Social inequality Flashcards
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
Top to bottom
Self-actualization
Esteem
Love and belonging
Safety
Physiological
Absolute Poverty
lack of necessities
Relative Poverty:
inadequacy compared to average living standards
Low-Income Measure (LIM)
represents people making less than half the median income
LIM-AT in 2016: 14% of Canadians were low income
Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO)
Defines low-income as spending 20% more than the average Canadian (based on gross income) on food, shelter, clothing
Market Basket Measure (MBM)
Estimates cost of basic goods, representing modest basic standard of living for reference family (1 m; 1 f; 2 children)
Poverty is significantly higher among Indigenous Canadians
Reasons include:
unemployment
geographic isolation
lack of education
lack of opportunity
poor living and health conditions
Social Stratification
society’s categorization of people into groups based on wealth/income, race, ethnicity, gender, age etc.
Social Stratification
society’s categorization of people into groups based on wealth/income, race, ethnicity, gender, age etc.
Social Inequality
an unequal distribution of resources
Achieved Status (earn it)
demonstrates that ‘anyone can make it through hard work’ (meritocracy)
Ascribed Status
Born with it
Social mobility
movement within and between classes
Vertical mobility
movement between classes
The Davis–Moore thesis:
inequalities exist in all societies and, as such, they must be necessary
the positions that are rewarded with the highest economic gains and highest rank are those that have the greatest importance for society, and those that require the greatest training or talent
