Chapter 7 - Social Inequality Flashcards
Modern Sociology evolved from economists such as _______ and _______
Smith and Malthus
what did adam smith and thomas malthus write about? describe it
laissez-fair economics
the idea that governments should not try to manage or interfere in the free-market
_______ was optimistic, because he thought that a market free from the government would raise ________ of ______ for all
smith was optimistic
thought a market free from govvy would raise standards of living for all
_________ was not optimistic,
believing that population growth would lead to a ______ of food and resources and
population growth would be _______ by famine, war, disease
Malthus was not optimistic
believed population growth = scarcity of food + resources
population growth will be limited by famine war and disease
did marx believe that social inequality was inevitable?
naw
the study of _______ ______ is the long-term existence of significant differences in access to material goods and opportunities among social groups
social inequalities
_______ popularized the term class
marx
Near the begginning of the _______ _______, Marx and Engels described class as _________, as it reflect the relationship of people to what he called the means of production
communist manifesto
relational
what is the “means of production” as defined by Mark and Engels
the resources needed to produce goods (hence wealth)
in pre-industrial Europe, Marx studied the main means of production being ______ land
fertile land
according to Marx, wealth in pre-industrial Europe was produced by what
growing crops and raising livestock
the means of production in pre-industrial Europe became _________; the money needed to build factories, purchase raw materials into manufacured products
capital
in pre-industrial Europe , those who owned land were parts of the ________
aristocracy
what did Marx see as the only 2 possible relationships you could have to the means of production
you owned them (bourgeoisie)
you worked for the owners (proletariat)
what two subclasses did Marx identify
Petty (or petite) bourgeoisie
Lumpenproletariat
Petty (or petite) bourgeoise:
made up of ______ _____ owners with ______ capital
small-time owners with little capital
what is a lumpenproletariat
the small-time criminals, beggars and unemployed
the factory act of 1833 was an act that put limitations on things like ______ hours, _____ of workers, hours _______ per week
all in the favor of _______
limited
working hours
age of workers
hours worked per week
all in favor of workers
how did the bourgeoisie react to the factory act of 1833
The bourgeoisie were mad and said this would make them go out of business
how do the limitations put on the bourgeoisie in the factory act of 1833 relate to business owners today
We hear the same types of concerns in business owners today about things like minimum wage
Marx also views class having a corporate (or organic) identity as a real social group
what does he mean by this?
here is a shared sense of purpose among members of each class
what is class consciousness
having awareness of what is in the best interest of one’s class
Which class does Marx believe had class consciousness, and which one did he believe did not
the owner class has class consciousness and do things to shape society in their favor
the working class does not , it has false consciousness
what is false consciousness
a belief that something is in its best interest when its not
what did Marx believe the proletariat’s false consciousness kept them from doing
kept them from waging open revolt against a system that was not working in their favor
What were some contributing factors to the false consciousness of proletariats?
religion, politics, patriotism
________ disagreed with Marx’s theory of class relations
Weber
Weber still views society as divided into two economic classes, but he believed that Marx’s materialist approach was too ________
simplistic
- there was more to social inequality than just who owned the means of production
Weber’s approach is referred to as ________ _________
historical materialism
In Marx’s historical materialism he stressed three elements as contributors to social inequality
Name and Describe them
Wealth - owning factors and means of prod leading to greater money
Prestige - having statuses, occupational prestige (like being a doctor),
Power - the ability to achieve your goals despite opposition from others
What three sociologists argued that there were three classes in Canada todat
Curtis, Grabb and Guppy
name the three classes that Curtis, Gubb and Guppy suggested exist in Canada today
a dominant capatalist class
middle class
working class/proletariat
what is the dominant capitalist class as suggested by Curtis, Grabb, and Guppy
Composed mainly of those who control large scale production
ie. CEO + investors n shit
what is the main difference between Curtis, Grabb, and Guppy’s dominant class, VS Marx’s Bourgeoisie class?
