Ch. 6 - Social Stratification: Canadian and Global Perspectives

Question 1

social stratification

Answer 1

the way society is organized in layers or strata

Question 2

human capital

Answer 2

investment in education and training. just as productivity increases by upgrading manufacturing plants and introducing new technology, productivity gains can also result from investment in the skills and abilities of people.

Question 3

social capital

Answer 3

the networks or connections that individuals possess

Question 4

cultural capital

Answer 4

the widely shared, high status cultural signals (attitudes, preferences, formal knowledge, behaviours, goals, and credentials) used for social and cultural inclusion and exclusion

Question 5

poverty

Answer 5

lacks an agreen-on definition. analysts disagree whether poverty should be defined in absolute or relative terms and whether it should be based on income or consumption. Canada does not have an official poverty line.

Question 6

feminization of poverty

Answer 6

theory that (1) women are more likely to be low-income earners than men are, and (2) the low-income gap between women and men is growing

Question 7

class

Answer 7

according to marx, a grouping that is determined by a person’s relationship to the means of production or the source of that person’s income. In Weber’s usage, class position is determined by a person’s “market situation,” including the possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education, and level of technical skill

Question 8

bourgeoisie

Answer 8

owners of the means of production, including factories, tools, and land, according to marx. they do not do any physical labour. income derives from profits.

Question 9

proletariat

Answer 9

the term marx gave to the working class. members of the proletariat perform physical labour but do not own means of production. they are thus in a position to earnwages.

Question 10

functional theory of stratification

Answer 10

argues that 1. some jobs are more important than others, 2. people must make sacrifices to train for important jobs, and 3. inequality is required to motivate people to undergo these sacrifices

Question 11

status groups

Answer 11

groups that differ from one another in terms of the prestige or social honour they enjoy and in terms of their style of life.

Question 12

parties

Answer 12

in Weber’s usage, organizations that seek to impose their will on others

Question 13

social mobility

Answer 13

movement up or down the stratification system

Question 14

intragenerational mobility

Answer 14

social mobility that occurs within a single generation

Question 15

intergenerational mobility

Answer 15

social mobility that occurs between generations

Question 16

ascription-based stratification system

Answer 16

a system in which the allocation of rank depends on the features with which a person is born (Ascribed characteristics)

Question 17

achievement-based stratification system

Answer 17

a system in which the allocation of rank depends on a person’s accomplishments.

Question 18

modernization theory

Answer 18

holds that global inequality results from various dysfunctional characteristics of poor socieities: lack of investment capital, Western-style busines techniques, stable Western-style governments, and a Western mentality

Question 19

dependecy theory

Answer 19

holds that global inequality is the result of patterns of domination and submission between rich and poor countries. from this point of view, rich countries have impoverished poor countries in order to enrich themselves.

Question 20

core countries

Answer 20

capitalist coutnries that are the world’s major sources of capital and technology (The US, Japan, and Germany)

Question 21

peripheral countries

Answer 21

the world’s major sources of raw materials and cheap labour (The former colonies)

Question 22

semiperipheral coutnries

Answer 22

former colonies that are making considerable headway in their attempt to become prosperous

Question 23

social power

Answer 23

the tools used to influence others. weber defined this as “the ability to achieve one’s goals,even against the resistancce of others.”

Question 24

gini coefficient

Answer 24

a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the income or wealth distribution of a nation’s residents, and is the most commonly used measurement of inequality.

Question 25

grade A tax system

Answer 25

those who make more are technically paying more taxes

Question 26

after-tax income

Answer 26

the amount of money earned in a given period after paying income tax and receiving government benefits such as 1) employment insurance 2) child tax credits 3)GST credits 4) welfare payments

Question 27

neoliberalism

Answer 27

economic paradigm/ideology that rose in the 1980s. “Don’t want government to be too involved in the process of money making.” — 1) self-regulating market (free market, laissez-faire) . 2) individual pursuit of success - meritocracy 3) privatization i.e. nursing homes are private

Question 28

displacement

Answer 28

people who can’t afford to own businesses

Question 29

healthy immigrant effect

Answer 29

most people are healthy when they immigrate here but become unhealthy overtime

Question 30

social darwinism

Answer 30

the theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals.

Question 31

relative deprivation

Answer 31

an unequal split of resources among groups

Question 32

intersectionality

Answer 32

we are all made up of multiple identities and social power is multi-dimensional

Question 33

absolute poverty

Answer 33

Don’t have the basics of life, aren’t able to get food

~8% live in abs pov in Canada

Question 34

indoctrination

Answer 34

the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically. (ex. how hitler created a child soldier army)