Ch. 8 Social Class Flashcards
What is social class?
Max Theber defines social class as property, power, and prestige
Does Marx agree or disagree with Theber’s definition of social class?
Disagree. He believes social class is categorized by power and resources
Wealth
what you own minus what you owe
Income
what comes in over a specified time period
Distribution of wealth
- unequally distributed
Income distribution
unequally distributed
Is the wealth gap growing or shrinking?
the wealth gap has been growing since the 1960’s
Democratic Facade
to what extent does democracy allow the public to have an influence on decisions the government makes
Power Elite
make the decisions based on their own self interest
Prestige
we display prestige in many ways
Status Inconsistency
ranking higher on some dimensions of status than others
Lenski Study
people want to maximize their status but others will try to bring up a lower status
Eric Wright
people can occupy contradictory class locations
Marx’s Model
- capitalists: wealthy
- workers: proletariat
- inconsequential others: beggars
Eric Wright’s model
- capitalists: wealthy
- petty bourgeoisie: business owners
- managers
- workers