Ch 9 - Class and Global Inequality

Question 1

class

Answer 1

a group of people who share a roughly similar economic position and lifestyle

Question 2

capital

Answer 2

the money to invest in factories, real estate and other businesses

Question 3

capitalist class

Answer 3

bourgeoisie; those who control major capital and own the means of production

Question 4

working class

Answer 4

proletariat; those who survive on the wages they own

Question 5

life chances

Answer 5

the likelihood a person has of obtaining economic and cultural resources

Question 6

wealth

Answer 6

value of financial assets such as savings, real estate, stocks, and bonds, minus any outstanding debt

Question 7

income

Answer 7

money received from sources such as wages and salaries as well as from the interest, dividends, and rent generated by wealth

Question 8

middle class

Answer 8

a group that contributes specialized knowledge and expertise to the economy

Question 9

underclass

Answer 9

chronically unemployed people who have no on-going relationship to the mainstream economy

Question 10

class mobility

Answer 10

the ability to move from one social class to another

Question 11

structural mobility

Answer 11

a shift in available occupations changes the class system as a whole

Question 12

individual mobility

Answer 12

when a person’s class position changes without any change in the larger class structure

Question 13

conspicuous consumption

Answer 13

lavish spending, done to compete for status

Question 14

classism

Answer 14

prejudice or discrimination based on social class

Question 15

absolute poverty

Answer 15

a scarcity of resources so severe that it is life-threatening

Question 16

relative poverty

Answer 16

a lack of the basic resources needed to maintain a standard of living considered acceptable in a particular society

Question 17

poverty line

Answer 17

a measure of scarcity determined by figuring the cost of a minimal food budget and multiplying it by three

Question 18

poverty rate

Answer 18

the percentage of the population that falls below the poverty line

Question 19

feminization of poverty

Answer 19

a trend in which women have come to make up an increasingly large share of the poor

Question 20

equal opportunity

Answer 20

the idea that all people should have the same chance to achieve success

Question 21

meritocracy

Answer 21

a system in which people are rewarded and are able to advance because of their abilities

Question 22

individualism

Answer 22

a system of beliefs that highlights the importance of he single person over any social group

Question 23

cultural capital

Answer 23

consists of various types of knowledge, skills, and other cultural resources

Question 24

social capital

Answer 24

relationships that are potentially economically valuable resulting from membership in a group

Question 25

progressive taxation

Answer 25

those with higher incomes pay a higher tax rate

Question 26

regressive taxation

Answer 26

taxes that disproportionately affect those with lower incomes

Question 27

public assistance

Answer 27

includes either tax credits or actual payments and benefits provided to citizens by the government

Question 28

global inequality

Answer 28

the differences in wealth and power among the countries of the world

Question 29

modernization theory

Answer 29

attributes global inequality to cultural differences between countries

Question 30

dependency theory

Answer 30

attributes global inequality to the exploitation of weaker, poor nations by wealthy, more powerful ones

Question 31

colonialism

Answer 31

the use of military, political, and economic power by one society to dominate the people from another society, usually for economic benefit

Question 32

neocolonialism

Answer 32

a system of economic domination of poorer nations by wealthier ones without formal political control or military occupation

Question 33

world systems analysis

Answer 33

focuses on the interdependence among the countries in a single global economic system

Question 34

deindustrialization

Answer 34

the process by which investment in the nation’s manufacturing capacity decreased