Stratification Flashcards
What is stratification?
the socio-economic hierarchy in a given society
What is a hierarchy?
a vertical ranking of strata
How do we measure class?
SES - a combined measure of work experience and economic and social position
Measuring class in Weber’s terms:
Life chances - how access to factors like material goods and living conditions will make a person life a certain way
Vertical mobility
Movement of individuals or groups up or down from one socioeconomic level to another, often by changing jobs or through marriage
intergenerational
when children attain a higher or lower status than their parents held
intra-generational
person changes status within their lifetime
Caste System
- closed system
- stratification by ascribed status at birth
Class system
- open system
- stratification by occupation & ownership of resources
Davis & Moore theory
social inequalities are ~functional~ for society because they provide an incentive for the most talented individuals to occupy IMPORTANT jobs
Meritocracy
hierarchy, positions awarded based on ability and credentials
Inter-locking elites
structure that hindered smaller Canadian entrepreneurs from expanding
Class, Status & Party are aspects of…
the distribution of power withing a community (Weber)
Class (Marx)
Determined by ownership of property and control over the means of production
Status Groups (Marx)
Determined by social & cultural criteria
Parties (Marx)
Political organizations, labor unions representing class and/or status interests
Cultural Capital
Social assets (values, beliefs, tastes, etc) (Bourdieu)
Absolute Poverty
severe deprivation of human needs
Relative Poverty
minimum amount of income needed to be able to participate in “ordinary living patterns”
Who are the poor in Canada?
Children Women Seniors Aboriginal people People with disabilities
3 Structural sources of poverty:
- Lack of affordable childcare
- Low wages
- Cuts to EI and Social Assistance
