Chapter 7 - Terms Flashcards
social stratification
the division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige; applies to both nations and to people within a nation, society, or other group
slavery
a form of social stratification in which some people own other people
bonded labor (indentured service)
a contractual system in which someone sells his or her body (services) for a specified period of time in an arrangement very close to slavery, except that it is entered into voluntarily
ideology
beliefs about the way things ought to be that justify social arrangements
caste system
a form of social stratification in which people’s statuses are lifelong conditions determined by birth
endogamy
the practice of marrying within one’s own group
apartheid
the separation of racial–ethnic groups as was practiced in South Africa
estate stratification system
the stratification system of medieval Europe, consisting of three groups or estates: the nobility, clergy, and commoners
class system
a form of social stratification based primarily on the possession of money or material possessions
social mobility
movement up or down the social class ladder
means of production
the tools, factories, land, and investment capital used to produce wealth
bourgeoisie
Marx’s term for capitalists, those who own the means of production
proletariat
Marx’s term for the exploited class, the mass of workers who do not own the means of production
class consciousness
Marx’s term for awareness of a common identity based on one’s position in the means of production
false class consciousness
Marx’s term to refer to workers identifying with the interests of capitalists
