Chapter 4

Question 1

Division of labor

Answer 1

the social process of determining who does what work

and for what rewards

Question 2

Exploitation

Answer 2

the process by which the labor of some produces wealth that is controlled by others

Question 3

Max Weber

Answer 3

believed the opportunity to succeed is crucial to the definition of class

Question 4

Life Chances

Answer 4

the practical opportunity to achieve desired material conditions and personal experiences

Question 5

Social capital

Answer 5

the access to resources one has by virtue of relationships and connections within a social network (Knowing someone)

Question 6

class identity

Answer 6

the awareness of, and sense of belonging to, a specific social class
- familiar social settings with distinctive ways of life and patterns of interaction

Question 7

The capitalist and corporate managerial class

Answer 7

• small group, sometimes called “1 percent”
• “upper class”
• 3.2% of American adults identify themselves as this
• extremely high standard of living

Question 8

Middle class

Answer 8

• relatively stable jobs
• basic needs (healthcare, education, and own homes)
• almost half of population (43.2%)

Question 9

The working class

Answer 9

• similar living to middle class
• jobs based on industries with strong labor unions or government protections, are less secure, economic shocks threaten way of life
• 45.6%

Question 10

The lower class

Answer 10

• low income
• job situations fluctuate
• poverty (very poor)
• government assistance
• 8% identifies but really about 15%

Question 11

Gini index

Answer 11

a measure of inequality in which 0 represents complete equality and 1 represents complete inequality

Question 12

Progressive taxation

Answer 12

government uses income categories to set tax rates so rich families usually pay higher taxes than poor families

Question 13

poverty line

Answer 13

the level of income below which the federal government defines a family or individual as poor (combined income is less than $23,283)

Question 14

Poverty

Answer 14

• increased dramatically during the 2000’s (2012, 15%, 46.5 million)
• concentrated by race/ethnicity (American Indians, latinos, and African Americans are 3x more likely to be poor than whites)
• Family structure (single mothers are more likely to be poor)

Question 15

social mobility

Answer 15

the movement, up or down between social classes

- studied by comparing the occupations of fathers withe the occupations of sons