Chapter 8

Question 1

Social stratification

Answer 1

the existence of structured inequalities between groups in a society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. While all societies involve some form of stratification, only with the development of state-based systems did wide differences in wealth and power arise. The most distinctive form of stratification in modern societies is class divisions.

Question 2

intersectionality

Answer 2

a sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group membership. Example= black women have different experiences than white women

Question 3

structured inequality

Answer 3

social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure

Question 4

slavery

Answer 4

a form of social stratification in which some people own others as property

Question 5

caste

Answer 5

a social system in which ones social status is held for life

Question 6

class system

Answer 6

a system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among classes. The chief bases of class are income, ownership of wealth, education, occupation, and lifestyle.

Question 7

class

Answer 7

no clear agreement on definition. Most use it to refer to socioeconomic variations between groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power

Question 8

Life chances

Answer 8

introduced by Max Weber to signify a person’s opportunities for achieving economic prosperity

Question 9

income

Answer 9

money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments

Question 10

wealth

Answer 10

money and material possessions held by an individual or group

Question 11

social capital

Answer 11

the relational networks that provide a person with tangible resources (such as wealth) and intangible ones (such as personal connections)

Question 12

cultural capital

Answer 12

the accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status

Question 13

means of production

Answer 13

the means of which production of material goods is carried on in society including not only technology but also the social relations between the producers

Question 14

bourgeoisie

Answer 14

people who own companies, land, or stocks/shares and use these to generate economic returns

Question 15

proletariat

Answer 15

people who sell their labor for wages according to Karl Marx

Question 16

surplus value

Answer 16

in Marxist theory, the. value of a worker’s labor power left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker

Question 17

Communism

Answer 17

a social system based on everyone owning the means of production and sharing in the wealth it produces

Question 18

status

Answer 18

the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally display distinct styles of life- patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or negative

Question 19

pariah groups

Answer 19

groups who suffer from negative status discrimination- they are looked down on by most other members of society

Question 20

contradictory class locations

Answer 20

Positions in the class structure , particularly routine white collar and lower managerial jobs, that share characteristics with the class positions both above and below them

Question 21

upper class

Answer 21

a social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own business, or hold large numbers of stocks (shares)

Question 22

middle class

Answer 22

a social class composed broadly of those working in white collar and lower managerial occupations

Question 23

working class

Answer 23

a social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar, or manual, occupations

Question 24

lower class

Answer 24

a social class comprising those who work part-time or not at all and whose household income is typically lower than $31,000 a year

Question 25

social mobility

Answer 25

movement of individuals or groups between different social positions

Question 26

intergenerational mobility

Answer 26

movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy within the course of a personal career

Question 27

intragenerational mobility

Answer 27

movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy within a course of a personal career.

Question 28

structural mobility

Answer 28

mobility resulting from changes in the number and kinds of jobs available in a society

Question 29

exchange mobility

Answer 29

the exchange of positions on the socioeconomic scale such that talented people move up the economic hierarchy while the less talented move down

Question 30

absolute poverty

Answer 30

a state of poverty in which one lacks the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence

Question 31

relative poverty

Answer 31

poverty defined according to the living standards of the majority in any given society.

Question 32

poverty line

Answer 32

an official government measure to define those living in poverty in the United States

Question 33

working poor

Answer 33

people who work but whose earnings are not enough to lift them above the poverty

Question 34

feminization of poverty

Answer 34

an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female

Question 35

homeless

Answer 35

people who have no place to sleep and either stay in free shelters or sleep in public places not meant for habitation

Question 36

Kuznets curve

Answer 36

a formula showing that inequality increases during the early stages of capitalist development, then declines, and eventually stabilizes at a relatively low level; advanced by the economist Simon Kuznets

Question 37

Culture of poverty

Answer 37

the thesis, popularized by Oscar Lewis, that poverty is not a result of individual inadequacies but instead the outcome of a larger social and cultural atmosphere into which successive generations of children are socialized. The culture of poverty refers to the values, beliefs, lifestyles, habits, and traditions that are common among people living under conditions of material deprivation

Question 38

dependency culture

Answer 38

a term popularized by Charles Murray to describe individuals who rely on state welfare provision rather than entering the labor market. The dependency culture is seen as the outcome of the “paternalistic” welfare state that undermines individual ambition and people’s capacity for self-help