Unlike marx’s bourgeoisie, this class can include those who do not own the company, but their interests are aligned with the owners of the company
accroding to Curtis, Grabb, and Gupp, what is the middle class that exists in Canada today
Rise of the managerial class
people who do not own the means of prod or have stock in their company but still make enough to be apart of the 1%
(managers, doctors, lawyers who are all a part of the dominant capitalist class)
the middle class in Curtis, Grabb, and Guppy’s theory is equivalent the _______ ________, in Marx’s class division theory
petty bourgeoisie
small-scale business people educated professional-technical or administrative personnel, Entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses, academic researchers etc
these are all example of people in the ______ class
middle class
according to Curtis, Grabb, and Guppy, what is the working class in Canada today
People who lack the resources to capacities apart from their own labour power
The only thing they have to sell in their labour
Trades, retail, service industry, or skilled trade
_________ sports offer people from proper socioeconomic backgrounds the chance to reap large financial rewards as professional athletes
mobility sports
basketball is cheap to play, and many people get “discovered” from this sport, no matter their economic background.
what kind of sport is basketball
a mobility sport
The __________ of elite minor hockey has made the cost associated with raising a pro hockey player astronomically higher
professionalization
When we talk about social Stratification we are borrowing a geological term to describe society as if it were divided into ________
layers
_________ ________ is the unequal distribution of resources (such as wealth) across a population which can limit opportunities
social inequality
what is social stratification
Socially sanctioned patterns of social inequality that persist in a society
normalizing the fact that that a doctor deserves more resources/wealth than a janitor is as example of what
the social stratification system
what are the 3 components to the social stratification system
the INSTITUTIONAL PROCESSES that define certain types of goods as desirable
the RULES
______ is a unit of analysis in stratified sampling
strata
what is stratified sampling
a research method in which equal samples are drawn from each stratum of the population instead of drawing one larger sample at random from the whole population
why do we use stratified sampling
to divide the population into even segments for analysis
in stratified sampling a _______ is a segment or stratum, representing each of five equal groups into which the population is divided
quantile
a quantile represents ____% of the population
20%
A _______ system of stratification has little to no movement between ranks; people are born and die within the same rank
closed
A _______ system of stratification describes a society with mobility between different social classes
open
North American societies and most democracies are _______ systems of stratification
open
slavery, and human trafficking are both examples of ________ systems of stratification
closed
a ______ is a closed system of stratification based solely on inherited position, often hierarchal, where people can only marry within their _______
caste
________ marrying within one’s own caste
_________ marrying outside of one’s class or group
Endogamy - marrying within one’s own caste
Exogamy - marrying outside of one’s class or group
in an open system of stratification, a persons social class is based on ________ measures
economic
in has been said that today in open systems of stratification, your _________ determines your class
occupation
in a class system, we are _______ into a social class but there is considerable room to _______ depending on ________
we are born into a social class but there is considerable room to move depending on resources
what is social mobility in a social stratification system
movement between classes
there are two types of social mobility:
______ mobility - movement within the same class location
________ mobility -changes from one social class to another
Horizontal mobility - movement within the same class location
Vertical mobility - changes from one social class to another
social equality may be less concerning if there is sufficient ______ ______
social mobility
differentiate between intergeneration mobility and intrageneration mobility
Intragenerational mobility - social class changes occurring within a person’s lifetime
Differences between where the child and the parents class location is
Intergenerational mobility - class mobility between parents and their children
Eg. born lower class and worked towards middle class achievements,
what is socioeconomic status and how is it determined
Socioeconomic status is the position of an individual or group on the socioeconomic scale,
Which is determined by a combination of social and economic factors such as income, amount and kind of education, type and prestige of occupation, place of residence
differentiate between wealth and income
Wealth refers to assets derived from sources of revenue capital such as real estate savings, stocks and bonds, investments, and other
(income on investments)
Income - money you receive for your labour
getting a new job can be an example of ________ mobility
horizontal
when people have large amounts of _______ they don’t need to work because that _______ generates more wealth
capital
what is the digital divide
the uneven access of technology between different races, classes and geographic areas
what is the urban world high-speed internet divide
the division between those who have high speed internet and regular internet
in rural vs urban locations
_________ refers to the the collection of techniques, skills, methods, and processes used in the production of goods and services
technology
what is the knowledge gap? how does it relate to the digital divide
there is an ongoing and increasing gap in information for those who do not have access to technology because those who have access to tech also have more access to knowledge
who designed a prison that can house people instead of punishing criminals to execution and abuse
Jeremy Benham
Jeremy Benham’s prison:
