8.8-Summary and Review What Determines Social Class?

 Summary and Review What Determines Social Class? 

8.1 Explain the three components of social class—property, power, and prestige; distinguish between wealth and income; explain how property and income are distributed; and describe the democratic façade, the power elite, and status inconsistency. What is meant by the term social class? Most sociologists have adopted Weber’s definition of social class: a large group of people who rank closely to one another in terms of property (wealth), power, and prestige. Wealth—consisting of the value of property and income—is concentrated in the upper classes. From the 1930s to the 1970s, the trend in the distribution of wealth in the United States was toward greater equality. Since 1970, the trend has been toward greater inequality. Power is the ability to get your way even though others resist. C. Wright Mills coined the term power elite to refer to the small group that holds the reins of power in business, government, and the military. Prestige is linked to occupational status. How does occupational prestige differ around the world? From country to country, people rank occupational prestige similarly. Globally, the occupations that bring greater prestige are those that pay more, require more education and abstract thought, and offer greater independence. What is meant by the term status inconsistency? Status is social position. Most people are status consistent; that is, they rank high or low on all three dimensions of social class. People who rank higher on some dimensions than on others are status inconsistent. The frustrations of status inconsistency tend to produce political radicalism. Sociological Models of Social Class 8.2 Contrast Marx’s and Weber’s models of social class. What models are used to portray the social classes? Erik Wright developed a four-class model based on Marx: (1) capitalists (owners of large businesses), (2) petty bourgeoisie (small business owners), (3) managers, and (4) workers. Kahl and Gilbert developed a six-class model based on Weber. At the top is the capitalist class. In descending order are the upper-middle class, the lower-middle class, the working class, the working poor, and the underclass. Consequences of Social Class 8.3 Summarize the consequences of social class for physical and mental health, family life, education, religion, politics, and the criminal justice system. How does social class affect people’s lives? Social class leaves no aspect of life untouched. It affects our chances of dying early, becoming ill, receiving good health care, and getting divorced. Social class membership also affects child rearing, educational attainment, religious affiliation, political participation, the crimes people commit, and their contact with the criminal justice system. Social Mobility 8.4 Contrast the three types of social mobility, review gender issues in research on social mobility, and explain why social mobility brings pain. What are three types of social mobility? The term intergenerational mobility refers to changes in social class from one generation to the next. Structural mobility refers to changes in society that lead large numbers of people to change their social class. Exchange mobility is the movement of large numbers of people from one social class to another, with the net result that the relative proportions of the population in the classes remain about the same. Poverty 8.5 Explain the problems in drawing the poverty line and how poverty is related to geography, race–ethnicity, education, feminization, and age. Who are the poor? The poverty line, although it has serious consequences, is arbitrary. Poverty is unequally distributed in the United States. Racial–ethnic minorities (except Asian Americans), children, households headed by women, and rural Americans are more likely than others to be poor. The poverty rate of the elderly is less than that of the general population. 8.6 Contrast the dynamics of poverty with the culture of poverty, explain why people are poor and how deferred gratification is related to poverty, and comment on the Horatio Alger myth. Why are people poor? They dynamics of poverty (huge numbers moving into and out of poverty) indicate that the culture of poverty is not generally true. Rather than looking at the characteristics of individuals as the cause of poverty, sociologists stress the structural features of society, such as employment opportunities. There also are poverty triggers. Sociologists generally conclude that life orientations are a consequence, not the cause, of people’s position in the social class structure. 262 How is the Horatio Alger myth functional for society? The Horatio Alger myth—the belief that anyone can get ahead if only he or she tries hard enough—encourages people to strive to get ahead. It also stabilizes society by deflecting blame for failure from society to the individual. 8.7 Discuss the possibility that we are developing a three-tier society. What is meant by a three-tier society? Trends indicate an alarming future. In the top tier of a three-tier society will live a wealthy ruling elite. In the middle tier will be well-compensated people who serve this elite. At the bottom tier will be a large underclass considered dangerous to society. It will be kept under control by welfare, entertainment, drugs, and a militarized police force. Key Terms View Flashcards Key Terms View Flashcards Thinking Critically about Chapter 8 The belief that the United States is the land of opportunity draws millions of legal and illegal immigrants to the United States. How do the materials in this chapter support or undermine this belief? In what three ways is social class having an ongoing impact on your life? What social mobility has your own family experienced? In what ways has this affected your life? What indications do you see that we are or are not developing a three-tier society?