SOCI 1001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Meritocracy
5 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
In life we are not randomly dealt cards. Memberships in certain categories influence what cards you"re dealt. Common sense beliefs: everyone has the same potential. If you fail, its because you didn"t work hard enough. Meritocracy: getting ahead in life is based on individual merit. Factors impact on a person ability to succeed. Ascribed statuses play a large role in the opportunities and barriers they face (deck is stacked against them) Our ascribed statuses affect our achieved statues. Ex: child born into wealth= access to post secondary edu/ medical care. Privilege: many groups have more opportunities then others. The way, in which society is organized into predictable relationships, patterns. Social stratification: the way that society categorizes people in hierarchy (based on property, prestige and power) 5 principles: its social, not natural, persistent, even as societies evolve, present in all complex. Societies: supported by ideology, its micro- as well as macro-level.
