Sociology
BLKMAMBA81
Witt10StratificationSocClass.pptxSocial Class and Stratification
How Stratification affects our life chances…
Just Getting By: Rae McCormick
Rae McCormick’s father died of a brain aneurysm when she was 11 years old; and her mother abandon her soon after.
Rae lived on her own for a while in Cleveland.
Later, she moved in & lived a short while with her sister, until Rae’s mom signed custody over to a family “friend”.
At 18, Rae’s social security survivor benefit checks stopped; the woman evicted her, and Rae was on her own again.
Rae met Donny, and they conceive a daughter, Azara.
Rae and Donny lived together off-and-on, but she left him because he abused her.
Eventually, Rae rented a room from George and Camilla (this older couple had been friends with Rae’s father).
The house they rented lacked pipes for running water; so they hauled water up from the basement in 5-gallon bucks to wash dishes, take baths & flush toilets.
Their kitchen lacked a functioning stove, so they cooked on a charcoal grill outside.
Rae simply wanted a good job, her own living space --- to raise her daughter.
She lost her job at Walmart because she could get to work, due to an empty car tank and no money.
Note: at one point she was named “Cashier of the Month”.
Her store manager told her – if she couldn’t find a way to work, don’t bother coming back. (How mean!)
Rae represents many people who are poor, live on $2 per day, and will never achieve their dreams.
Just Getting By: Rae McCormick
Homelessness & Privilege
Creating a Job: Is Social Mobility Possible?
Residing Under Freeway: Experiences of the Homeless community…
Social Inequality: A condition in which individuals have different (unequal) amounts of wealth, prestige or power. Social Inequality or Stratification is a characteristic of society.
Stratification
Stratification: the structured ranking of people that perpetuate unequal economic rewards and power in society.
Stratification: How people are ranked in a hierarchy.
Types of Rankings:
Career
Social Class
Percentage
Grades
Earn-Run-Average (ERA)
Fastest Time
GPA
Social Status
Highest Sales
Principles of Stratification
Stratification is a trait of society.
Stratification persist from generation to generation.
Stratification is universal but varies.
Stratification involves a belief (ideology) system.
Systems of Stratification
Slavery: enforce/coerced servitude (U.S. Slavery; usually ascribed; closed for slave).
Caste System: based on ascription, or birth or religion (Hinduism in India); no soc mobility.
Estate System: inheritance of one’s position defined by estate system. Nobles inherited their titles/property; peasants were born into a subservient position; peasants worked for nobles. Elements of caste in estate systems.
Systems of Stratification Cont.
Class System: Rank is based on economic positions; achievement oriented; mobility is possible.
Meritocracy (earned): focuses on personal merit – knowledge, abilities & effort. Social mobility by education.
Class systems are open; they permit movement from one class to another.
Aristocracy: social status is ascribed & membership in the privileged or elite ranks is inherited; this system presupposes innate differences between people. Aristocracy means: “ruled by the best.”
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Social Mobility
Social Mobility: Changing the social stratum into which one is born.
The ascent of persons moving from poor to rich (Oprah Winfrey) is an example of social mobility.
Upward Mobility & Sport.
Social Mobility Continued
Upward Social Mobility
Earning a college degree
Landing a high paying job
Marrying a wealthy person
Downward Social Mobility
Dropping out of school
Losing a job
Experiencing divorce
Stratification Systems
Open Stratification Systems
Open systems are reflective of class systems.
Open systems are achievement oriented.
Achievement (Law Degree) often influences one’s social position (achieved status).
Open systems encourage competition.
Closed Stratification Systems
Caste systems (Slavery or Hindu culture) are examples of closed systems.
Social placement is based on ascribed status.
Race, gender and family background are examples of ascribed (involuntary) status.
Sociological Perspectives on Stratification
Karl Marx on Class*
Max Weber’s Multidimensional Model
Davis – Moore Thesis*
Pierre Bourdieu & Cultural Capital
Karl Marx and Stratification
Social Stratification is rooted in the people’s relationship to the means of production.
