SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Slavery, Class Conflict
Intro to Sociology Lecture Notes Week 4 Thursday Oct 26
Stratification (Inequality)
• **Wealth is not income**
• How much inequality do we have?
• Why do we have inequality?
% of U.S. Population
% of U.S. Wealth
20% (owners of the means of production)
85%
20%
9-10%
20%
4-5%
40%
0.3%
Why do we have Stratification? (2 explanations)
• Order Perspective (Functionalist Explanation)
o The rich earned it
• Conflict Perspective (Class-Conflict Explanation)
o The rich stole it (took it)
Functionalist Model of Inequality:
• Definition: Inequality consists of status (prestige) differences among individuals
o Prestige differs from high to low
• Explanation: 3 factors determine where people end up
o Wealth: More money, more status (must consider: how much, how earned – more
prestigious to inherit money, how long has money been there - how many generations)
o Occupation: Does your occupation have pride and prestige?
o Education: More education, more prestigious (also depends where you got your degree)
Class Conflict Model of Inequality:
• Definition: Inequality refers to the difference in power that allows one class of families to exploit
the labor of other families
o Not prestige or wealth, but specifically power in this perspective
• Means of Production: Assets required to produce
• Ex: Slave Society (2 major classes):
o Slave masters
o Slaves
• Ex: Post Slavery Society (2 major classes)
o Planter class (formerly slave masters)
▪ Mobilized terrorist groups such as the KKK to eliminate efforts by the freedmen
to get land reform passed
o Freedmen (formerly slaves)
• Reconstruction (1865-1877): Racialized class struggle, where freedmen and women struggled to
get enough political power to get a program called land reform
• Black servitude:
• Chattel slavery → wage slavery
o There is no irreplaceable worker; everyone can have a job, but not everyone gets a job
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
