SOC 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Class Stratification, Social Stratification, Equal Opportunity
Lecture 8
ANALYSIS
-The slow brain will be called upon to consider and analyze.
-We will analyze inequality using our four Sociological perspectives: Functionalism, Conflict
theory, Interactionism, and Feminist Theory.
-There will be a lot of Debunking.
Thinking
-Youll lea MANY e thigs, soe hih ill e usettlig…
-Much of which will come at you from a different perspective than you might be used to- A
Sociological Perspective, heei ell e alled upo to use ou Sociological Imagination and
look at familiar topics through a different lens.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
-Many of the most significant rewards in society are distributed on the bases of social position
or membership in socially defined category.
-Thus individual merit and ability count for less than does social position or membership ina
category.
Another Theme:
-The ruling elite exert disproportionate influence on what we see, read, hear and think.
- A system of inequality always develops and maintains an ideology that serves to legitimize the
ieualit a elaoate ideolog that akes ieualit see atual, pope, ad oet
-Social stratification is a relatively fixed, hierarchical arrangement in society by which groups
have different access to resources, power, and perceived social worth.
-Social stratification is a system of structured social inequality.
-All societies have a system of social stratification, some very complex, some very
simple.
-Complex societies often stratify according to social class.
- This is influenced by occupation, income, and education, race, gender, and even age,
region of residence, ethnicity, and national origin.
10 things to remember about Stratification
1. Class is a system of stratification.
2. Class inequality is supported by ideology.
3. In the U.S., this ideology emphasizes equal opportunity, merit, and individual effort.
. Class is oe tha just ioe diffeees. Wee ephasized life haes.
5. The U.S. class system has four main groups: upper, middle, working, and lower class. Each
has a distinct relationship to the economy and a distinct lifestyle.
6. There is much income inequality in the U.S. and wealth is heavily concentrated. Since the
s, oetatio of ealth is uh greater than the past.
. The lass of a pesos fail has a ajo ifluee o the lass she o he ill elog to as a
adult.
8. The impact of class on daily life is seen in many areas including health, work, marriage,
politics, and lifestyle.
9. Class is reproduced from generation to generation. Schools and families play a critical role in
this reproduction.
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10. Global stratification exists, and has a major impact on the lifestyles of people throughout
the world, including the U.S.
Dealing with unfairness
-Unfairness is a disturbing idea for Americans.
-It disrupts cognitive ease, and makes us uncomfortable.
-Because our brains like cognitive ease, we are always tempted to push away discussions of
unfairness.
-The fast brain seeks easy solutions and answers to unfairness.
-Class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. Much unfairness.
-Economic inequality is profoundly affected by public policies.
-In the U.S., public policies often serve to increase inequality
-As a result, the U.S. has a higher rate of poverty, higher income inequality and more highly
concentrated wealth than in comparable nations.
What did ou fast ai…
-Say to you about the above???
-Did it tell you that life in the US is equal?
-That people are only poor because thee laz?
- We are socialized through media (TV, internet, and textbooks) to believe these things.
‘eee…
-Because we react to emotionally to everything that is not familiar, and seek cognitive ease, we
hae to suppess the istit to ejet e information.
-The oe e see ad/o hea aout a fat, the oe e eliee it to e tue.
(even if it is false)
A system of Stratification is characterized by three elements:
-Unequal distribution of valuable resources.
-Distinctive groups that make up the various strata in society.
-An ideology, or system of beliefs, which explains and justifies the inequality.
The Importance of Ideology
-The stratification ideology is a system of beliefs that explains and justifies the existence of
inequality.
-Every form of inequality has an accompanying ideology which makes the inequality
appear natural, inevitable, correct and perfectly acceptable.
Example
- Gods ill?? The Puitas, Moahs, of Euope ad Asia.
-often inequality was justified by harking to Gods Will
-Divine Right ---‘ulig Moahs of Euope ould lai the uled fo a God-gie
right.
