Chapter 7Social Class in the

United States

Chapter 7 TermsSocial Stratification - the ranking of people and the rewards they receive based on an objective criteria, often including wealth, power and or prestige.

Income - is the money received for work or through investments.

Wealth - is all of your material possessions plus income

Forms of PovertyTransitional Poverty - is a temporary state of poverty that occurs when a person loses their job for a short time.

Marginal Poverty - when a person lacks stable employment.

Residual Poverty - is chronic and multigenerational poverty.

Relative Poverty- is a state of poverty that occurs when we compare ourselves to those around us.

Terms for Power and PrestigePower - is the ability to carry out your will and impose it on others.

Delegated - means given or assigned

Power Elite - is a small group of prestige who hold immense power.

Prestige - is the level of esteem associated with ones status and social standing.

Race and Poverty•In the United States there are approximately 37 million people living in poverty.

•Most lower class often live paycheck to paycheck and one hospital bill or layoff will cause financial problems

•In 2008 statistics showed that no matter what age group they were in blacks seemed to have the most poverty.

•Whites had the lowest amount of poverty

Race and Poverty•Hispanics were in 2nd place for poverty

•More than 2/3 of Americans live near the poverty line

•10% of senior citizens live at the poverty line

•½ of children in the U.S. live near the poverty line

•A poor woman is 3x more likely to have a child before marriage which explains why ½ the children are in poverty.

Race and Poverty• Most homeless receive government assistance, have little to no health care, and often lack a high school diploma.

•They often find jobs that pay them minimum wage, and often known as the urban underclass •Urban underclass - lives in disadvantaged neighborhoods that are characterized by four components: poverty, family disruption, male unemployment, and lack of individuals in high-status occupations

•Sociologist William J. Wilson stated that these components could trigger a cycle of undermining social organization

Race and Poverty•U.S. urban poor are increasingly living in neighborhoods with fewer opportunities, poor schools, weak social structures, large amounts of crime, and rampant drug use •What is the major disadvantage is that they have no role models around them

Theories (Social Stratification)

Functionalism Kingsley Davis, Wilbert Moor etc Stratification system is inevitable because people have different ability. Abilities are more or less important to society.

People need some people who do tough or stressful jobs or a job which need longer the training. These people gain grater the rewards.

The idea of “The united states is the land of opportunity” is based on functionalism. Many Millionaires believe that they succeeded because of their own ability.

Theories (Social Stratification)

Conflict Theory Melvin Tumin etc

Conflict theory has diametrically opposite interpretations of social stratification. There is nothing inevitable about inequality. Social inequality is rooted in a system that is more likely to reward you based on where you start. Not solely based on ability you have. The Social importance of a job does not seen to be the only basis for financial rewards. The US system doesn’t allow dynamic social mobility. Wealthy people stay affluence and poor people can not escape from poverty. Educational inequality of the United States can be explained by conflict theory.

Theories (Social Stratification)

Symbolic Interactionism Stuber etc

Symbolic interactionists focus how people perceive poverty and wealth. Symbolic interactionists believe social class impact to our personal belief system. For example, upper class college students are unconcerned about social class. Working class college students have to consider about their situation. Lower class people have lower expectation about future earnings and successes.

Classes in the United States

Upper or Elite Class - a social class that is very small in number and holds significant wealth.

Upper Middle Class - A social class that consists of high-income members of society who are well educated but do not belong to the elite membership of the super wealthy.

Middle Class - a social class that consists of those who have moderate incomes.

Working Class - A social class generally made up of people with high school diplomas and lower levels of education

Classes in the United States

Lower Class - Social class living in poverty

Urban Underclass - a Social class living in disadvantaged neighborhoods that are characterized by four components. Poverty, family disruption, male unemployment, and lack of individuals in high-status occupations