Transcript MYTHS ABOUT SOCIAL CLASS IN THE U.S.

Stratification and Inequality
1. Stratification
2. Stratification Systems
What is Social Stratification?
 Social stratification refers to the division of
a society into layers (or strata) whose
occupants have unequal access to social
opportunities and rewards
What is Social Stratification?
 People in the top strata enjoy privileges that
are not available to other members of society
 People in the bottom strata endure penalties
that other members of society escape
Stratification
 In a stratified society, inequality is part of the
social structure and passes from one
generation to the next
 Inequality describes a condition in which
members of a society have different amounts
of wealth, prestige, or power
Systems of Stratification
 Slavery
 Castes
 Estates
 Social classes
Slavery In Egypt
This social stratification in ancient Egypt was like a pyramid
Slavery In Egypt
 At the bottom Slaves and Farmers - they support the
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rest of the structure
Above were skilled Craftsmen
Scribes (the only Egyptians who knew how to read
and write)
Priests and doctors (these priests did not preach,
their duties were: perform material and ritually magic
services to the god of his temple and Perform funeral
rites for the dead)
High Priests and Nobles - they served as generals
and administrators, and formed the government.
The Vizier was the Pharaoh's closest advisor.
Pharaoh was not simply a ruler, but was considered a
god on the earth
Slavery (closed system)
 Extreme form of legalized social inequality
 People are owned by other people
 CAUSES:
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Pay off debt
Violation of the law
War and conquest
 CONDITIONS
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Slavery was not always inheritable
A caste system (closed system)
 Castes are hereditary systems of occupation,
social class, and political power
 In other words, the assignment of individuals
to places in the social hierarchy
A caste system (closed system)
 Rigid system of inequality
 Caste position is strictly defined
 There is no social mobility from one caste to
another
 Caste relationships are relatively conflict free
(powerful position of the upper caste and
ideology that justifies caste position)
 There is little deviance on the part of the
lower castes because of fear of harsh
punishment
Caste system of India
 A well-known society with a caste system is
India
 People are born into a caste
 Caste membership determines your
occupation, social interaction, power, and
education
 No amount of achievement will change your
caste position.
Example of caste system
Example: India's Caste System
Teachers and religious people
Brahman
Kshatriya
Viashia
Shudra
Untouchable
Warriors
Merchants and craftsman
Laborers and farmers
These people work with the
dead, both animal and human.
They are undertakers,
butchers, and leather workers.
Stratification Triangle
Inequalities among castes
 Inequalities among castes are considered to
be part of the divinely ordained natural order
and are expressed in terms of purity and
pollution
Rule of Interaction in a caste society
 Endogamy- In a caste society, people have
to marry within their own caste.
 Ritual Pollution - Contact between members
of the upper caste and the lower caste is
inappropriate (seen by the members of the
upper caste as unclean)
 Upper caste individuals avoid even the
shadow of an untouchable
 The shadow of an untouchable's house is
polluting to members of the upper castes.
Caste System
 Caste System in India
 The Untouchables (Part I)
 The Untouchables (Part II)
The chastity of women
 The chastity of women is strongly related to caste
status
 Generally, the higher ranking the caste, the more
sexual control its women are expected to exhibit
 Brahman brides should be virginal, faithful to one
husband, and celibate in widowhood
 By contrast, a Sweeper bride may or may not be a
virgin, extramarital affairs may be tolerated, and, if
widowed or divorced, the woman is encouraged to
remarry
The chastity of women
 For the higher castes, such control of female
sexuality helps ensure purity of lineage--of
crucial importance to maintenance of high
status
Estates (Feudalism)-closed system
 Middle ages
 Nobility(5%)—own land and do not work
 The mass, peasants required to work for
military protection
 Nobles inherited their titles/property
Social classes – open system
 Class system is a social ranking based
primary on economic position in which
achieved characteristics can influence
mobility
 People who occupy the same layer of the
socioeconomic hierarchy are known as a
social class (Bassis, 1990)
 or a group of people who rank closely to one
another in wealth, power, and prestige
Social classes in the USA
Class
Percentage of
Population
Annual Income
Upper Class
1-3%
at least $100,000
Upper Middle Class
~10%
$50,000 - $100,000
Lower Middle Class
30-40%
$35,000- $49,999
Working Class
30-40%
$15,000- $34,000
Lower Class
20-25%
less than $15,000
Upper class
A. Upper-upper class (wealth is inherited rather than
earned (old money) The term commonly includes all
"blue bloods" (multi-generational wealth combined
with leadership of high society) such as Roosevelt
families
A. Lower-upper class (depend on earning rather than
wealth (new rich), exceptional accomplishments
(the athlete who accepts a million-dollar contract to
play in a big leagues, the clever computer
programmer who designs the anew program that
sets a standard for the industry…
Upper class
 Members of the upper class control and own
significant portions of the corporate America and may
exercise indirect power through the investment of
capital.
