F. Global Inequality and Social Stratification

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  • Theories of Stratification

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Determiants of Positional Rank

  • 2 Factors

    • Importance of the position to society

    • Skills and training required

  • Different Functional importance

    • Higher rewards for roles that are harder to fill

  • Scarcity of Personnel

    • Inherent ability vs acquired

  • Variability in Stratification

    • Positions vary in importance across societies

    • Changes based on historical and economic conditions

  • Critical response by Melvin Tumin

    • Challenges Davis & Moore’s Views

    • Main Arguments

      • Functional importance is ambiguous

      • Stratification may limit talent discovery

      • Inequality can be dysfunctional (e.g., elites controlling opportunities)

  • Alternative Motivational Systems

    • Intrinsic Work Satisfaction

    • Social Duty

    • Social Service Motivation

    • Industrial societies may require different incentives

  • Consequences of Social Stratification

    • Positive Functions (Davis & Moore)

      • Ensures best people fill important roles

      • Provides

  • - Stratification is present in all societies

  • - Debate continues on whether it is functional or harmful

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Global Inequality

  • Stratification in the world system

  • The Global Divide

    • Inequality is a significant determinant of human behavior

    • Divides in global wealth emerged as
      result of the Industrial Revolution and rising agricultural productivity

    • Stark contrasts between INDUSTRIAL and DEVELOPING NATIONS

  • Legacy of colonialism

    • Colonialism

      • Foreign power maintains political, social, economic, and cultural domination for an extended period of time

    • Neocolonialism

      • CONTINUED DEPENDENCE on more industrialized nations for managerial and technical expertise by former colonies

    • Wallerstein’s - world systems analysis

      • Interdependent global economy rests on
        unequal economic and political relationships

      • Nations do not constitute whole systems

      • They exist within a larger, global social context

    • Dependency theory

      • even as developing countries make economic advances,
        they REMAIN WEAK and subservient to core nations and corporations

    • Growing share of human and natural resources of developing countries redistributed to core industrialized nations

    • Globalization

      • worldwide integration of government policies, cultures, social movements, and financial markets through trade and exchange of ideas

      • Can be interpreted positively and negatively

  • Poverty Worldwide

    • Worldwide problem

    • U.S. contribution among lowest of industrialized countries

  • Multinational corporations

    • commercial organizations headquartered in one country but doing business THROUGHOUT the WORLD

      • Total revenue of multinational businesses on par with total value of goods and services exchanged in entire nations

      • Over 12% of U.S. goods and services relate to exports to foreign countries

    • Functionalist Perspective

      • Multinational corporations HELP developing nations

        • Jobs and industry

        • Maximum advantage of technology while reducing
          costs and boosting profits

        • Make nations more interdependent and less
          likely to enter conflicts

    • Conflict Perspective

      • Multinational corporations EXPLOIT local workers to MAXIMIZE PROFITS

        • Investment by multinationals initially contributes to host nation’s wealth

        • Negative social impact on workers in both
          industrialized and developing nations

        • Some studies have shown investment by multinationals at first contributes to a host nation’s wealth but eventually increases economic inequality within developing nations

  • Modernization

    • process by which peripheral nations move from traditional institutions to those characteristic of developed societies

    • Modernization theory

      • functionalist view that modernization and development will GRADUALLY IMPROVE LIVES of people in developing nations

  • Stratification within Nations: A Comparative Perspective

    • The gap between rich and poor between nations and citizens within nations are widening

    • Stratification in developing nations closely related to weak, dependent position in global economy

    • Distribution of Wealth and Income

      • Richest 2 percent worldwide own more than 50 percent of world’s household wealth

      • In at least 22 nations around the world, most affluent 10 percent of the population receives at least 40 percent of all income

  • Social Mobility

    • Mobility in Industrial Nations

      • Substantial similarities in ways parents’ positions in stratification system transmitted to children

      • Mobility opportunities in other nations influenced by structural factors

      • Immigration continues to be significant in shaping a society’s level of intergenerational mobility

    • Mobility in Developing Nations

      • Macro-level social and economic changes often overshadow micro-level movement from one occupation to another

    • Gender Differences in Mobility

      • As country develops and modernizes, women’s vital role in food production deteriorates