innovate.

  • Opposition to Inequality: Unequal rewards divide society into “haves” and “have-nots.”

  • Ambivalence: Individuals may define inequality as fair based on their perception of personal differences.

7. Measuring Social Class

7.1. Objective Method

  • Classes viewed as a statistical category based on:

    • Education

    • Occupation

    • Income

  • Prestige: Respect and admiration held for an occupation in society.

  • Esteem: Reputation that a specific individual holds within an occupation.

7.2. Prestige Rankings of Occupations in the United States (Table 12-1)

  • High prestige occupations include:

    • Physicians: Prestige score 75

    • Physics, Astronomers, and Professors: Mid to high prestige scores (74-82).

  • Low prestige occupations include:

    • Household Laborer: Prestige score 16

    • Cashier and Taxi Driver: Prestige scores 24 and 25.

7.3. Socioeconomic Status (SES)

  • A composite measure of:

    • Income

    • Education

    • Occupation

8. Income and Wealth Distribution in the United States

  • Income Distribution: Uneven, with significant disparities among different classes.

  • Wealth Distribution: Much more uneven than income.

9. Poverty

9.1. Types of Poverty

  • Absolute Poverty: Minimum level of subsistence no family should live below, defined by the Poverty Line.

  • Relative Poverty: Floating standard comparing individuals at the bottom of society to others in the nation.

9.2. Poverty Rate Factors**

  • Causes of Poverty:

    • Substance abuse and mental illness

    • Low wages and lack of affordable housing

    • Structural changes in the economy

    • Cuts in social service budgets

    • Economic downturns.

9.3. Feminization of Poverty

  • A trend that emerged since World War II, where women constitute an increasing proportion of the poor in the U.S.

  • Approximately 50% of women living in poverty are "in transition".

9.4. Herbert Gans’ Perspective on Poverty

  • Society benefits from the existence of the poor through various social, economic, and political functions:

    • Low-status jobs performed by the poor help maintain societal norms.

    • Poverty generates jobs that service the poor.

    • By identifying and punishing the poor, society reinforces mainstream values.

    • The existence of the poor sustains the higher status of the affluent.

10. Social Mobility

10.1. Definition

  • Social Mobility: Movement of individuals or groups from one position to another within a society's stratification system.

10.2. Types of Social Mobility

  • Vertical Mobility: Movement from one rank to another.

  • Intergenerational Mobility: Changes in social position relative to parents.

  • Intragenerational Mobility: Changes within a person’s adult life.

  • Horizontal Mobility: Movement within the same prestige range.

10.3. Open vs Closed Stratification Systems

  • Open System: Position influenced by achieved status.

  • Closed System: Limited or no opportunities for upward movement.

11. Global Stratification

  • Approximately 793 million people at risk due to poor nutrition; 9 million die from diseases caused by poverty.

  • An estimated 20 million people live in slavery worldwide.