Social Stratification

Question 1

open system

Answer 1

• Position influenced by achieved status
• Social mobility is possible
• Ex. US, Canada

Question 2

closed system

Answer 2

• Position influenced by ascribed status
• Social mobility is limited
• Ex. US in 1850’s, India’s caste system

Question 3

systems of social stratification

Answer 3

• the way in which valued resources (ie. Wealth, power, prestige) are distributed and transmitted from one generation to the next
• institutionalized inequality
• ex. slavery and castes (closed); social class (open)

Question 4

social position

Answer 4

where you stand compared to others

Question 5

Karl Marx’s views on social position

Answer 5

can be determined by 2 classes (didn’t foresee the middle class): bourgeoisie and proletariat

Question 6

bourgeoisie

Answer 6

• Owns the means of production
• Capital
• Factory owners
• “upper class”

Question 7

proletariat

Answer 7

• No access to means of production
• Labour
• Factory workers
• “lower class”

Question 8

Max Weber’s views on social position

Answer 8

• can be determined by 3 elements: class, status, and power

- If you have all 3 -> status consistency, if you don’t -> status inconsistency

Question 9

class vs. status vs. power

Answer 9

• Class: wealth and income
• Status: prestige or lifestyle
• Power: impose own will despite opposition

Question 10

socioeconomic status

Answer 10

• most popular measure of social position today
• Education + Income + Occupational status
• StatsCan asks people to rank various jobs to determine which ones are prestigious (NOC)

Question 11

social differentiation

Answer 11

Social characteristics (differences, identities, and roles) are used to differentiate people and divide them into different categories, which have implications for social inequality

Question 12

equality of opportunity vs. equality of condition

Answer 12

• equality of opportunity: everyone has equal chance at success (dominant ideology in Canada)
• equality of condition: everyone has similar level of wealth, status, and power

Question 13

meritocracy

Answer 13

individual merit determines social standing

Question 14

endogamous vs. exogamous marriage

Answer 14

• endogamous: marrying within your own caste/social standing

- exogamous: marrying outside your own caste/social standing

Question 15

class system

Answer 15

• fairly open system (class hierarchy itself remains stable, but people move up and down using education, marriage, etc.)
• based on social factors and individual achievement
• has structural inequality (built into organization of the economy)

Question 16

petite bourgeoisie

Answer 16

• employ few workers but still rely on their own labour to survive
• ex. farmers, shopkeepers, contractors

Question 17

lumpenproletariat

Answer 17

• chronically unemployed or irregularly employed

- aka “reserve army of labour” -> potential labourers who are a surplus to the needs of production at a particular time

Question 18

primogeniture

Answer 18

law stating that all property will be inherited by the first-born son

Question 19

standard of living

Answer 19

• the level of wealth available to acquire the material necessities and comforts to maintain its lifestyle
• based on factors such as income, employment, class, poverty rates, and affordability of housing
• Canada’s standard of living has risen over the last century, but a very small % of population has highest standard of living -> distribution of wealth is uneven

Question 20

Weber’s definition of class

Answer 20

• “life chances,” or opportunities to acquire rewards
• based on possession of property, goods, or opportunities for income
• defined with respect to markets rather than the process of production -> marketability of one’s products/skills determines life chances

Question 21

3 (plus 1) components of social class

Answer 21

1. group’s position in the occupational structure
2. group’s position in the authority structure (i.e., who has authority over whom)
3. group’s position in the property structure (i.e., ownership or non-ownership of capital)
   - also has subjective component (how people perceive their place in class hierarchy)

Question 22

living wage

Answer 22

the amount needed to meet a family’s basic needs and enable them to participate in community life

Question 23

social mobility

Answer 23

• ability to change positions within a social stratification system
• high degree of mobility (up or down) suggests that system is open

Question 24

upward vs. downward mobility

Answer 24

• upward: increase in social class (ie. through marriage, education)
• downward: decrease in social class (ie. through divorce, job loss)

Question 25

intergenerational vs. intragenerational mobility

Answer 25

• intergenerational: different social classes between different generations of a family (ie. parents and kids)
• intragenerational: different social classes between different family members in the same generation (ie. siblings)

Question 26

structural mobility

Answer 26

• when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class ladder
• ex. in 20th century, industrialization expanded the Canadian economy, leading to higher standard of living and upward structural mobility

Question 27

class traits/class markers

Answer 27

• typical behaviours, customs, and norms that define each class
• indicate level of exposure a person has to a wide range of cultures
• indicate the amount of resources a person has to spend on items like hobbies, vacations, and leisure activities

Question 28

Davis-Moore thesis

Answer 28

• the greater the functional importance of a social role, the greater must be the reward
• social stratification represents the inherently unequal value of different work -> certain tasks are more valuable, so qualified people who do them must be rewarded more

Question 29

proletarianization of the middle class

Answer 29

in terms of income, property, control over working conditions, and overall life chances, the middle class is becoming more and more indistinguishable from the wage-earning working class

Question 30

cultural capital

Answer 30

• cultural “assets” such as education and taste are accumulated and passed down between generations in the same manner as financial capital or wealth
• this marks individuals from an early age by things like knowing how to wear a suit or having an educated manner of speaking
• high cultural capital = high privilege (and a way to reproduce this privilege in future generations)

Question 31

conspicuous consumption

Answer 31

the tendency of people to buy things as a display of status rather than out of need