Test 1 Flashcards
Social Stratification
- A trait of society
- Does not reflect individual differences, but society’s structure
- Persists over generations
- Social mobility happens slowly
- Universal but variable
- While universal, it varies in type
- Involves not just inequality but beliefs
- Ideologies justify existence of social stratification
Social Problems
- must be capable of being “fixed” in some way
- a condition that undermines the well-being of some or all members of a society and is usually a matter of public controversy
- issues that substantial numbers of the society view as violations of societal values or expectations
Childhood Poverty
look up
Policies to address income inequality
-Taxation
+progressive taxation — raises tax rates as income increases
-Raise the poverty line
-Social welfare programs
+assistance to people considered worthy of assistance
+1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
+most welfare does not go to the poor
Functionalist Perspective
-Culture affects social standing for racial groups
+some place more or less value on education
-Culture of poverty — becoming fatalistic, low self-esteem, limited aspirations, and a sense of powerlessness
-American Indians are more cooperative and non-entrepreneurial
-Oppositional Culture — discourages blacks form excelling in school since it is defined as “acting white”
Symbolic Interactionism
- Race and ethnicity affect the way we evaluate ourselves and others
- U.S. society makes whites the standard by which others should be measured
- W.E.B. Du Bois — most people consider race a basic element of social identity, to the disadvantage of people of color
- Race an become a master status that devalues people
Conflict Perspective
- The unequal standing of minorities reflect the organization of society itself
- The elite divide the workers by playing up racial and ethnic differences
- U.S. culture provides privileges to the dominant white majority, while pushing minorities to the margins of society
- Racial hierarchy should be eliminated
Systems of Stratification
-Social Inequality: Condition in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power
-Stratification: Structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society
+slavery
+caste (based on birth)
+estate
+class
Income
-salary and wages from a job plus earnings from investments and other sources
+richest, 20% of U.S. families earn almost as much income as the remaining 80% combined
+U.S. has the most unequal distribution of income and wealth in the industrialized world
+Brazil has the MOST unequal distribution
Wealth
-the value of all the economic assets owned by a person or family, minus any debts
+richest 5% of families control 63% of the country’s wealth
+richest 1% of the world control more than 50% of the world’s wealth
+63% of Americans think that the difference in income is too large
Solutions – Income Inequality
-Taxation
+progressive taxation — raises tax rates as income increases
-Raise the poverty line
-Social welfare programs
+assistance to people considered worthy of assistance
+1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
+most welfare does not go to the poor
Discrimination
-Discrimination: denial of equal rights and opportunities because of prejudice
+Action vs. Attitude
-Individual Discrimination
+One person mistreating another person
-Institutional Discrimination
+Built into the social system
+Redlining—pattern of banks and financial institutions refusing to make any loans in inner-city areas defined as high risk
+Steering—showing home buyers only homes in neighborhoods of their racial group
Policies Enacted by Dominant Groups
- Pluralism — cultural differences permitted and even encouraged
- Assimilation — absorbing minority group into mainstream culture
- Segregation — physical separation
- Internal Colonialism — exploitation
- Population Transfer — removal
- Genocide — extermination
Policy Options
-Encouraging cultural pluralism
+Contact Hypothesis
-Legal enforcement of anti-discrimination laws
-Establish more jobs and provide job training
Functionalism
-Social Function refers to the consequences for the operation of society as a whole
-Functions- Actions having positive consequences
+Manifest Functions- intended/recognized
+Latent Functions- unintended
-Dysfunctions- Actions having negative consequences
+Parts of a social system work together to maintain balance