People either own productive property (factories, land or busi-nesses) or ---
Sell labor to others.
Social Relations depends on who con-trols the means (mode) of production (such as land or factories).
Under feudalism, most production was agri-cultural and the nobility owned the land, while peasants worked the land.
Conflict Perspective Cont.
Marx examined social relationships w/in capitalism.
Capitalism: an economic system in which private individuals control the means of production; the primary concern is the accumulation of profits
Marx was interested in two main classes:
Bourgeoisie and
Proletariat
Bourgeoisie is a French word meaning “town dwellers.” The bourgeoisie or capitalists own the means of production (factories, land, machinery).
Bourgeoisie also control cultural beliefs and practices, e.g., the dominant ideology.
Conflict Perspective Cont.
The Proletariat is simply the working class.
This group is considered “the masses.”
The proletariat have little control over their work and what they produce; they are alienated.
Marx believed that workers would develop “class consciousness” (awareness of their common condition and interests) and proceed to overthrow capitalism --- in favor of a system of more equitable distribution, e.g., socialism or communism.
Karl Marx & Conflict
For conflict theorists, the disagreement or conflict is between:
Bourgeoisie and Proletariat
vs
Max Weber’s Multidimensional Model
Weber argued that material and social resources matter.
Weber did not view class as well defined categories, but as a continuum ranging from high to low.
Class: People with similar level of economic resources.
Two core elements: Material resources, & Skilled knowledge
Status Group: People who share the same perceived level of prestige (Prestige: respect and admiration that a particular status holds in society, e.g. doctor).
Party: the capacity to organize to accomplish so particular goal. For Weber, party was a potential resource, e.g., civil rights movement.
SES: Socioeconomic status is a measure of social class position that combines education, occupation & income.
Davis-Moore Thesis & Functionalism
Davis Moore thesis: social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of a society.
There are many occupa-tions with varying im-portance. And some jobs (car wash) can be performed by anyone.
Other jobs (nurses, radiologist) require extensive and expensive training; more skill.
Thus, the greater the functional importance of a position (job), the more rewards a society attaches to it.
Rewards include income, prestige, power or leisure.
Such stratification among occupations motivates lower level workers to strive for improved social mobility.
Occupations and Rewards Functionalist Perspective
Occupations & Societal Importance
Doctor
Lawyer
Web Designer
Teacher
Custodian
Actor
Athlete
Occupations & Actual Rewards
Doctor
Lawyer
Web Designer
Teacher
Custodian
Actor
Athlete
Rank Occupations
See page 241
Pierre Bourdieu & Cultural Capital
Cultural Capital: Our tastes, knowledge, attitudes, language and the ways of thinking that we exchange with others.
Cultural capital is rooted in our perception of reality.
Bourdieu believes that some cultural aspects are more valued than other cultural aspects.
Consequently, cultural capital is a form of power.
Social Class & Cultural Capital
Persons in different social classes possess different types of cultural capital.
NASCAR vs Mozart; or Hip hop vs Beethoven, Ballet vs hip hop dance.
The tastes of the working class differ from that of the upper class.
Those at the top can define their preferences as superior to the masses.
The bourgeoisie class can impose their “cultural will” on others.
Social Class & Cultural Capital
Material Resources: economic resources that we own or control (money, property & land).
Social Resources: prestige based on our status (judge) & connections based on social networks. “Its not what you know, its who you know.”
Cultural Resources: tastes, language and the way we view the world.
Gentrification
Gentrification: the transformation of physical, social, economic and cultural life of formerly working class or poor inner-city neighborhoods into more affluent middle class communities, as wealthier people return to the cities.
This trend began in the 1990 – in places like NY, Boston, Chicago and SF.
Gentrification then increases property values and tends to displace poorer residents.
Gentrification does not solve poverty; it forces poor people to move elsewhere…
Upward Mobility Through Sport
Myth: Sports Provides a free education.
Myth: Sports leads to a college degree.
Myth: A Professional Sports Career is Probable.
Myth: Sports is a way out of poverty.
Colin
Kaepernick
Stratification and Advertisement
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