Social Stratification Flashcards
Wealth
Refers to the total value of all the assets and resources that a person or household owns. This includes money in the bank, property, investments, and valuable items like cars or jewellery.
Wealth is different from income, which is the money earned regularly, such as wages or salary. Wealth represents accumulated assets over time and can provide financial security and opportunities for future investment and spending.
Income
Income is the money that a person or household receives on a regular basis, usually from work, investments, or government benefits. It can come from wages, salaries, pensions, dividends, or social security payments.
Income is used to cover daily living expenses such as food, housing, and transportation. Unlike wealth, which is accumulated over time, income is a flow of money received periodically, often weekly, monthly, or annually.
Caste
This is a social system or hierarchy found primarily in India and other South Asian countries, where people are born into specific groups that determine their social status, occupation, and potential marriage partners. These groups, or castes, are ranked in a rigid hierarchy, and individuals typically remain in the caste they are born into for their entire lives.
The caste system traditionally has four main categories called varnas: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (traders), and Shudras (laborers), along with many sub-castes and those outside the system, often referred to as “Dalits” or “Untouchables.”
Feudalism
Feudalism is a system from medieval Europe where land was exchanged for service and protection. The king gave large areas of land to nobles, or lords, who promised to support him with military help.
These lords had vassals who managed smaller parts of the land and were loyal to the lords. Peasants, or serfs, worked the land and produced goods. In return for their work, they got protection and a place to live, but they had few rights and couldn’t leave the land without permission.
Functionally Important Roles
Functionally important roles are jobs or positions in a society that are crucial for its stability and smooth functioning.
These roles ensure that essential services and tasks are carried out, such as teaching, healthcare, law enforcement, and government. People in these roles help maintain order, provide education, ensure public safety, and support the well-being of the community. Without these roles, society would struggle to operate effectively and meet the needs of its members.
Ruling-Class Ideology
Ruling-class ideology refers to the beliefs, values, and perspectives that are promoted and reinforced by the dominant or ruling class in society.
These ideologies often serve to justify the existing social order and maintain the status quo, portraying the interests of the ruling class as natural, legitimate, and beneficial for society as a whole.
Ruling-class ideology can influence various aspects of society, including politics, economics, culture, and social norms. It may emphasise ideas such as individualism, competition, meritocracy, and the importance of private property, while downplaying or dismissing concerns about inequality, exploitation, and systemic injustices.
False Class Consciousness
False class consciousness is a concept in Marxist theory that refers to a situation where members of a subordinate class (such as the working class) mistakenly adopt the ideology and beliefs of the ruling class, which obscures their true interests and the reality of their exploitation.
This happens when workers believe in ideas like meritocracy or the fairness of the capitalist system, which prevents them from recognising their shared interests and the need for collective action to challenge and change the oppressive system. False class consciousness keeps the working class from understanding their potential power and from working towards their own emancipation.
Life Chances
Life chances refer to the opportunities and possibilities that individuals have to achieve success and well-being in society. This concept, often associated with sociologist Max Weber, encompasses various factors such as education, income, health, social connections, and access to resources.
Life chances are influenced by social structures, institutions, and inequalities within society. For example, individuals born into wealthy families with access to quality education and healthcare may have greater life chances compared to those born into poverty. Understanding life chances helps to analyse how social factors impact individuals’ opportunities and outcomes in life.
Aristocracy
Aristocracy refers to a social class composed of individuals who hold high hereditary rank and privilege, often based on birthright or nobility.
In aristocratic societies, power and status are typically passed down through generations within specific families or lineages. Members of the aristocracy often possess significant wealth, land, and influence, and they may hold positions of authority or leadership in government, politics, or other elite institutions.
Historically, aristocracies were prevalent in feudal societies, where nobles held land in exchange for military service, but variations of aristocratic systems have existed across different cultures and time periods.
Subjective Class
Subjective class refers to an individual’s perception or self-assessment of their social class position within society. Unlike objective measures of social class, such as income, occupation, or education level, subjective class is based on how individuals subjectively view their own social standing relative to others.
This perception can be influenced by various factors, including cultural norms, values, aspirations, and personal experiences. Subjective class can sometimes diverge from objective indicators, as individuals may identify with a particular social class based on factors beyond economic status, such as lifestyle, social connections, or cultural capital.
Understanding subjective class is important for analysing how individuals perceive their place in society and how this perception influences their attitudes, behaviours, and social interactions.
New Right
The New Right is a political group that believes in less government control and more freedom for businesses and individuals. They often want lower taxes, fewer regulations, and less social welfare spending.
Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from rising to top positions in organisations, especially in the workplace.
Despite qualifications and abilities, they may find it difficult to advance beyond a certain level due to discriminatory practices or biases based on gender, race, ethnicity, or other factors. This barrier limits opportunities for career advancement and contributes to inequalities in leadership positions.
Embourgeoisement Thesis
The embourgeoisement thesis suggests that over time, working-class individuals may adopt the values, lifestyles, and consumption patterns of the middle class, thereby becoming “bourgeois” or middle class themselves.
This theory proposes that improvements in living standards, increased access to consumer goods, and social mobility can lead to a convergence of working-class and middle-class lifestyles and aspirations.
However, critics argue that this thesis overlooks persistent inequalities and structural barriers that limit upward mobility for many working-class individuals, as well as the complexities of social class dynamics.
Affluence
Affluence refers to a state of having an abundance of wealth or material possessions. It indicates a high standard of living, often characterised by access to luxury goods, services, and resources beyond basic needs. Affluence is associated with financial prosperity, comfort, and sometimes extravagance.
Privatised Nuclear Family
The privatised nuclear family refers to a family structure that is relatively small, consisting of only parents and their children, and is primarily responsible for the care, socialisation, and well-being of its members. In this model, the family unit operates independently of extended family members or broader community support networks.
The term “privatised” emphasises the idea that the family’s functions and responsibilities are contained within its own boundaries, rather than being shared or supported by external institutions or networks. This concept is often associated with modern industrial societies, where individualism and self-sufficiency are valued, and where families are expected to fulfil their roles without extensive reliance on external assistance.
