A. Social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on their control
over basic resources.
<s> B. Max Weber's term life chances describes the extent to which persons within a particular layer
of stratification have access to important scarce resources.
<np>II. GLOBAL SYSTEMS OF STRATIFICATION
A. Systems of stratification may be open or closed based on the availability of social mobility -- the
movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another.
<s> 1. Intergenerational mobility is the social movement experienced by family members from one
generation to the next.
<s> 2. Intragenerational mobility is the social movement of individuals within their own lifetime
<s> B. Slavery, a closed system, is an extreme form of stratification in which some people are owned by others.
<s> C. A caste system is a system of social inequality in which people's status is permanently determined
at birth based on their parents' ascribed characteristics.
<s> D. The class system is a type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on
the type of work people do.
<np>STOP: Define social stratification and describe the major sources of stratification found in societies.
<np>III. CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL CLASS
A. Karl Marx: Relation to Means of Production
<s> 1. According to Marx, class position in capitalistic societies is determined by people's work
situation, or relationship to the means of production.
<s> a. The bourgeoisie or capitalist class consists of those who privately own the means of
production; the proletariat, or workers, must sell their labor power to the owners
in order to earn enough money to survive.
<s> b. Class relationships involve inequality and exploitation; workers are exploited as capitalists
expropriate a surplus value from their labor.
<s> 2. The capitalist class maintains its position by control of the society's superstructure -- comprised
of the government, schools, and other social institutions which produce and disseminate ideas
perpetuating the existing system.
<np>STOP: Describe Karl Marx's perspective on class position and class relationships.
<np>III. CLASSICAL PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL CLASS
B. Max Weber: Wealth, Prestige, and Power
<s> 1. Weber's multidimensional approach to stratification focused on the interplay among wealth, prestige, and
power as being necessary in determining a person's class position.
<s> a. Weber placed people who have a similar level of wealth -- the value of all of a person's or family's
economic assets, including income, personal property, and income-producing property -- and
income in the same class.
<s> b. Prestige is the respect or regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others, and
those who share similar levels of social prestige belong to the same status group regardless of
their level of wealth.
<s> c. Power -- the ability of people or groups to carry out their own goals despite opposition from
others -- gives some people the ability to shape society in accordance with their own interests
and to direct the actions of others.
<fig>fig 7-2<s> 2. Wealth, prestige, and power are separate continuums on which people can be ranked from high to low;
individuals may be high on one dimension while being low on another.
<np> 3. Socioeconomic status (SES) -- a combined measure that attempts to classify individuals,
families, or households in terms of indicators such as income, occupation, and education -- is
used to determine class location.
<fig>Ed001047<np>IV. SOCIOLOGICAL MODELS OF THE U.S. CLASS STRUCTURE
A. The Weberian Model of the Class Structure
<s> 1. The Upper (or Capitalist) Class is the wealthiest and most powerful class, comprised of people who
own substantial income-producing assets.
<s> 2. The Upper-Middle Class is based on a combination of three factors: university degrees, authority and
independence on the job, and high income. Examples of occupations for this class are highly educated
professionals such as physicians, stockbrokers, or corporate managers.
<s> 3. The Middle Class is characterized by a minimum of a high school diploma or a community college degree.
<s> 4. The Working Class is comprised of semiskilled machine operatives, clerks and salespeople in routine,
mechanized jobs, and workers in pink collar occupations -- relatively low-paying, nonmanual
semiskilled positions primarily held by women.
<s> 5. The Working Poor live from just above to just below the poverty line; they hold unskilled jobs,
seasonal migrant employment in agriculture, lower-paid factory jobs, and service jobs
(e.g., such as counter help at restaurants).
<s> 6. The Underclass includes people who are poor, seldom employed, and caught in long term deprivation.
<np> B. The Marxian or Conflict Model of the U.S. Class Structure
<s> 1. Erik Olin Wright outlined four criteria for placement in the class structure:
<s> a. ownership of the means of production
<s> b. purchase of the labor of others (employing others)
<s> c. control of the labor of others (supervising others on the job)
<s> d. sale of one's own labor (being employed by someone else).
<fig>43017<s> e. According to Wright, basic class location -- positions in the class structure where issues
of property ownership and control are relatively clear -- is determined by factors of
ownership and authority.
<s> f. Contradictory class location refers to positions within the productive process that
possess a combination of elements from two different basic class locations.
<np> 2. Wright's Four Classes
a. The Capitalist Class is composed of those who have inherited fortunes, own major
corporations, or are top corporate executives who own extensive amounts of stock or
control company investments.
<s> b. The Managerial Class includes upper-level managers -- supervisors and professionals who
typically do not participate in company wide decisions -- and lower-level managers who may
be given some control over employment practices, such as the hiring and firing of some workers.
