Chapter 8 Key Term

Question 1

social stratification

Answer 1

the existence of structured inequalities between groups and society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. While all societies involve some forms 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 times 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 memberships. For example, the experience of a Black woman may be distinct from that of a White woman or a Black man.

Question 3

structured inequalities

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 are owned by others as their property.

Question 5

caste

Answer 5

a social system in which one social status is held for life.

Question 6

class systems

Answer 6

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

Question 7

class

Answer 7

although it is one of the most frequently used concepts in sociology, there is no clear agreement about how the notion should be defined. Most sociologists use the term to refer to socioeconomic variations among groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power.

Question 8

life chances

Answer 8

a term 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

means of production

Answer 11

the means whereby the production of material goods is carried on in a society, including not just technology but also the social relations between producers

Question 12

bourgeoisie

Answer 12

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

Question 13

proletariat

Answer 13

people who sell their labor for wages, according to Marx.
4) Surplus Value: 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 14

surplus value

Answer 14

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 15

communism

Answer 15

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

Question 16

status

Answer 16

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 17

pariah groups

Answer 17

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

Question 18

contradictory class locations

Answer 18

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 19

Marxist theories

Answer 19

the exploitation of working classes in capitalist societies is the key to understanding social and economic inequality in the contemporary world.

Question 20

Weberian Theories

Answer 20

status and power are as important as class in our understanding of social and economic inequality.

Question 21

functionalist theories

Answer 21

Inequality be beneficial to society in so far as it inspires people to develop the skills and expertise necessary to excel at difficult jobs

Question 22

Contradictory class locations (theory developed by Erik Olin Wright in the 1980s, when the middle class was at the height of its political power.):

Answer 22

Professional workers in modern capitalist society occupy contradictory positions: they exert control over the working classes, but remain subordinate to the upper classes.

Question 23

upper class

Answer 23

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

Question 24

middle class

Answer 24

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

Question 25

working class

Answer 25

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

Question 26

lower class

Answer 26

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 27

social mobility

Answer 27

movement of individuals or groups between different social positions

Question 28

intergenerational mobility

Answer 28

movement up or down a social stratification hierarchy from one generation to another

Question 29

intragenerational mobility

Answer 29

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

Question 30

structural mobility

Answer 30

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

Question 31

exchange mobility

Answer 31

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

Question 32

cultural capital

Answer 32

noneconomic or cultural resources that parents passed down to their children, such as languages or knowledge. These resources contribute to the process of social reproduction, according to Bourdieu.

Question 33

absolute poverty

Answer 33

not meeting the minimal requirements necessary to sustain a healthy existence

Question 34

relative poverrty

Answer 34

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

Question 35

poverty line

Answer 35

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

Question 36

working poor

Answer 36

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

Question 37

feminization of poverty

Answer 37

an increase in the proportion of the poor who are female

Question 38

homeless

Answer 38

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

Question 39

Kuznets curve

Answer 39

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

Question 40

dependency culture

Answer 40

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.