 Yet another important feature of the upper class is
that of inherited privilege
 Upper class persons do not need to work in order to
maintain their status
 Overall, the upper class is the financially best
compensated and one of the most influential socioeconomic classes in American society
Class Characteristics (Middle class)
 Upper-middle class – comfortable house in a
fairly expensive area, several cars, some
investments, college education, and
postgraduate degree. Many work in white
collar fields – medicine, engineering, law, or
business executives
 Lower-middle class – might work as bank
tellers, middle managers, sales clerks or
highly skilled blue-collar jobs (electrical work
or carpentry)
Class Characteristics (Working class)
 Working class- mostly blue-collar
occupations, live in lower-cost
neighborhoods, few working class people can
afford college education for themselves and
their children
Class Characteristics (lower class)
 Lower class – low-prestige jobs that provide
minimal income. Only some complete high
school, college degree is usually out of reach.
Large number lives in deteriorating areas, in
rental housing, work two or three jobs
 Minorities
 Single (female headed) parents
 About 15% of population (40 mil.) 1994
 Poverty line--~$12,812 (1991)-- $15,141
(1994)--$16,400 (1997)--17,050 (2000).
How to measure Social Class?
 Objective Measures (the researcher makes
a determination about an individual's class
position)
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Education
Occupation (prestige ranking)
Income
Wealth
Residence (sometimes)
 Subjective Measure (individual’s opinion)
Objective measure of social class
 Prestige refers to the respect and admiration
with which an occupation is regarded by
society
 National surveys are used to assign prestige
ranking to more than 500 occupations (90 to
10 scores)
Prestige Ranking of Occupations (high)
Occupation
Score Occupation
Score
Physician
86
Registered nurse
62
College teacher
78
Pharmacist
61
Lawyer
76
Computer programmer 60
Dentist
74
Accountant
56
Bank officer
72
Painter
55
Airline pilot
70
Librarian
54
Clergy
69
Actor
52
Sociologist
66
Funeral director
51
Secondary school teacher
63
Athlete
50
Prestige Ranking of Occupations (low)
Occupation
Score
Occupation
Score
Electrician
49
Baker
34
Police officer
48
Salesclerk
29
Insurance agent
47
Gas station attendant
22
Secretary
46
Waiter and Waitress
20
Air traffic controller
43
Laundry operator
17
Mail carrier
42
Garbage collector
16
Owner of a farm
41
Janitor
15
Restaurant manager
39
Usher
14
Automobile mechanic
37
Shoeshiner
12
Ranking might change over time
 Mass media impact (“Law and Order”)
 Propaganda
 Social movements
LIFE-CHANCES AND S.E.S.
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HEALTH AND MEDICINE
ACCESS TO CULTURE
SOCIALIZATION (different orientations for children)
POLITICAL ORIENTATION
DATING/MARRIAGE
CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
CHILD REARING
NUTRITION
SERVING IN ARMED FORCES
RESIDENTIAL LOCATION
Class and Life Chances
 Education: upper 1/5--79% go to college,
bottom 1/5-- 30%
 Health: Infant mortality--70% higher in poor
families, poorer more likely to suffer from
serious illness (physical and psychological)
 15% of population has no health insurance
and this is NOT the same group as the
POOR.
 Life expectancy 5-7 years less
(environmental factors, occupation, nutrition)
Class and Life Chances
 Crime: poorer--more likely to be victims
(especially violence, including robbery
 If accused--more likely to spend time in jail),
more likely to receive harsher sentence.
 Military: poorer--more likely to serve and get
shot.
 Poor--target of lotteries and alcohol
advertising.
Social mobility
 Intergenerational mobility refers to adult
children ending up in a different social class
A. Upward social mobility-father (sells used
cars)-son goes to college and then buys a
Toyota dealership
B. Downward social mobility – father is a
dealer, son drops out of college and ends up
selling cars
Social mobility
 Structural mobility refers to changes in the society
that cause large number of people to move up or
down the class ladder (computers and new types of
jobs, coving companies oversees)
 Exchange mobility – occurs when large number of
people move up or down the social class ladder, but
on balance, the proportions of the social classes
remain about the same (many working-class people
are trained in computers, moved to higher social
class, then about the same number of foreigners
occupied the lower positions)