-In the U.S., we justify basic inequality by believing (and are socialized to believe) in:
-Equal opportunity
- Meritocracy, and
- Individualism
Core Ideology of Stratification in the U.S.
- Everyone has the equal opportunity to succeed (but not guaranteed success)
-Success is based on merit (not on wealth, family ties, or other special statuses).
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-Achieving success results from individual ability and hard work.
-Sociological research has shown that those beliefs are seriously flawed, and untrue.
-Not everyone has equal opportunity; wealth, family ties, and other special status gets
people great opportunities; and many people who are very successful did very little to
gain that success.
-But the stratification ideology suggests that class stratification is the outcome of
individual characteristics, unimpeded by structural constraints and unaided by group
privilege.
-In other words, success is due to hard work and ability; failure is due to individual
shortcomings.
-And the message of such an ideology is clear: existing system of inequality is fair.
-To state these ideas more precisely, American ideology generally includes the
intertwined notions of equal opportunity, meritocracy, and individualism.
Equal Opportunity – the idea that people should have the same chance to achieve
success.
Meritocracy – the notion that people are rewarded and are able to advance because of
their abilities.
Individualism – a system of beliefs that highlights the importance of the single person
over any social group.
-For those in power, this ideology justifies their power along with:
-Convincing people that their success is only through merit and hard work;
- That people are poor through merit and hard work;
- That people are poor only because they either lack merit or are lazy.
Studies show that many people do not believe that class inequality is only the result of
eit ad idiidual effot, ut…
-Enough people do actually believe it, and;
-Belief in the ideology of individual merit and achievement is often a source of
hope for the downtrodden (keeps them pacified.)
Our Fast Brai…
-Has heard, read, and seen examples in media about the ideology of stratification in the US so
many times, that we have to actively engage our slow brain to fight off the untrue assertions
made.
-We believe it to be true, because we have heard, read and seen it so many times!
Wealth Inequality
An increase in the concentration of wealth has occurred in the US since the 1980s
The U“ is oe of the ost ueual atios i the old usig ealth as the iteia.
Why Increasing Inequality is a Danger to Us All
-The American middle class is disappearing: a decline in employment in unionized low-skill
goods-producing industries replaced with growing nonunionized serviced and technology
industries.
-Political extremism and violence often results when income inequality increases.
-Anomie: What happens to those who are unable to attai suess though taditioal o
“oiall appoed eas?
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
The slow brain will be called upon to consider and analyze. We will analyze inequality using our four sociological perspectives: functionalism, conflict theory, interactionism, and feminist theory. You(cid:859)ll lea(cid:396)(cid:374) many (cid:374)e(cid:449) thi(cid:374)gs, so(cid:373)e (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h (cid:449)ill (cid:271)e u(cid:374)settli(cid:374)g . Much of which will come at you from a different perspective than you might be used to- a. Sociological perspective, (cid:449)he(cid:396)ei(cid:374) (cid:449)e(cid:859)ll (cid:271)e (cid:272)alled upo(cid:374) to use ou(cid:396) sociological imagination and look at familiar topics through a different lens. Many of the most significant rewards in society are distributed on the bases of social position or membership in socially defined category. Thus individual merit and ability count for less than does social position or membership ina category. The ruling elite exert disproportionate influence on what we see, read, hear and think. A system of inequality always develops and maintains an ideology that serves to legitimize the i(cid:374)e(cid:395)ualit(cid:455) (cid:894)a(cid:374) ela(cid:271)o(cid:396)ate ideolog(cid:455) that (cid:373)akes i(cid:374)e(cid:395)ualit(cid:455) see(cid:373) (cid:858)(cid:374)atu(cid:396)al(cid:859), (cid:858)p(cid:396)ope(cid:396)(cid:859), a(cid:374)d (cid:858)(cid:272)o(cid:396)(cid:396)e(cid:272)t(cid:859)(cid:895)
