Chapter 8 Terms Flashcards
according to Weber, a large group of people who rank close to one another in property, power, and prestige; according to Marx, one of two groups: capitalists who own the means of production or workers who sell their labor
social class
the total value of everyone someone owns, minus the debts
wealth
money received, usually from a job, business, or assets
income
the ability to carry out your will, even over the resistance of others
power
C. Wright Mills’ term for the top people in U.S. corporations, military, and politics who make the nation’s bigger decisions
power elite
ranking high or low on all three dimensions of social class
status consistency
ranking high on some dimensions of social class and low on others; also called status discrepancy
status inconsistency
the position that someone occupies in a social group
status
Durkheim’s term for a condition of society in which people become detached from the usual norms that guide their behavior
anomie
Erik Wright’s term for a position in the class structure that generates contradictory interests
contradictory class locations
a group of people for whom poverty persists year after year and across generations
underclass
the change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next
intergenerational mobility
movement up the social class ladder
upward social mobility
movement down the social class ladder
downward social mobility
movement up or down the social class ladder that is due more to changes in the structure of society than the actions of individuals
structural mobility
a large number of people moving up the social class ladder, while a large number move down; it is as though they have exchanged places, and despite much social mobility the social class system shows little exchange
exchange mobility
the official measure of poverty; calculated to include incomes that are less than three times a low-cost food budget
poverty line
a condition of U.S. poverty in which most poor families are headed by women
feminization of poverty
the assumption that the values and behaviors of the poor make them fundamentally different from other people, that these factors are largely responsible for their poverty, and that parent perpetuate poverty across generations by passing these characteristics to their children
culture of poverty
going without something int the present in hope of achieving greater gains in the future
deferred gratification
the belief that due to limitless possibilities anyone can get ahead if he or she tries hard enough
horatio alger myth
