Test 2: Stratification Flashcards
Social stratification
layering of unequal categories of people in society –rich and poor, powerful and powerless, highly educated and less educated, and so on
Focus of stratification
(1) structure/shape of inequality
(2) movement of ppl betw. layers
(3) how+why dimensions of inequality vary over time and place
(4) micro level interactions that reinforce or subvert social hierarchies
Functional Theory of Stratification
- Some jobs are more important than others.
- more important=require more training + sacrifice
- To motivate talented ppl high rewards must be offered.
- stratification is necessary, performs useful function.
- judge needs education, makes important decisions
- Davis + Moore
Attack of the Class-Specific Killer Virus
- Case 1: virus kills all docs, life expectancy falls, society can continue
- professionals can’t live without labourers, we can exist without professionals
- Case 2: kills all farmers, ppl starve
Futilism
- after roman empire destroyed by barbarians
- agreed to have land lords for protection in exchange for money/produce
1400s
- need for services
- exploration
- abolish futile laws
Criticisms of the Functional Theory of Stratification
- which occupations are more important unclear
- ignores pool of talent unused ‘cause of inequality
- immigrants with skill start as taxi drivers/poor kids can’t go to uni
- fails to examine how advantages + disadvantages are passed from generation to generation
- trust fund babies
Marx’s Theory of Stratification
- ability of capitalists to hire/fire wage workers encouraged rapid technological change + economic growth
- drive for profits caused capitalists to concentrate workers, keep wages low + spend little on improving working conditions, specialized tasks, improve efficiency, division of labour
- result: class polarization, growth of class consciousness + working-class organizations, + growing demand by workers to end capitalist exploitation
- crises of overproduction would result in the fall of capitalism
Critique of Marx’s Theory of Stratification
- Industrial societies didn’t polarize into 2 opposed classes
- Capitalism persisted by stimulating demand + creating easy credit
- get money-spend money-need more employed ppl, more money
- stimulate economy through adverts: create demand, planned obsolescence, create credit=debt
Critique of Marx’s Theory of Stratification Part 2
- tech made it possible for workers to earn higher wages + work fewer hours in better conditions
- more tech=better quality of life
- Workers fought for, and won, state benefits
- Communism took root in semi-industrialized countries + witnessed the emergence of totalitarianism + new forms of privilege
Weber’s Theory of Stratification
- Class position determined by “market situation”: possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education + level of technical skill.
- 4 main classes: large property owners, small property owners, propertyless, but highly educated employees, + propertyless manual workers.
- Status groups (prestige) + parties (power) stratify the social order, to some degree independently of class
Weber’s Stratification Scheme
Few people, high rewards
Three “pillars” of stratification based on market position, power, and prestige.
-More rewards for categories in which there are fewer people.
-independent of one another
Implications
- nothing inevitable about level of social stratification. neither headed inexorably toward classlessness/we bound to endure high levels of inequality
- level of social stratification depends on complex interplay of class, status + party + their effect on social mobility
- in democracy, citizens decide which party is in office + political party in office enacts policies that have implications for social mobility; we decide how much inequality there should be
Weber’s most important insights
inequality is shaped in part by government policy, and insofar as citizens elect governments, we have the capacity to shape inequality
Inequality over 12,000 Years
- private property became increasingly important stratification principle, inequality rose
- After early industrialization, merit important stratifying principle + inequality fell
- government policy increasingly influenced level of inequality + accounts for much of the divergence in inequality
- Private property + merit still exert powerful influence on inequality, but new stratification principle was added with the creation of the welfare state
Type of Society
Foraging: low inequality
Pastoral: domesticate animals+tools=increase in equality ppl controlled certain areas
Agrarian:productive, private property, inequality soared
Early Industrial: machines, factory=$
Late Industrial: inequality falls, merit
Post Industrial: welfare state, taxes, some countries had more
Principles of Stratification
Private Property: more you have=more $ Merit: increase value for intellectual skill, more class mobility=middle class Government Policy: welfare, government, policies (pensions, health care)
Average Market Income of Canadian Families, Before Taxes and Government Transfers, 1951 to 2004
Two main reasons for rising curve:
1. Increased productivity.
2. Entry of women into paid labour force.
-cheap labour in asia=unemployment
-canada cuts welfare ‘cause can’t sustain
-increase inflation, unemployment, decrease welfare=stratification
Market income
income before taxes and transfers
Median Annual Income, Canada, 2010
- lower median income
- large disparity
Distribution of After-Tax Income among Families and Unattached Individuals, Canada, 1976 and 2010
- gains of increased income only goes to rich
- share of income is worse
- everyone else has lower income share
Share of Income by Canada’s Top 1%, 1920-2007
- drop is cause of welfare state
- wealth=assets-death
Median Net Worth of Families, Canada, 1984, 1999, 2005
> inequality of income
-laws make sure they exist
Household Income Inequality, 24 Countries
-happiness=lower inequality
Common Beliefs about Poverty (myths)
- chronic: poor stay poor
- Most poor people depend exclusively on welfare
- Welfare is generous.
- Poverty is inevitable.
Persistence of After-tax Low Income, Canada, 2005
LICO=low income cutoff=63 percent of gross income spent on food, shelter + clothing
- poor=<LICO
- poverty something ppl slip in + out of
Poor Unattached Individuals Under 65 by Weeks Worked
-most poor ppl work, not exclusively on welfare
Percent at or below the After-tax LICO and Unemployment Rate, Canada, 1996-2005
- % of Canadians falling at/below LICO correlates positively with unemployment rate
- exception occurred because of massive government budget cuts betw. 1993 and 1996; in that period, the correlation was negative.
Welfare Benefits for Couple with Two Children, as Percent of Poverty Line, Canada, by Province, 2001
- ppl on welfare don’t want welfare
- miserable because it isn’t much
- child care reason for increased poverty
- need affordable daycare
Before-tax LICO by Category, Canada, 1980-95
- 1980s gov. decided to make pensions more generous=less poverty in elderly
- persistently high for single mothers
Perceptions of Class
- Few North Americans have trouble placing themselves in the class structure
- minority of North Americans believe high level of inequality is needed to motivate people.
- Most North Americans believe inequality persists ‘cause it benefits rich+powerful + ‘cause ordinary ppl don’t get together to do something about it
- Most North Americans don’t want government to provide a basic income or create jobs.
- attitudes and perceptions vary by social class: lower = more radical.
