Chapter 8: Social Differentiation and Social Stratification
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Status
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A socially defined position in a group or society
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Social Differentiation
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The process by which different statuses develop in any group, organization, or society
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Social Stratification
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A system of structured social inequality
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Estate System
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The ownership of property and the exercise of power are monopolized by an elite class who have total control over societal resources
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Caste System
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One's place in the stratification system is an ascribed status, meaning it is a quality given to an individual by circumstances of birth
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Class System
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Stratification exists, but a person's placement in the class system can change according to personal achievements; that is, class depends to some degree on achieved status, which is one earned through the acquisition of resources and power regardless of one's origins
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Life Chances
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The opportunities that people have in common by virtue of belonging to a particular class
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Conspicuous Consumption
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The ostentatious display of goods to define one's social status
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Economic Restructuring
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The decline of manufacturing jobs in the United States, the transformation of the economy by technological change, and the process of globalization
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Income
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The amount of money brought into a household from various sources (wages, investment income, dividends, etc.) during a given period of time
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Wealth
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The monetary value of everything one actually owns
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Net Worth
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The dollar amount of the sum of all financial assets and subtracting all debts
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Sedimentation of racial inequality
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The differing assets Whites and Blacks in general hold now
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Status Attainment
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The process by which people end up in a given position in the stratification system
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Socioeconomic Status (SES)
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Derived from certain factors, most significantly: income, occupational prestige, and education
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Median Income
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The midpoint of all household incomes for a society
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Prestige
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The value others assign to people and groups
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Occupational Prestige
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The subjective evaluation people give to jobs
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Educational Attainment
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Final major indicator of socioeconomic status, typically measured as the total years of formal education
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Upper Class
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Owns the major share of corporate and personal wealth
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Nouveau Riche
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Those in the upper class with newly acquired wealth
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Upper-Middle Class
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Those with high incomes and high social prestige
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Middle Class
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Difficult to define, half of Americans identify themselves as middle class, and vary widely in lifestyles and resources at their disposal
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Lower-Middle Class (working class)
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Workers in the skilled trades and low-income bureaucratic workers, many of whom would identify as middle class
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Lower Class
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Primarily the displaced and poor, with little formal education who are either unemployed or work minimum wage jobs
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Working poor
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Those who work at least 27 hours a week but whose wages fall below the poverty line
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Professional-Managerial Class
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The middle class, includes managers, supervisors, and professionals
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Meritocracy
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A system in which one's status is based on merit or accomplishments, not other social characteristics
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Social Mobility
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A person's movement over time from one class to another
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Closed Class System
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A system in which movement from one class to another is virtually impossible
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Open Class System
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Placement is based on individual achievement
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Downward Social Mobility
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Most people stay in the same social class as their parents, but when they do move, some people actually drop to a lower level
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Class Consciousness
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The perception that a class structure exists along with a feeling of shared identification with other in one's class, those with whom you share life chances
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False Consciousness
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(Marx) Used to describe the class consciousness of subordinate classes who have internalized the view of the dominant class
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Capitalist Class (Marx)
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Those who own the means of production
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Working Class (Marx)
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(Proletariat) Those who sell their labor for wages
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Petty Bourgeoisie
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Small business owners and managers
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Lumpenproletariat
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Those who have become unnecessary as workers and are discarded
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Ideology
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Belief systems that support the status quo
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The Poverty Line
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The amount of money needed to support the basic needs of a household, as determined by the government; below this line is considered officially poor
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Feminization of Poverty
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A large portion of the poor are women and children
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Concentrated Poverty
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Means that there are areas of counties, cities, or states where larger percentages of people are poor
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
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Stipulates a lifetime limit of five years for people to receive aid and requires all welfare recipients to find work within two years
