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s tatistics talk…. Global Inequality. Focus Question What past events led to inequality between different regions of the world, and what can be done now to lessen it?. Northern vs. Southern hemispheres Industrial vs. Developing nations Interdependence vs. dependence. Causes.
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Focus Question What past events led to inequality between different regions of the world, and what can be done now to lessen it?
Northern vs. Southern hemispheres • Industrial vs. Developing nations • Interdependence vs. dependence
Causes • The legacy of imperialism is still deeply felt in poor “developing” nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This poorest region makes up 75% of the world’s population. • Civil wars that erupted as nations gained independence caused instability and prevented gains in education, housing, and health care • Many newly-freed developing nations took out loans from western banks with high interest rates
Outlook • Multinational corporations have become more powerful than many nations; though they provide technology and jobs, “globalization” is often criticized as being “new imperialism” • Despite some advances in the developing world and some miracles like the “Asian tigers”, the gap between rich and poor nations is widening • About 1 billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty, many of them children. The UN estimates that almost 35,000 children die each day from malnutrition, disease, and other effects of poverty
Summarize Make a Venn diagram to compare the characteristics, history, and outlook of “developed” and “developing” nations.
Focus Question Who makes up the upper, middle, and lower class in the U.S? How do their lives and life chances differ?
Social Classes • Determined using three methods: reputational, subjective, and objective • Most people say they are middle class because they don’t want to identify themselves as upper or lower class. • See chart on p. 214
Upper class: 1%, “old” v. “new money” or nouveau riche • Upper middle class: high-income professionals • Lower middle class: white-collar, small businesses • Working class: blue-collar, pink-collar • Working poor: manual labor, temporary or seasonal, depend on government support • Underclass: Unemployment and poverty over several generations, difficult to document.
The Middle Class • Consume at high levels • Overuse credit, save little cash • Possess little wealth
Distribution of wealth • In 1999, the top fifth of American families received over 49% of the nation’s income (up from 42% in 1960) and held 84% of the nation’s wealth (up from 76% in 1967). • They hold about 95% of the nation’s capital wealth
Poverty • Cost of providing adequate diet based on U.S. Agricultural Dept’s minimum standards multiplied by 3. • The Census defined poverty as making less than $17,761 for a family of four. 32.2 million people met the requirement. • New definitions include food, clothing, housing, plus some personal expenses; still don’t account for regional and urban/rural differences in standard of living
Overrepresented groups • African Americans and Hispanics – rates are twice that of Americans overall >>> Ch. 10 Racial and Ethnic Relations • Children – 25% total population, 35% population living in poverty • Women – 57% of the poor, (20% white women v. 34% African American and Hispanic). Women still make about $.72 for every dollar earned by men and bear the largest burden of child care costs. The trend of women and children making up the largest percentage of the poor is called the feminization of poverty >>> Ch. 11 Gender, Age, and Health
Effects • Life chances: likelihood of sharing in opportunities and benefits of society • Health/Life expectancy: inadequate nutrition, access to medical care, poor working conditions, unsanitary or unsafe housing • Education: public schools funded by tax revenues, property taxes • Divorce and crime rates higher for the poor
Homelessness • Correlations: extreme poverty, physical or mental disability, alcohol or drug abuse, criminal records • Growing percentage are young, minorities, women and their children • Reporting issues b/c of no permanent address • Family and friends are the last line of defense for the poor against homelessness
Government Response • Great Society/“War on poverty” – LBJ, 1964 • Social Security, Medicare > Poverty rate for the elderly has dropped from twice as high to lower than that of the general population • Transfer payments: redistribution through taxation and public assistance • Subsidies: food stamps, Medicaid, school lunches, public housing
Influenced by middle class values, what Weber called the Protestant Work Ethic • “Deserving poor” vs. those “on the dole” • Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996): response to the claim that welfare had created a permanent welfare class • Welfare rolls have been reduced, but the overall success of reform is unclear
Challenges • Entanglement with race/ethnicity • Inequality of political clout within government and interest groups • Attitudes about poverty and individual responsibility – incentives vs. disincentives (Ex. “workfare” vs. “welfare”)
Welfare for the Non-poor • No stigma attached • Result in accumulation of wealth • Direct expenditures: Social Security and Medicare • Tax expenditures: loopholes and exemptions • Job creation, other government services that benefit businesses and corporations
Summarize Make a three-column chart to describe the upper, middle, and lower classes in the U.S. Include characteristics, causes/effects, challenges, etc.
Focus Question How would each of the three major sociological perspectives study and interpret stratification in society?
Functionalist • In pre-industrial societies, mechanical solidarity achieved social unity through a consensus of beliefs, values, and norms; strong social pressures for conformity; and dependence on tradition and family. As the division of labor becomes more complex, social unity must be achieved through a complex of specialized statuses that make members of the society interdependent. This is organic solidarity.
Some jobs are more important or require more skill than others – therefore, they will be rewarded with more wealth and prestige. • In democracies, decisions are made as a result of competition among special interest groups, each of which has its own stake in the issues. This pluralism protects the goals of the general public.
Conflict • Inequality exists because the capitalists (bourgeoisie) exploit their workers (proletariat). The workers don’t rebel because they have accepted the ideas and value-system of the capitalists, that wealth and power are based on ability, hard work, and individual effort. This is called false consciousness.
Even in democracies, elitism is the rule. The community’s top economic, political, and military leaders make up an elite group that control the major resources that go into decision making. The public good is secondary to the preference of the elites. • Marx believed that history would end the way it began – with people living in small communal societies that shared all resources with no private property and no need for government.
Interactionist Self-esteem is based on how we think others see us. People from lower classes tend to have lower self-esteem and people from upper classes tend to have higher. Our self-concept helps preserve the status quo, whether we’re “at the top” or “at the bottom” we believe it’s where we deserve to be.
Summarize Make a chart to compare the perspectives on stratification that includes Main Ideas and Personal/Societal examples you can think of to support that perspective.