<s> c. The Small-Business Class consists of small business owners, craftspeople, and some doctors and
lawyers who may hire a small number of employees but largely do their own work.
<fig>43284<s> d. The Working Class is made up of blue-collar workers, including skilled workers
(e.g., electricians, plumbers, and carpenters), unskilled blue-collar workers (e.g., laundry
and restaurant workers), and white-collar workers do not own the means of production,
do not control the work of others, and are relatively powerless in the workplace.
<np>STOP: Outline the Marxian model of the U.S. class structure and briefly describe the key characteristics of each class
<np>V. INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES
<fig>BU004521<np> A. Income and wealth are very unevenly distributed in the United States.
<w> The best single source of data on national income and other measures that depicts the class structure of the United States is found at the U.S. Bureau of the Census http://www.census.gov/.
<url>http://www.census.gov/.
<s> 1. Income is the economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income transfers (governmental aid),
or ownership of property.
<s> 2. Wealth includes not only income but also property such as buildings, land, farms, houses, factories,
cars, and other assets.
<s> B. Consequences of Inequality
1. Health and Nutrition: As people's economic status increases so does their health status; the poor
have shorter life expectancies and are at greater risk for chronic illnesses and infectious diseases. More
than 41 million people in the United States are without health insurance coverage.
<s> 2. Education and life chance are directly linked; while functionalists view education as an "elevator"
for social mobility, conflict theorists stress that schools are agencies for reproducing the capitalist class
system and perpetuating inequality in society.
<np>VI. POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES
A. Although some people living in poverty are unemployed, many hardworking people with
full-time jobs also live in poverty.
<s> B. The official poverty line is based on what is considered to be the minimum amount of money
required for living at a subsistence level.
<s> C. Sociologists distinguish between absolute poverty -- when people do not have the means to secure
the most basic necessities of life -- and relative poverty -- when people may be able to afford basic
necessities but still are unable to maintain an average standard of living.
<w> There are a number of good sites on studying the effects of poverty in the U.S. For example, see http://povertycenter.cwru.edu/
<url>http://povertycenter.cwru.edu/
<s> D. Who Are the Poor?
<s> 1. Age: Children are more likely to be poor than older persons; older women are twice as likely
to be poor as older men; older African Americans and Latinos/as are much more likely to live
below the poverty line than are non-Latino/a whites.
<s> 2. Gender: About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women; this problem is described
as the feminization of poverty -- the trend in which women are disproportionately represented
among individuals living in poverty.
<s> 3. Race and Ethnicity: white Americans (non-Latinos/as) account for approximately two-thirds of
those below the official poverty line; however, a disproportionate percentage of the poverty
population is made up of African Americans, Latinos/as, and Native Americans.
<np> E. Economic and Structural Sources of Poverty
<s> 1. An economic source of poverty is the low wages paid for many jobs: Half of all families living in
poverty are headed by someone who is employed, and one-third of those family heads work full time.
<fig>25197<s> 2. Poverty also is exacerbated by structural problems such as
a. deindustrialization -- millions of U.S. workers have lost jobs as corporations have
disinvested here and opened facilities in other countries where "cheap labor" exists
<s> b. job deskilling -- a reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a specific job
that leads to a corresponding reduction in the wages paid for that job.
<s> F. Solving the Poverty Problem
<s> 1. The United States has attempted to solve the poverty problem with social welfare programs;
however, the primary beneficiaries have not always been the poor.
<w> There are several sites devoted to welfare policy. See the site maintained by the federal Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/welfare/
<url>http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/welfare/
<vp>VIDEO: Welfare reform represents a major change in national policy on poverty.
<v>V8
<s> 2. A lack of consensus exists regarding both the definition of the problem and the possible solutions for it.
<np>STOP: Distinguish between absolute and relative poverty and describe the characteristics and lifestyle of those who live in poverty in the United States.
<np>VII. SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES
A. Functionalist Explanation of Social Inequality
<s> 1. According to the Davis-Moore thesis:
a. All societies have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain positions that must be filled.
<s> b. Some positions are more important for the survival of society than others.
<s> c. The most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people.
<s> d. The positions that are the most important for society and require scarce talent,
extensive training, or both, must be the most highly rewarded.
<s> e. The most highly rewarded positions should be those which are functionally unique
(no other position can perform the same function), and those positions upon which
others rely for expertise, direction, or financing.
<s> 2. This thesis assumes that social stratification results in meritocracy -- a hierarchy in which all
positions are rewarded based on people's ability and credentials.
<s> B. A Conflict Explanation of Social Inequality
<s> 1. From a conflict perspective, inequality does not serve as a source of motivation for people; powerful
individuals and groups use ideology to maintain their favored positions at the expense of others.
<s> 2. Core values, laws, and informal social norms support inequality in the United States (e.g., legalized
segregation and discrimination produce higher levels of economic inequality).
