Ch. 7: Social Differentiation and Stratification Flashcards
Social Stratification
the ranking of people based on wealth, power and prestige - influences where we live, work, our hobbies and health
simple societies
people perform similar tasks and have similar amounts of money
Hunting-and-gathering societies
50 or fewer people hunt for their own food, no one works; usually nomadic people
simple horticultural societies
farm for food, stay in 1 place, build shelters, make tools
Advanced horticultural societies
societies w/ irrigation systems and other advanced farming practices, they know how to work with metals
Agrarian societies
more sophisticated technology than horticultural societies: weapons are improved, rich can develop armies, merchant class trades goods, wealth/power becomes concentrated
Industrial Societies
have the greatest division of labor, most wealth, highly specialized jobs that mass produce goods
mechanical solidarity
People do similar work but aren’t dependent on one another. (Durkheim said this)
Organic Solidarity
integration of society that results from division of labor which causes reliance on others. (Durkheim)
open system
A system of stratification where it is possible to move up/down in class
class system
determined by wealth, vertical social mobility is possible
closed system
A system of stratification where rankings are permanent
caste system
social status is ascribed at birth, deals with family traditions and beliefs
estate system
like the caste system, status is based upon law/inheritance
slave system
There exists a basic belief in using ownership of humans for labor
social class
rankings based on a person’s wealth
life chances
the opportunities a person has to improve his or her lifestyle
social status
the amount of honor and prestige a person receives from others and the position one occupies in the stratification system
an assessment of status based on one’s income, education and occupation
socioeconomic status
having fewer resources than are required to meet basic necessities of life
Poverty
awareness that different classes exist in society
class consciousness
Top 1% own how much of privately held wealth?
35%
split labor market
a labor market in which some jobs afford upward mobility and others do not
1st estate
made up of nobility, wealthy families and powerful landowners - they had the right not to work, labor was beneath them
power
having authority and respect, makes decisions in groups in order to reach the group’s goals: win an election change a law, revise banking system, teach children, etc.
Top-middle class
39% of middle class, likely to have college degrees/be white males, 30-49 years old
Satisfied middle
23% of middle class, generally white women between ages 18-29 or over 65, not uncommon to be unmarried
Anxious middle class
make basically the same as top-middle class, likely white males 30-40, less hopeful about children’s lives, report less satisfaction with their lives
Struggling middle class
make $20,000 or less, more minorities than any other class but whites still make up 56%, likely to be unmarried with no college degree
social differentiation
The difference or variation of people based on selected social characteristic such as class, gender, race or age
