Economy

1. ANTHONY GIDDENS ● MITCHELL DUNEIER ● RICHARD P.APPELBAUM ● DEBORAH CARR
Fourth Edition
Chapter 7: Stratification, Class, and Inequality

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Homeless to Harvard
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Social stratification
• Social stratification is structured
inequality between groups.
• This inequality may be based on
economics, gender, race, religion,
age, or another factor.
• Three key aspects:
Class, status, and power—from Max
Weber
• What is at stake is power.
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Characteristics of stratification systems
Three primary characteristics:
•Systems of inequality are organized
around groups with a shared characteristic.
•The social location of a group is
significant in terms of the life chances of
members.
•Rankings of groups change only very
slowly.
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Three basic models
• Slavery—ownership of certain
people
• Caste—status for life
Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors),
Vaishyas (commerce), Shudras (workmen).
• Class—positions based on
economics
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Class systems
• In modern societies, class systems
dominate.
• While class systems do allow for social
mobility, opportunities are not evenly
distributed across social groups.
• Class has a significant impact on many
aspects of life, including education,
occupation, place of residence,
marriage partner, and more.
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• Two important debates today:
1. Will caste systems develop into
class systems as we observe global
structural change?
2. Is inequality declining in class
systems as a result of expanded
social programs, e.g., education?
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Questions about class systems

8. Figure 7.1 The Kuznets Curve
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How do stratification systems look
today?
• In modern, industrialized societies,
there is little overt support for rigid
systems of inequality.
• Remaining caste systems appear to be
transitioning into class systems.
• From the time of World War II to the
1970s, class boundaries appeared to
soften, but they have been hardening
since the 1970s.
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Marx and class conflict
• Karl Marx was very interested in class
relations in capitalist societies.
• Class was determined solely by one’s
relation to the means of production.
– Proletariat and bourgeoisie
– Group membership utterly determined
life chances.
• Ultimately, the proletariat would
overthrow the bourgeoisie, ending the
reign of capitalism.
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Weber: Class and status
• For Max Weber, position in a
stratification system was not based
on economics alone: social status
was also significant.
• Weber’s multidimensional approach
is attractive to those who believe that
social prestige and power can be
independent of economics.
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Functionalist approaches
• Functionalist theorists attempt to
understand what role inequality plays
in keeping society at equilibrium.
• Davis and Moore (1945) argued that
stratification benefited society by
ensuring that the most important
roles would be filled by the most
talented and worthy people.
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What is social class?
• Social class is some mixture of:
– Age
– Income
– Education
– Occupation
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Race and wealth
• Though race is not an actual
component of class, there is a clear
intersection.
• Research shows that nonwhites
generally have less wealth and
education than other social groups.
• Nonwhites are also much more likely
to experience discrimination when
buying homes.
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Median net worth of American families
based on various social factors
Source: U.S. Federal Reserve Board 2009.
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Social Inequality in the U.S.

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SOURCE: U.S. Federal Reserve Board 2011.
Social Inequality in the U.S.
Nonwhite or Hispanic
White, non-Hispanic
Renter
Owner
EDUCATION
No high school
High school
Some college
College degree
AGE
0
35
45
55
65
75
RACE OR ETHNICITY
HOME OWNERSHIP
$300,000
$225,000
$150,000
$75,000
$0
Median net worth of American families based on various social factors

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SOURCE: U.S. Federal Reserve Board 2011.
Social Inequality in the U.S.
Median net worth by percentile
0% 25% 50% 75% 90%
PERCENTILE OF NET WORTH
$2m
$1m
$0
100%

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Income distribution
Figure 7.2 Distribution of Income in the United States, 1967–2010
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census 2010b.

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The recession
• The increase in subprime lending to minority
communities led to disproportionate rates of
default and foreclosure among those same
groups, beginning in 2006.
• Following this, the real estate bubble burst,
and recession set in.

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Higher education
• College graduates earn approximately $20,000
more per year, $650,000 more over a 40-year
work life, than nongrads.
• There is also stratification within college
graduates:
 Degrees emphasizing numerical competency
 higher incomes
• Finishing high school is still critical

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Occupational prestige
Occupation Rank (1 = most prestigious; 16 = least
prestigious)
Accountant _________________________________
Cab driver _________________________________
Carpenter _________________________________
Classical musician _________________________________
Electrical engineer _________________________________
Garbage collector _________________________________
Journalist _________________________________
Physician _________________________________
Police officer _________________________________
Real estate agent _________________________________
Registered nurse _________________________________
Secretary _________________________________
Shoe shiner _________________________________
Social worker _________________________________
Sociologist _________________________________
Waiter or waitress _________________________________
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The rankings
1. Physician
2. Electrical engineer
3. Sociologist
4. Accountant
5. Registered nurse
6. Classical musician
7. Police officer
8. Journalist
9. Social worker
10. Secretary
11. Real estate agent
12. Carpenter
13. Cab driver
14. Waiter or waitress
15. Garbage collector
16. Shoe shiner
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The American middle class
• The United States understands itself
as a middle-class society.
• This fits with strongly held
ideologies, including classlessness,
meritocracy, and the work ethic.
• Middle-class ideologies tend to
promote the reproduction of
inequality.
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The American Superrich
• 1940s: 13,000 people worth > $1
million
• 2008: 6.7 million millionaire
households, 371 billionaires
• 2013: 5.22 million millionaires
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Social mobility
• Social mobility is the movement of
people up or down the stratification
system.
• Class systems allow for more
movement than slave or caste
systems.
• Even so, it remains quite difficult to
achieve upward, intergenerational
social mobility.
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Rising income inequality
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