<np>STOP: Compare functionalist and conflict approaches to measuring class.
<np>VIII. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN THE FUTURE
A. According to some social scientists, wealth will become more concentrated at the top of the U.S. class
structure; as the rich have grown richer, more people have found themselves among the ranks of the poor.
<s> B. Structural sources of upward mobility are shrinking while the rate of downward mobility has increased;
our future may be sabotaged if we do not work to eliminate poverty.
<end>
<nq>20
<ques>Sociologists use the term _____ to refer to the hierarchial arrangements of large social groups based on their control over basic resources.
<c1>social stratification
<c2>social layering
<c3>social distinction
<c4>social accumulation
<ans>a<expl>Sociologists use the term social stratification to refer to the hierarchial arrangements of large social groups based on their control over basic resources. (p. 191)
<ques>The extent to which individuals have access to important societal resources is known as:
<c1>relative poverty.
<c2>absolute poverty.
<c3>social mobility.
<c4>life chances.
<ans>d<expl>Max Weber's term, life chances, refers to the extent to which individuals have access to important societal resources. (p. 191)
<ques>A young woman's father is a carpenter; she graduates from college with a degree in accounting, becomes a CPA, and has a starting salary that represents more money than her father ever made in one year. This illustrates _____ mobility.
<c1>intragenerational
<c2>intergenerational
<c3>horizontal
<c4>subjective
<ans>b<expl>A young woman's father is a carpenter; she graduates from college with a degree in accounting, becomes a GPA, and has a starting salary that represents more money than her father ever made in one year. This illustrates intergenerational mobility. (p. 193)
<ques>All of the following are true statements about slavery, except:
<c1>Slavery is a closed system in which "slaves" are treated as property.
<c2>Slaves were forcibly imported to the United States as a source of cheap labor.
<c3>Slavery has ended throughout the world, according to S.L. Engerman.
<c4>Some people have been enslaved because of unpaid debts, criminal behavior, or war and conquest.
<ans>c<expl>All of the following are true statements about slavery, except: slavery has ended throughout the world, according to Engerman. (p. 194)
<ques>A _____ system is a system of social inequality in which people's status is permanently determined at birth based on their parents' ascribed characteristics.
<c1>class
<c2>slavery
<c3>capitalist
<c4>caste
<ans>d<expl>A caste system is a system of social inequality in which people's status is permanently determined at birth based on their parents' ascribed characteristics. (p. 194)
<ques>A young woman who comes from an impoverished background works at two full-time jobs in order to save enough money to attend college. Ultimately, she earns a degree, attends law school, graduates with highest honors, and is hired by a firm at a starting salary of $75,000. This person has experienced _____ mobility.
<c1>horizontal
<c2>vertical
<c3>direct
<c4>indirect
<ans>b<expl>A young woman who comes from an impoverished background works at two full-time jobs in order to save enough money to attend college. Ultimately, she earns a degree, attends law school, and is hired by a firm at a starting salary of $75,000. This person has experienced vertical mobility. (p. 194)
<ques>According to _____, class position is determined by people's relationship to the means of production.
<c1>Karl Marx
<c2>Max Weber
<c3>Emile Durkheim
<c4>Dennis Gilbert and Joseph A. Kahl
<ans>a<expl>According to Karl Marx, class position is determined by people's relationship to the means of production. (p. 196)
<ques>All of the following statements regarding Marx's analysis of class are correct, except:
<c1>Class relationships involve inequality and exploitation.
<c2>The exploitation of workers by the capitalist class ultimately will lead to the destruction of capitalism.
<c3>The capitalist class maintains its position by control of the society's superstructure.
<c4>Wealth, prestige, and power are separate continuums on which people can be ranked from high to low.
<ans>d<expl>All of the following statements regarding Marx's analysis of class are correct, except:: Wealth, prestige, and power are separate continuums on which people can be ranked from high to low. (p. 196)
<ques>According to Max Weber, _____ is the respect or regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others.
<c1>admiration
<c2>power
<c3>prestige
<c4>rank
<ans>c<expl>According to Max Weber, prestige is the respect or regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others. (p. 198)
<ques>According to the Weberian model of the U.S. class structure, members of the _____ class have earned most of their money in their own lifetime as entrepreneurs, presidents of corporations, or top-level professionals.
<c1>upper-upper
<c2>lower-upper
<c3>upper-middle
<c4>middle
<ans>b<expl>According to the Weberian model of class structure, members of the lower-upper class have earned most of their money in their own lifetime as entrepreneurs, presidents of corporations, or top-level professionals.
(p. 200)
<ques>The text points out that a combination of three factors qualifies people for the upper-middle class. Which of the following is not one of these factors?
<c1>university degrees.
<c2>authority and independence on the job.
