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SOC101IntrotoSociology12ech8.pptxSocial Class in the United States
Chapter 8
Introduction to Sociology 12e
by Henry L. Tischler
Learning Objectives
Explain the factors that affect a person’s chances of upward social mobility.
Describe the distribution of wealth and income in the United States.
Summarize the functionalist and conflict theory views of social stratification.
Describe the characteristics of each of the social classes in the United States.
Describe differences in the poverty rate among various groups in American society.
Compare poverty rates in the United States with those of other industrialized countries.
Describe some of the personal and social consequences of a person’s position in the class structure.
Social Class
A category of people who share similar opportunities, economic and vocational positions, lifestyles, and attitudes and behaviors
A system of stratification that has several different divisions and permits social mobility
The American Class Structure
Upper class
Upper-middle class
Middle-middle class
Lower-middle class
Lower class
The Upper Class
Great wealth
Recognize one another by reputation and lifestyle
High prestige and lifestyle
Influence society’s basic economic and political structures
Usually isolate themselves from the rest of society
The Upper-Middle Class
Successful business and professional people and their families
Usually just below the top in an organizational hierarchy, but still command a reasonably high income
Often have a college education, own property, and have a savings reserve
Usually live in comfortable homes in the more exclusive areas of a community, are active in civic groups, and carefully plan for the future
Very likely belong to a church
The Middle-Middle Class
Similar to upper-middle class, lacking in higher income and education
Semi-professional, clerical, upper-level labor
The Lower-Middle Class
Skilled and semi-skilled labor
Assembly, mechanical, and repair work
Most powerfully affected by economic downturn
The Lower Class
Undereducated
Minimal occupational skills / high unemployment rate
Higher incidence of family-related problems
Disproportionate numbers of minorities
Household Income by Quintile, 2015
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Table H-1. Income Limits for Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of All Households: 1967 to 2015 (https://census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-households.html), accessed July 6th, 2017.
Poverty
Condition in which people do not have enough money to maintain a standard of living that includes the basic necessities of lie
People living in certain regions of the United States are much more likely to live in poverty than those living elsewhere
The Feminization of Poverty
The feminization of poverty is both not as bad as, and much worse than, the previous statement suggests.
Families headed by divorced mothers are doing better than the numbers suggest, whereas families headed by never-married mothers are doing much worse.
Single mothers without a high school diploma often have difficulty finding a job that pays enough to cover child-care costs, leading to a dependence on welfare programs.
How Do We Count the Poor?
Government-devised index of specific income levels, below which people are considered to be living in poverty
Poverty today is measured based on a 1965 study by an economist at the Social Security, Mollie Orshansky.
Orshansky SSA Measure of Poverty
Orshansky took the cost of a basic, low-cost, nutritionally adequate diet.
She then multiplied it by three, because, at the time, food accounted for a third of a family’s expenses.
Using this formula, these has been little change in the poverty rate since the 1970s.
Number in Poverty and Poverty Rates, 1960–2015
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements, accessed July 5th, 2017.
Three Major Criticisms of the Poverty Index
In 1965, about one-quarter of federal welfare benefits were in the form of goods and services.
Poverty measure looks only at income, not at assets. If the value of a home or other assets were included, the poverty rate would also be lower.
The poverty threshold is possibly unrealistically low. Poverty status should be determined by comparing a person’s financial situation with that of the rest of society.
Myths About the Poor
People are poor because they are too lazy to work.
Most poor people are minorities, and most minorities are poor.
Most of the poor are single mothers with children.
Most people in poverty live in the inner cities.
Welfare programs for the poor are straining the federal budget.
The Changing Face of Poverty
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements, accessed July 5th, 2017.
The United States has made progress in combating poverty among the elderly but not among other groups.
Consequences of Social Stratification
A sociological issue
or
A personal issue?
Social Inequality – Functionalist Theory
Functionalism is based on the assumption that the major social structures contribute to the maintenance of the social system.
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (1945)
Functionalist Theory of Stratification
As presented by Davis and Moore:
Different positions in society make different levels of contributions to the well-being and preservation of society.
Filling the more complex and important positions in society often requires talent that is scarce and has a long period of training.
Providing unequal rewards ensures that the most-talented and best-trained individuals will fill the roles of greatest importance.
Social Inequality – Conflict Theory
Karl Marx – Theory of Stratification:
Must look at the economic conditions centering around producing the necessities of life.
Stratification emerged from the power struggles for scarce resources.
Marx and the Distribution of Wealth
To each according to need
To each according to want
To each according to what is earned
To each according to what can be obtained – by whatever means
Max Weber – Expansion on Marx
Group conflict is a basic ingredient of society.
People are motivated by self-interest.
Those who do not have property can defend their interests less well than those who have property.
Economic institutions are of fundamental importance in shaping the rest of society.
Those in power promote ideas and values that help them maintain their dominance.
Only when exploitation becomes extremely obvious will the powerless object.
Rejected the notion that conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat was the only, or even the most important, conflict relationship in society.
Social Inequality – Conflict Theory
Max Weber – Theory of Stratification:
Three sources of stratification:
Economic class
Social status
Political power
Economic classes arise out of the unequal distribution of economic power, a point on which Marx and Weber agreed
Modern Conflict Theory
Social inequality emerges through the domination of one or more groups by other groups.
Those who are dominated have the potential express resistance and hostility toward those in power.
Those in power will be extremely resistant to any attempts to share their advantages.
What are thought to be the common values of society are really the values of the dominant groups.
Because those in power are engaged in exploitative relationships, they must find mechanisms of social control to keep the masses in line.