__________ is a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed.
panopticon
because of Benham’s panoptical design the criminals would be docile because they always thought they were being _______
watched
how was Benham’s panopticon applied to society…. more specifically during covid
just like the watchtower in the prison, we are always being watched by an authority figure and thus will act docilely
arguable the same thing happened during covid when surveillance increased and freedoms were taken away
an ________ is a set of beliefs about society and the people in it, usually forming the basis of a particular economic or political theory
ideology
the set of beliefs put forward by, and generally supportive of society’s dominant culture and/or classes is referred to as the __________ ideology
dominant
who invented the trickle-down theory
Marx
what is the trickle down theory
- the wealthy should be free to generate more wealth (and we should not interfere)
- their wealth will trickle down to the less fortunate
- more people will be hired, they will spend on consumer goods, putting their money into the economy, and thus helping people find jobs
the ________ ideology says
“Those who succeed have worked really hard and are deserving of what they get, those who do not succeed are due to laziness, lack of effort etc.”
neoliberal ideology
the neoliberal ideology is a _______ ideology because it is in favor of the high class
dominant
the neoliberal ideology reflects social ______ because it supports the ability for an individual to move (usually upwards) from one class, or stratum to another
mobility
what is the American dream
the belief that anyone can make it if they’re willing to work hard enough, reflects the neoliberal ideology
failure to achieve the American dream falls back on the individual
________ _______ referred to this as blaming the victim
william ryan
_______ ideology critiques the dominant ideology, i search for change
counter
Classical Marxism which predicted the overthrow of the capitalist classes by the proletariat, is an obvious example of a ________ ideaology
counter
________ is a term which refers to non-coercive methods of maintaining power
hegemony
__________ is a critic of the dominant ideology who fathered hegemony
Gramsci
_______ believed that the ruling classed relied on something more than their military and police forces to keep society running smoothly while quietly oppressing the masses
this would be a _______ society
Gramsci
Hegemonic
what is the feminization of poverty
a concept that refers to the greater number of women who are poor around the globe
More women around the world are more likely to be poor
Tend to earn less than men
children, unattached individuals, recent immigrants, ppl with disabilities, indigenous
these are all people more likely to what
be poor
the _______ perspective believes that inequality serves a purpose
functionalist
“The people that are best capable of doing these jobs, need to be in those positions - the person who is most innately talented to do a job, should be in that position”
what perspective would say this
Davis-Moore Thesis
the _______ view believes that capitalism creates stratification
conflict
the ______-______ thesis argues that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of society
Davis-Moore Thesis
what views believes that If we didn’t have some sort of social stratification we wouldn’t have doctors or lawyers because they wouldn’t get paid as much and thus would have the motivation
the Davis-Moore Thesis
what are some problems with the Davis-Moore thesis
HINT - there are 4
most people inherit their positions
not everyone works hard to get into these positions
Some jobs that are not functionally important get paid less money (famous ppl for eg)
no real definition for “functionallt beneficial”
_______’s views go agree with the conflict view, that stratification is an inevitable outcome of life in a capitalist society
Marx
_______ said that private ownership of property and surplus create alienation
Marx
what is alimentation
the detachment between the work of the worker and the product of the labor
eg. workers in a factory no longer feel attracted to the production they are making. But before; people were more attached because they made the entire product
who wrote vertical mosaic and looked at wealth and power differences in society
John Porter
John Port was one of the first to show that Canadian society is _______
hierarchal
_______ showed that those with British origin were most likely to fall into higher social classes and that Indigenous were more likely to fall into lower classes
John Porter
John Porter said that there was a corporate elite who _______ their ______ on the people
impose their views on the ppl
an experiment in Manitoba called the “Mincome”, took place where everyone was given the same _______ no matter their ______
everyone was given the same income no matter their job
what was the purpose of the Manitoba “Mincome” experiment
To see is people would act lazy knowing that they were guaranteed it no matter how hard they worked
what were the findings of the manitoba “mincome” experiment
The town recorded fewer work-related injuries, fewer mental health visits and a drop in overall hospital visits
There were only small reductions in the number of hours worked by residents, except among young adults which was greater
The costs to do this exceed the little benefits
