SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Social Class In The United States, American Middle Class, Class Stratification
Document Summary
Class or economic stratification, frequently referred to as socioeconomic" stratification . The hierarchical division of people into groups - or strata - based on their relative access to wealth, status, and power. Class stratification" refers to inequalities in the distribution of : Hierarchical division of people into groups - or strata - based on their relative earnings, net worth, educational attainment, and occupational status. Class remains an important part of all our lives . Sociologists tend to see class as [one"s] economic rank in society . It affects our life chances" (our opportunities in life) and our lifestyle" (how we live our lives) in very direct and indirect ways . Traditional american class structure: lower class, middle class, upper class. Top 10%, middle 30%, lower 60% (pyramid shape, before the war) Top 10%, big middle 80%, low 10% (diamond shape, post war affluence) So 8 of 10 american classified as middle class.
