social inequality (week 9) Flashcards
what are the views of canadian society?
- middle class and upward mobility
- the canadian dream
- economically dirven view with appreciation for social saftey net (e.g. medicare)
- we are highly stratified and ascriptive characteristics are influential
what is social inequality?
long term extence of significant differences in access to material goods and opportunities among social groups
*can be material or non-material
what is durable inequality and who is associated with the term?
Charles Tilly - inequality is based on categorical distinctions more than being innate to individuals
* forms of inequality that last from one social interaction to the nect, with special attention to those that persist over whole careers, lifetimes, and organziational histories - e.g. that which trancends interteractions, social envrionment, even generations
how does durable inequality arise?
durable inequality can arise out of two mechanisms
* exploitation: power people command resources with increased returns at the expense of the exploitation of others
* opportunity hoarding: members of categorically-ounded network acquire resources
* read: they take place in organizational settings (bounded clusters of social relations)
is inequality intentional?
no it is not (said by Tilly)
* people who cause inequality rarely conciously set out to cause inequality (e.g. the university admission process - not adressing the bigger issue of inequality in the world by destreaming in highschool)
* systems rarely function the way they are intended to
what is the categorical perspcetive?
focusing on the categorical groups in society
what are the critiques of the categorical perspective?
- the categorical perspective relies on binaries but people do not exist as binaries (don’t belong to single categories, their social location is made up of lots of identities)
- cultural causes of inequality happen
- intergenerational inequality happen
*things happen outside of the ‘organization’
what is the social conflict approach’s view on social inequality? who is associated?
Karl Marx
* society is split into two classes of the bourgeoise and the proletariat
* class is relational: each has relationship to means of production
* bourgeosie have class conciousness
* proletariat have false conciousness
* inequality is material - VERY FOCUSED ON ECONOMICS
Max Weber
* inequality goes beyond economics and social status has a large impact on inequality
* dominant social status depends on time in history
* 3 elements of inequality: class, power, prestige
* fought with marx’s ghost
what is the structural functionalist view on social inequality and who is associated with it?
the Davis and Moore Thesis exibits this view
* inequality exists in all cultures so there must be some value to it
* social stratification and inequality have beneficial consequences for operation of society (e.g. encourage grit and reward important work & persons)
*the critique of this view is the question of “how do we define what is important and how do we motivate all individuals”
what are open systems?
open systems are a class system
* a system of stratification on both birth and individial achievement
* individuals can achieve upward or downward mobility based on achievemnt
* class ystsem blurs boundaries and much more prospect is place on the efforts of the individual - ascriptive influence is there but not the only factor
what are closed systems?
closed systems are caste systems
* system of stratification based on soley ascription (from birth)
* there is little potential for upward mobility based on individual effort
* birth alone determines one’s entries future - you forever have the hand that you were dealt
what are the social classes in canada?
upper class (5%) is the capitalist class
* highly educated at best schools, inherited wealth, execptional accomplishment, own & control means of production
middle class (40-50%)
* mixed assortment of educational credentials, work skilled jobs with sufficient income to own property and secure standard of living
Working class (under 30%)
* 30% - lower incom and no accumluated wealth, tend to work blue collar jobs, lower skills, potentially unionized
* 20% - below poverty time, working poor, minimal prestige from jobs, minimal income or satisfaction, little to no education
what is stratisifcation?
the structured inequality between goups
* cateogries of people are ordered hierarchically into sratas
* stratas on their own do not generate inqquality but when they clain a greater share of resoruces compared to other strata, differentiation becomes the basis of inequality
* stratisifcation is a feature of modern and compex societies
what is social mobility?
the ability to chnage one’s position within stratisifcation
* upward
* downward (declasment)
* intragenerational (differences in social class between members of the same generation)
* intergenerational (differences between generations of a family - long term trends)
* look at occupational status and earning between parents and children
what are the sticky ends of stratification?
the class system’s ends are resistant to oppositional mobility - hard to get out when at end
* youth at bottom or top of the hierarchy are more likely to end up in the same position as adults
* self maintaining properties of stratification - glass ceiling vs glass floor cause these sticky ends