<c3>inherited wealth.
<c4>high income.
<ans>c<expl>The text points out that a combination of three factors qualifies people for the upper-middle class. Which of the following is not one of these factors? -- inherited wealth. (p. 200)
<ques>Over the past fifty years, Asian Americans, Latinos/as, and African Americans have placed great emphasis on _____ as a means of attaining the American Dream.
<c1>education
<c2>affirmative action
<c3>unemployment compensation
<c4>vocational training
<ans>a<expl>Over the past fifty years, Asian Americans, Latinos/as, and African Americans have placed great emphasis on education as a means of attaining the American Dream. (p. 201)
<ques>In the Weberian model of the U.S. class structure, white-collar workers, public officials, managers, and professionals make up the _____ class.
<c1>upper
<c2>middle
<c3>working
<c4>lower
<ans>b<expl>In Max Weber's stratification typology, white-collar workers, public officials, managers, and professionals make up the middle class. (p. 201)
<ques>Women employed in pink collar occupations are classified in the:
<c1>working class.
<c2>working poor.
<c3> middle class.
<c4>upper middle class.
<ans>a<expl>Women employed in pink collar occupations are classified in the working class. (p. 201)
<ques>The working poor account for about _____ of the U.S. population.
<c1>10 percent
<c2>13 percent
<c3>15 percent
<c4>20 percent
<ans>b<expl>The working poor account for about 13 percent of the U.S. population. (p. 202)
<ques>All of the following are included in Erik O. Wright's typology of the class structure, except the _____ class.
<c1>capitalist
<c2>managerial
<c3>middle
<c4>working
<ans>c<expl>All of the following are included in Erik O. Wright's typology of the class structure, except the middle class. (p. 203)
<ques>______ exists when people do not have the means to secure the basic necessities of life.
<c1>Absolute poverty
<c2>Relative poverty
<c3>Situational poverty
<c4>The feminization of poverty
<ans>a<expl>Absolute poverty exists when people do not have the means to secure the basic necessities of life. (p. 212)
<ques>The trend in which women disproportionately are represented among individuals living in poverty is referred to as:
<c1>absolute poverty.
<c2>relative poverty.
<c3>situational poverty.
<c4>the feminization of poverty.
<ans>d<expl>The trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty is referred to as the femininization of poverty. (p. 214)
<ques>According to the conflict explanation of social inequality:
<c1>The existence of social inequality serves as a motivating force for people.
<c2>The wealthy are smarter than other people.
<c3>Laws and informal social norms support inequality in the United States.
<c4>All of the above.
<ans>c<expl>According to the conflict explanation of social inequality, laws and informal social norms support inequality in the United States. (p. 216)
<ques>According to the functionalist explanation of social inequality:
<c1>All societies have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain positions that must be filled.
<c2>The most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people.
<c3>The most highly rewarded positions should be those that are functionally unique and on which other positions rely.
<c4>All of the above.
<ans>d<expl>According to the functionalist explanation of social inequality all of these statements are true: all societies have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain positions must be filled; the most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people; and the most highly rewarded positions should be those that are functionally unique and on which other positions rely. (p. 216)
<tf>15
<ques>According to Max Weber, lifestyle describes the extent to which persons within a particular layer of stratification have access to important scarce resources.
<ans>F<expl>According to Max Weber, life chances describes the extent to which persons within a particular layer of stratification have access to important scarce resources. (p. 191)
<ques>Resources are anything valued in a society.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 191)
<ques>Age, gender, religion, and race/ethnicity affect people's life chances.
<ans>T<expl>None(pp. 192-193)
<ques>Around the globe, one of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is their degree of flexibility.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 193)
<ques>Social mobility refers only to people's upward mobility.
<ans>F<expl>Social mobility can be either upward or downward. (p. 193)
<ques>Vestiges of caste systems exist in contemporary India and South Africa.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 194)
<ques>The class system is based on both the ownership and control of resources and on the types of work that people do.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 194)
<ques>According to Marx, capitalistic societies create worker alienation.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 196)
<ques>Both Marx and Weber recognized the economic basis of class systems.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 197)
<ques>Unlike Marx, Weber developed a multidimensional approach to social stratification.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 197)
<ques>Socioeconomic status refers to income, occupation and education to determine class location.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 198)
<ques>Of all the class categories, according to the Weberian Model, the one most shaped by formal education is the upper class.
<ans>F<expl>The class most shaped by formal education is the upper-middle class. (p. 201)
<ques>About 5 percent of the U.S. population is in the underclass.
<ans>F<expl>About 12 percent of the U.S. population is in the underclass. (p. 202)
<ques>About 41 million people in the United States are without health insurance coverage.
<ans>T<expl>None(p. 209)
<ques>TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) has now replaced AFDC as a welfare program.
