Social stratification and social inequality
- Social stratification: members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups
- Social hierarchy
- Age, gender, race, class, or other characteristics
- Higher-level groups enjoy more access to rewards and resources
- Social inequality: unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige results
- 4 basic principles of stratification
- Characteristic of society rather than a reflection of individual differences
- Persists over generations
- All societies stratify their members, diff societies use diff criteria for ranking
Stigma
- Physical, moral, or tribal
Slavery
- Extreme stratifications
- Bought and sold
- Enslaved for life and working without pay
Caste
- Social stratification
- The traditional system is based on heredity
- Differentiated along religious, economic, or political lines, or skin color
- India
- Brahman (scholars and priests), Ksatriya or Chhetri (rulers and warriors), Vaisya (merchants and traders), Sudra (farmers, artisans,
and laborers), and Dalit (social outcasts or “untouchables”).
- South Africa
- Apartheid, the legal separation of racial and ethnic groups
- Apartness
- Create disparity among those in the different strata of society
- White people were in power
- The new Jim Crow
- Discrimination based on criminal convictions
Social class
- A system of stratification placed primarily in capitalist societies ranks groups of people according to their wealth, property, power, and prestige
- Socioeconomic status: a measure of an individual’s place within a social class system
- The social and economic basis
- Intersectionality: identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups
Social classes in the US
- Creative class: upper-middle class
- Precarious labor: workers in the lower-middle and lower class often find themselves engaged in this
- Underemployment: work does not make full use of their skills
The upper class
- 1% of the US
- Total net worth is greater than that of the bottom 90% of combined
- Old money and new money
- Make more than $1.5 million per year
- Highly educated -> private schools and prestigious universities
- Self-sustaining
The upper-middle class
- 14% of the population
- Well educated
- Executive, managerial, and professional jobs
- $150,000 per year
- Own their homes, travel, and higher education
Middle class
- 30% of the population
- Shrinking for 7 years
- Economic recession and high unemployment
- May have moved down to the lower-middle class
- White collar workers: technical and lower-management jobs
- $70,000 per year
- High school education and a 2/4 year college degree
- Cannot afford their own homes
- Social stratification: members of a given society are categorized and divided into groups
- Social hierarchy
- Age, gender, race, class, or other characteristics
- Higher-level groups enjoy more access to rewards and resources
- Social inequality: unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige results
- 4 basic principles of stratification
- Characteristic of society rather than a reflection of individual differences
- Persists over generations
- All societies stratify their members, diff societies use diff criteria for ranking
Stigma
- Physical, moral, or tribal
Slavery
- Extreme stratifications
- Bought and sold
- Enslaved for life and working without pay
Caste
- Social stratification
- The traditional system is based on heredity
- Differentiated along religious, economic, or political lines, or skin color
- India
- Brahman (scholars and priests), Ksatriya or Chhetri (rulers and warriors), Vaisya (merchants and traders), Sudra (farmers, artisans,
and laborers), and Dalit (social outcasts or “untouchables”).
- South Africa
- Apartheid, the legal separation of racial and ethnic groups
- Apartness
- Create disparity among those in the different strata of society
- White people were in power
- The new Jim Crow
- Discrimination based on criminal convictions
Social class
- A system of stratification placed primarily in capitalist societies ranks groups of people according to their wealth, property, power, and prestige
- Socioeconomic status: a measure of an individual’s place within a social class system
- The social and economic basis
- Intersectionality: identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups
Social classes in the US
- Creative class: upper-middle class
- Precarious labor: workers in the lower-middle and lower class often find themselves engaged in this
- Underemployment: work does not make full use of their skills
The upper class
- 1% of the US
- Total net worth is greater than that of the bottom 90% of combined
- Old money and new money
- Make more than $1.5 million per year
- Highly educated -> private schools and prestigious universities
- Self-sustaining
The upper-middle class
- 14% of the population
- Well educated
- Executive, managerial, and professional jobs
- $150,000 per year
- Own their homes, travel, and higher education
Middle class
- 30% of the population
- Shrinking for 7 years
- Economic recession and high unemployment
- May have moved down to the lower-middle class
- White collar workers: technical and lower-management jobs
- $70,000 per year
- High school education and a 2/4 year college degree
- Cannot afford their own homes
