Social Inequality Flashcards
Social Stratification
Social Stratification: hierarchical ranking of people into social classes
Equality of Condition: a situation in which everyone in a society has a similar level of wealth, status, and power
Equality of Opportunity: a situation in which everyone in a society has an equal chance to pursue economic or social rewards
Meritocracy: an ideal system in which personal effort (or effort) determines social standing
Social Inequality: unequal distribution of socially valued resources based on various attributes
Upper Class
-10% of population
- 76-87% of the wealth
Middle Class
- 40% of population
- 11-23% of the wealth
Lower Class
- 50% of poor population
- holds 2% of the wealth
Who is to blame for individual’s social inequality?
Classism: an ideology that suggests that people’s relative worth in society is at least partly determined by their social & economic status
Blaming the Victim: holding individuals responsible for he undesirable conditions of their lives
- culture of poverty
- deferred gratification
Blame the System: holding the system accountable for systematic discrimination existing within the social system
Closed & Open Systems of Stratification
Caste System:: a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives
Class System: a system that is based on both social factors and individual achievement
- there are relationships between the different castes and classes
Endogamous Marriages: unions of people within the same social category
Exogamous Marriages: unions of people from different social categories
Achieved vs Ascribed Status
Achieved Status: a status received through individual efforts of merits (ex. occupation, educational level, moral character, etc.)
Ascribed Status: a status received by virtue of being born into a category or group (ex. hereditary position, gender, race, etc.)
Social Mobility
Social Mobility: the ability to change positions within a social stratification system
1. Upward mobility
- an increase/ upward shift in social class
2. Downward mobility
- a lowering of one’s social class
3. Intergenerational mobility
- a difference in social class between different generations of a family
4. Structural mobility
- when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder
Stratification’s Social Factors
Wealth
- the value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance or property
Income
- the money a person earns from work or investments
Power
- how many people a person must take orders from versus how many people a person can give orders to
Status
- the degree of honour or prestige one has in the eyes of others, such as occupational prestige
Social Class in Canada
Socio-Economic Status (SES): a group’s social position in a hierarchy based on income, education, and occupation
3 Social Classes:
1. Owning Class
2. Middle Class
3. Traditional Working Class
The Owner Class
The Owner Class
-
Old Money
a. inherited wealth
b. fixed status
c. ex. Rogers or Westinn -
New Money
a. maintained relationship with middle class
b. flashy and conspicuous consumption
c. they love the razzle dazzle - buy big brands
d. ex. Kevin O’Leary or Doug Ford
Middle Class
Middle Class
- really separated by income and education
1. Higher Middle Class
a. Bachelor’s degree and grad school
b. profession - occupations with highly specialized skills and intellectual expertise
2. Lower Middle Class
a. bachelor’s degree, college degree, trade school
b. white collar (managerial, admin positions), paraprofessional occupation
d. might have difficulty saving
Traditional Working Class
Traditional Working Class
-
Working Class
a. tend to be less educated
b. blue collar work - trade work is included - may earn more than lower middle class but not as much status -
Working Poor
a. poverty line
b. living wage vs minimum wage
i. what does living wage mean? amount of income needed for the family to take care of themselves and take part in society - at least one leisure activity per week - $26.50 in Ontario
ii. minimum wage? - lowest wage permitted by law -
The Underclass
a. unemployed and underemployed (10 hours a month)
b. welfare dependency - public resource to help people
i. has become stigmatized
c. homelessness/ houselessness
i. absolute poverty
ii. chronic (for years, lifestyle, don’t have the resources to get out), episodic (back and forth), transitional (homeless for some time before they can secure another home), hidden (sleeping on a friend’s couch, sleeping in a car)
Social Inequality & Class Mobility in Canada
Standard of Living
- the level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle
- can afford basic needs and leisure
Absolute Poverty
- a severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, shelter, drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information
Relative Poverty
- living without the minimum amount of income or resources needed to be able to participate in the ordinary living patterns, customs, and activities of a society
In Canada, top 10% have nearly 60% of Canada’s wealth.
- Canada used to pride itself on being a middle class society but the middle class is shrinking
Factors Influencing Social Inequality in Canada
-
Colonization
a. ex. indigenous populations have the least resources, mercury in water, lack of health services, education, poor infrastructure -
Geographic Location
a. different provinces have access to resources that other provinces don’t
b. Ontario is very privileged
c. ex. limited massage therapists in Manitoba -
Gender and Family Structure
a. can negatively effect access to resources -
Visible Minority Status
a. she said we spent time talking about this -
Education
a. any occupation you apply to expects a certain level of education
b. education tells us that we are certified to be in that space
c. not everyone has the resources to go to school -
Disability
a. physical, mental, or any kind of neurodivergence
b. lack of resources to support daily life
c. access to occupation is one of the biggest issues
d. try to hide their disability in order to get employed
e. more likely to live in poverty
Functionalist Perspective on Social Inequality
Functionalism
Davis-Moore Thesis: a thesis that argues that some social stratification is a social necessity
- if you want to become a doctor, they should make a lot of money because it’s a lot of work and takes a lot of effort/ hours
- unequal values of social roles - financial incentive for more skilled works
- Melvin Tumin challenged this - social stratification and social inequality
- ex. Media Personalities like Kim Kardashian
- it doesn’t matter what the end goal is, if you don’t have the resources, it’s going to be difficult
Conflict Theory: Marx
Karl Marx
Two Capitalist Classes - create gap within society that is necessary
- Bourgeoisie: the owning class lives from the proceeds of owning or controlling productive property (capital assets like factories and machinery, or capital itself in the form of investments, stocks, and bonds.)
-
Proletariat: those who seek to establish a sustainable standard of living by maintaining the level of their wages and the level of employment in society
- exploitation and alienation lead to class consciousness- class consciousness and revolution
- ex. Amazon becoming unionized
-
Communism: abolition of private ownership of the means of production to have democratic access for all members of society
- utopian society/ perspective of Marx
- ultimate example that Marx was searching for - he forgot about the location of power
Conflict Theory: Max Weber
Max Weber
- agreed with Marx but added to itClass
- economic inequality
- similar social status, lifestyle, worldview, occupation and standard of living
- organizations that aim to achieve goals systematically
- status inconsistency
- how much power do you have in the society to influence others
