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Chapter 7

Chapter 7. Social Class in the United States. What is Social Class?. Wealth Distinction Between Wealth and Income Distribution of Property Distribution of Income. Social Stratification. Refers to the way society is organized into layers.

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Chapter 7

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  1. Chapter 7 Social Class in the United States

  2. What is Social Class? • Wealth • Distinction Between Wealth and Income • Distribution of Property • Distribution of Income

  3. Social Stratification • Refers to the way society is organized into layers. • A system of relative privilege based on power, property, and prestige.

  4. The Functional Theory of Stratification • Some jobs are more important than others. • Jobs that are more important require more training and sacrifice. • To motivate talented people to undergo training and sacrifice, high rewards must be offered. • Therefore, stratification is necessary; it performs a useful function.

  5. Criticisms of the Functional Theory of Stratification • The question of which occupations are more important is far from clear. • The functional theory ignores the pool of talent that lies unused because of inequality. • The functional theory fails to examine how advantages and disadvantages are passed from generation to generation.

  6. Determinants of Social Class Karl Marx: • The Means of Production • Bourgeoisie • Proletariat • Class Consciousness

  7. Marx’s Theory of Stratification • The ability of capitalists to hire and fire wage workers at first encouraged rapid technological change and economic growth. • The drive for profits also caused capitalists to concentrate many workers, keep wages low, and spend little on improving working conditions. • The result: class polarization, the growth of class consciousness and working-class organizations, and a growing demand on the part of workers to end capitalist exploitation. • Because capitalism could produce more than workers could consume, ever-worsening crises of overproduction would result in the fall of capitalism.

  8. Critique of Marx’s Theory of Stratification • Industrial societies did not polarize into two opposed classes engaged in bitter conflict. • Capitalism persisted by stimulating demand. • Investment in technology made it possible for workers to earn higher wages and work fewer hours in better conditions. • Workers fought for, and won, state benefits. • Communism took root in semi-industrialized countries and witnessed the emergence of totalitarianism and new forms of privilege.

  9. Determinants of Social Class Max Weber • Property • Prestige • Power

  10. Weber’s Theory of Stratification • Class position is determined by “market situation”: the possession of goods, opportunities for income, level of education, and level of technical skill. • The four main classes: large property owners, small property owners, propertyless but highly educated employees, and propertyless manual workers. • Status groups (distinguished by differences in prestige) and parties (distinguished by differences in power) also stratify the social order, to some degree independently of class. • Class conflict may occur but classlessness is unlikely.

  11. Weber’s Stratification Scheme high c1 sg1 p1 sg2 p2 c2 value of rewards c3 sg3 p3 class 4 status group 4 party 4 low PRESTIGE POWER INCOME small large large number of people

  12. Sociological Models of Social Class Updating Marx • Capitalists • Petty Bourgeoisie • Managers • Workers

  13. Sociological Models of Social Class Updating Weber • Capitalist Class • The Upper Middle Class • The Lower Middle Class • The Working Class • The Working Poor • The Underclass

  14. Social Mobility • Most mobility is upward, not downward (although downward has been increasing since the 1970s). • Most mobility is intergenerational, not intragenerational. • Most mobility is structural, (due to changes in occupational structure) not circulatory (due to merit).

  15. Common Beliefs about Poverty • Poverty is chronic. • Most poor people depend exclusively on welfare. • Welfare is generous. • Poverty is inevitable.

  16. Perceptions of Class • Few North Americans have trouble placing themselves in the class structure. • A minority of North Americans believe that a high level of inequality is needed to motivate people. • Most North Americans believe that inequality persists because it benefits the rich and the powerful and because ordinary people don’t get together to do something about it. • Most North Americans don’t want government to provide a basic income or create jobs. • These attitudes and perceptions vary by social class: lower = more radical.

  17. Status Inconsistency • Ordinarily Wealth, Power, and Prestige are Similar - Status Consistent • When they Don’t Match - Status Inconsistent

  18. Consequences of Social Class • Family Life • Choices of Husbands and Wives • Divorce • Child Rearing • Physical Health • Mental Health • Crime and the Judicial System

  19. Social Mobility Three Types • Intergenerational • Upward • Downward • Structural • Exchange

  20. Interpreting Statistics on Social Mobility • Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From Tree • The Pain of Social Mobility

  21. Dynamics of Poverty • Culture of Poverty • Most Poverty is Short-lived • Number of Poor Relatively Stable

  22. Why are People Poor? • Social Structure • Features of Society • Characteristics of Individuals

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