SOC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Meritocracy, Upper Class

• School: Ball State University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 100
• Professor: holtzman

Document Summary

Socioeconomic status (ses): a measure of one"s social position that is based on his/ her income, education level, and occupational prestige. Ses determines much of one"s life changes (access to education, income, leisure, etc. ) Meritocracy: a social system where achievement is based on merit. Can afford the ner things in life. Upper class children have access to money, the best schools, and in uential people/networks that help them later in life. Afford luxuries but do need to work to get these. Middle class children enjoy access to relatively af uent neighborhoods, schools, a. Nancially secure lifestyle, access to money for college, etc. Occupy factory, clerical, or other service-sector jobs. Working class children live in less af uent neighborhoods, lead less nancially stable lives, attend less af uent schools, and have dif culty affording college. Don"t have enough money to meet their daily needs. Often unemployed or in minimum wage jobs.