Chapter 7: Stratification Flashcards
Structured inequality or, more specifically, systematic inequalities between groups of people that arise as intended or unintended consequences of social processes and relationships.
Stratification
A condition whereby no differences in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist.
Social Equality
Argued that private property creates social inequality and that this inequality will ultimately lead to social conflict
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Viewed inequality favorably, but only as a means of controlling population growth. He thought a more equal distribution of resources would increase the world’s populations to unsustainable levels.
Thomas Malthus
Viewed history in terms of a master-slave dialectic (a two-directional relationships). The slave is dependent on the master and the master is dependent on the slave.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Everyone is created equal at birth. All are equal in the eyes of god.
Ontological Equality
idea that everyone has an equal chance to achieve wealth, social prestige, and power because everyone is judged by the same standards, regardless of inequality.
Equality of Opportunity
a society of commerce in which the maximization of profit is the primary business incentive
Bourgeois Society
the idea that everyone has an equal starting point from which to pursue his or her goals
Equality of Condition
a position that argues each player must end up with the same amount regardless of the fairness of the “game”.
Equality of Outcome
The notion that when more than one person is responsible for getting something done, the incentive is for each individual to shirk responsibility and hope others will pull the extra weight
Free Rider Problem
Politically based stratification characterized by limited social mobility. Primarily found in feudal Europe.
Estate System
Religion-based system of stratification characterized by no social mobility. Primarily found in South Asia, notably India.
Caste System
An economically based hierarchical system characterized by cohesive, oppositional groups, and somewhat loose social mobility.
Class System
The capitalist class. Exploit the working class
Bourgeoisie
The idea that people can occupy locations in the class structure that fall between the two “pure” classes. Ex: manager of a store. They sell their labor to capitalists but control other workers
Contradictory Class Locations
A system of stratification based on social prestige
Status Hierarchy System
system of stratification that has a governing elite, a few leaders who broadly hold power in society.
Elite-Mass Dichotomy System
Society where status and mobility are based on individual attributes, ability, and achievement. You get what you deserve.
Meritocracy
An individual’s position in a stratified society.
Socioeconomic Status
Money received by a person for work, from transfers, or returns on investments
Income
A Family’s or individual’s net worth (total assets- total debts)
Wealth
The economic elite. Membership usually based on ascription. Have income, wealth, power, and prestige
Upper Class
A term used to describe those individuals in non-manual jobs that pay significantly more than the poverty line. No real consensus on what middle class actually means.
The Middle Class
Day-to-day survival due to lack of income or income stability. Very fine line between working class and the poor
The Poor
Why Does Class Matter?
- Health
- Cultural Values.
- Politics
- Family and Gender
The movement between different positions within a system of social stratification in any given society
Social Mobility
Climbing up from a lower class
Upward Mobility
Fall down from a higher social class
Downward Mobility
Remain in the same class, while moving between jobs
Horizontal Mobility
Movement that takes place within one person’s lifetime
Intragenerational Mobility
Movement that takes place over generations in a family
Intergenerational Mobility
Mobility that is inevitable from changes in the economy
Structural Mobility
Mobility in which, if we hold fixed the changing distribution of jobs, individuals trade jobs not one-to-one but in a way that ultimately balances out,
Exchange Mobility
Ranks individuals by socioeconomic status, including income and educational attainment, and seeks to specify the attributes characteristic of people who end up in more desirable occupations.
Status Attainment model
Is poverty the cause of social ills or their result? Is there too much government? Is there a culture of poverty? Is it because of globalization? Deindustrialization?
Why are People Poor
More negative term for the poor.
Underclass
Measure based on a percentage of the median income in a given location
Relative Poverty
