9.1 What Is Social Stratification?

Stratification systems are either closed, meaning they allow little change in social position, or open, meaning they allow movement and interaction between the layers. A caste system is one in which social standing is based on ascribed status or birth. Class systems are open, with achievement playing a role in social position. People fall into classes based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation. A meritocracy is a system of social stratification that confers standing based on personal worth, rewarding effort.

9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

There are three main classes in the United States: upper, middle, and lower class. Social mobility describes a shift from one social class to another. Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class.

9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality

Global stratification compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole. By comparing income and productivity between nations, researchers can better identify global inequalities.

9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

Social stratification can be examined from different sociological perspectives functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The functionalist perspective states that systems exist in society for good reasons. Conflict theorists observe that stratification promotes inequality, such as between rich business owners and poor workers. Symbolic interactionists examine stratification from a micro-level perspective. They observe how social standing affects people s everyday interactions and how the concept of  social class is constructed and maintained through everyday interactions..

Section 9.1 - What Is Social Stratification?

  • social stratification: a socioeconomic system that divides society s members into categories ranking from high to low, based on things like wealth, power, and prestige
  • income: the money a person earns from work or investments
  • wealth: the value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance
  • caste system: a system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives
  • class system: social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments
  • class: a group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation
  • exogamous unions: unions of spouses from different social categories
  • endogamous marriages: unions of people within the same social category
  • meritocracy: an ideal system in which personal effort  or merit  determines social standing
  • status consistency: the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual's rank across social categories like income, education, and occupation
  • primogeniture: a law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son

Section 9.2 - Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

  • standard of living: the level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle
  • social mobility: the ability to change positions within a social stratification system
  • upward mobility: an increase  or upward shift  in social class
  • downward mobility: a lowering of one s social class
  • intergenerational mobility: a difference in social class between different generations of a family
  • intragenerational mobility: a difference in social class between different members of the same generation
  • structural mobility: a societal change that enables a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder
  • class traits: the typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class (also called class markers)

Section 9.3 - Global Stratification and Inequality

  • global stratification: a comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole
  • Davis-Moore thesis: a thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity
  • conspicuous consumption: the act of buying and using products to make a statement about social standing

Section 9.1 What Is Social Stratification?

Recent Economic Changes and U.S. Stratification
Systems of Stratification
 The Caste System
 The Class System
 Meritocracy
Status Consistency

Section 9.2 Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

Standard of Living
Social Classes in the United States
 The Upper Class
 The Middle Class
 The Lower Class
Social Mobility
Class Traits

Section 9.3 Global Stratification and Inequality

Models of Global Stratification

Section 9.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

Functionalism
Conflict Theory
Symbolic Interactionism

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10.1 Global Stratification and Classification

Stratification refers to the gaps in resources both between nations and within nations. While economic equality is of great concern, so is social equality, like the discrimination stemming from race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and/or sexual orientation. While global inequality is nothing new, several factors make it more relevant than ever, like the global marketplace and the pace of information sharing. Researchers try to understand global inequality by classifying it according to factors such as how industrialized a nation is, whether a country serves as a means of production or as an owner, and what income a nation produces.

10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty

When looking at the world s poor, we first have to define the difference between relative poverty, absolute poverty, and subjective poverty. While those in relative poverty might not have enough to live at their country s standard of living, those in absolute poverty do not have, or barely have, basic necessities such as food. Subjective poverty has more to do with one s perception of one s situation. North America and Europe are home to fewer of the world s poor than Africa, which has most poor countries, or Asia, which has the most people living in poverty. Poverty has numerous negative consequences, from increased crime rates to a detrimental impact on physical and mental health.

10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification

Modernization theory and dependency theory are two of the most common lenses sociologists use when looking at the issues of global inequality. Modernization theory posits that countries go through evolutionary stages and that industrialization and improved technology are the keys to forward movement. Dependency theory, on the other hand, sees modernization theory as Eurocentric and patronizing. With this theory, global inequality is the result of core nations creating a cycle of dependence by exploiting resources and labor in peripheral and semi-peripheral countries.

Section 10.1  Global Stratification and Classification

  • global inequality: the concentration of resources in core nations and in the hands of a wealthy minority
  • GINI coefficient: a measure of income inequality between countries using a 100-point scale, in which 1 represents complete equality and 100 represents the highest possible inequality
  • global stratification: the unequal distribution of resources between countries
  • first world: a term from the Cold War era that is used to describe industrialized capitalist democracies
  • second world: a term from the Cold War era that describes nations with moderate economies and standards of living
  • third world: a term from the Cold War era that refers to poor, unindustrialized countries
  • fourth world: a term that describes stigmatized minority groups who have no voice or representation on the world stage
  • core nations: dominant capitalist countries
  • peripheral nations: nations on the fringes of the global economy, dominated by core nations, with very little industrialization
  • semi-peripheral nations: in-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but acting as a major source of raw materials and an expanding middle class marketplace
  • gross national income (GNI): the income of a nation calculated based on goods and services produced, plus income earned by citizens and corporations headquartered in that country
  • capital flight: the movement (flight) of capital from one nation to another, via jobs and resources
  • deindustrialization: the loss of industrial production, usually to peripheral and semi-peripheral nations where the costs are lower
  • debt accumulation: the buildup of external debt, wherein countries borrow money from other nations to fund their expansion or growth goals

Section 10.2  Global Wealth and Poverty

  • relative poverty: the state of poverty where one is unable to live the lifestyle of the average person in the country
  • absolute poverty: the state where one is barely able, or unable, to afford basic necessities
  • subjective poverty: a state of poverty composed of many dimensions, subjectively present when one s actual income does not meet one s expectations
  • underground economy: an unregulated economy of labor and goods that operates outside of governance, regulatory systems, or human protections
  • global feminization of poverty: a pattern that occurs when women bear a disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty
  • chattel slavery: a form of slavery in which one person owns another
  • debt bondage: the act of people pledging themselves as servants in exchange for money for passage, and are subsequently paid too little to regain their freedom

Section 10.3  Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification

  • modernization theory: a theory that low-income countries can improve their global economic standing by industrialization of infrastructure and a shift in cultural attitudes towards work
  • dependency theory: a theory which states that global inequity is due to the exploitation of peripheral and semi-peripheral nations by core nations

Section 10.1 Global Stratification and Classification

Global Stratification
Global Classification
 Cold War Terminology
 Immanuel Wallerstein: World Systems Approach
 World Bank Economic Classification by Income
 High-Income Nations
 Middle-Income Nations
 Low-Income Nations

Section 10.2 Global Wealth and Poverty

Types of Poverty
Who Are the Impoverished?
 Global Feminization of Poverty
 Africa
 Asia
 MENA
Consequences of Poverty
Slavery

Section 10.3 Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification

Modernization Theory
Dependency Theory

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