Stratification

Social Differentiation &
Stratification

The American Reality
O Inequality – unequal access to scares
goods and resources
O Social differentiation – how people vary
according to social characteristics
O Different than inequality

Stratification
O Social stratification – ranking of people
according to their wealth, power or
prestige
O The more complex a society, the wider the
divisions of labor and variations in social
positions

Stratification
O Durkheim
O Mechanical vs. organic solidarity
O Increased division of labor did NOT in fact
produce great solidarity in our society

Stratification
O Systems of stratification
O Status is acquired through
ascription or achievement
(usually a combination of both)

Systems of Stratification
Open Systems Closed Systems
O Individual O Status is
accomplishments determined at birth
are encouraged and O Social mobility is
social mobility based on a person’s
rewarded with social position
advancements O Individual
O Equality is based on achievement is not
achievement rewarded

O Caste system
O A person’s social status is ascribed at birth
O Worth is judged on the basis of religious or
traditional beliefs about the person or the
person’s family

O Estate system
O Law and memberships through inheritance
determine the mobility of a person
O Status is ascribed
O Social mobility is limited, but possible

O Europe during the Middle Ages
O First estate – nobility, wealthy families,
powerful landowners
O Second estate – clergy
O Third estate – serfs, commoners, laborers

O Slave system
O Belief in the ownership of humans for labor
O Labor seen as a means to pay off a debt
O Indentured servitude

O Class system
O Social status is defined in terms of wealth
and income
O Technically an open system
O No legal definitions of class
O Assumes social mobility

Dimensions of a Class System
O Max Weber
O Class
O Status
O Party (power)

O Social class
O Ranking generally based on one’s wealth
O Wealth is gained through income and
occupation, power derived from wealth,
and “life chances”
O Opportunities people have to improve their
social class status
O Occupations, housing and lifestyle,
education, medical care, criminal justice, etc.

O Social status
O Amount of honor and prestige a person
receives from others in the community
O Can be acquired by birth, living in an
expensive neighborhood, attending a
prestigious school, joining high status
groups, buying expensive goods, holding
respected positions, etc.

O Party (power)
O Having authority and respect usually within
an organization in which decisions are
made to reach the group’s goals

O Socioeconomic status
O Considers income, education, and
occupation when assessing a person’s
status
O How do you classify people who have
“status inconsistency”?

Social Class in the US
O Upper class
O Those who have considerable wealth
O Wealth includes personal property, liquid
assets, real estate, stocks, bonds and
other owned assets
O “Old money” vs. “new money”

O Middle class
O 53% of Americans self-identify as middle
class

Pew Institute
Sector % of Income Education Marital Demographics
Populatio Status
n
Top 39% $50-100k Most likely to 70% married While males
(Positive have college ages 30-49
outlook) degree
Satisfied 25% $30-49k Less than Unmarried White women
(Positive college ages 18-29 &
outlook) education over 65
Anxious 23% $$50-99k Some college Married White ages 30-
(Negative 49
outlook)
Strugglin 13% $20k or High school or Unmarried Mostly white,
g less less but most
(Mostly minorities in this
negative group

O Lower class
O Usually have the least amount of education
and most difficulty with employment
O Self-identification is very unlikely
O Women, children and minorities are vastly
overrepresented

O Poverty
O Having fewer resources than necessary to
meet the basic necessities of life
O Poverty index
O US Census Bureau

O Poverty rate in 2010 – 15.1%, up from 14.3% in
2009, up from 12.5% in 2007
O Highest rate since 1993
O In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty
O Largest number in the history of the census
O Poverty – Whites (9.4% to 9.9%), Asians
(12.1%), Hispanics (25.3% to 26.6%), Blacks
(25.8% to 27.4%)
O Children (20.7% to 22%), People 18-64 (12.9%
13.7%)

O 2007 - $21,203 for a family of four –
12.5%
O 2005 - $19,874 for a family of four –
12.6%
O Only 5% of the poor could be working but
are not
O In 2007 28.3% of female-headed
households were living in poverty

O Class consciousness
O Awareness that different classes exist in
society and that people’s fates are tied to
the fate of their whole class
O Upper class is the most likely in the US to
have class consciousness

O Income inequalities

O Social mobility in the US
O Upward and downward mobility
O Split labor market
O Great obstacles for women, the poor and
minorities

Theories of Stratification
O Structural Functionalism
O Society is self-regulating and self-
maintaining
O Stratification must serve a function
O People with strong leadership skills are
needed to run complex societies
O Society encourages these leaders by
rewarding them with wealth and status
O People who make more worthwhile
contributions to the functioning of society
are rewarded better

O Conflict theory
O Inequality develops as a result of people’s
lust for power
O Groups compete with one another for
scare resources that are a source of power
O These resources are not rewards, but are
acquired through inheritance, coercion and
exploitation

O Conflict theory
O Once a group has power, it must legitimate
its power by appealing to the values of the
masses
O False consciousness – masses are
influenced by elite ideology and show a
lack of awareness of their own interests
and an acceptance of elite rule

Stratification

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Stratification

Editor's Notes