SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IN

THE UNITED STATES

Social Stratification & Social Inequality

■ Social Stratification: the division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy.– Present in all societies– Members may be grouped according to their gender, race, class, age

or other characteristics.– The categorization of groups depends on the criteria that is important

to a particular society.– Some groups= higher social strata (level) while others are placed in a

lower social strata.– The groups with the highest social strata may enjoy access to rewards

and resources within the society.

Social Stratification & Social Inequality

■ Social Inequality: the unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

■ Basic Principles of Social Stratification:– It is a characteristic of a society, rather than a reflection of individual

differences.– Social stratification persists over generations.– All societies stratify their members but different societies use different criteria

for ranking them.– Social stratification is maintained through beliefs that are widely shared by

members of society.– The concept of “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps”.

Systems of Stratification

■ Slavery: the most extreme system of social stratification, relegates people to the status of property, mainly for the purpose of providing labor for the slave owner.

■ Slaves were bought and sold like any other commodity.■ Slaves were not compensated for their labor and often times, experienced mental

and physical threats.■ Slaves occupied the lowest level in the social hierarchy and were deprived of the

rights that were entitled to free members of the same society.■ Since the earliest times, slavery has existed and been historically documented.

– Slavery existed in the United States, South America, Europe and in the Bible.

Slavery

■ Historically, slavery served as a profitable economic system (for the slave owner).■ Slaves were rarely granted their freedom.

■ Slaves were forced to work in agriculture, construction, mining, and domestic service.

■ According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, slavery is prohibited by every nation in the world.

– Slavery is illegal and immoral.– Unfortunately, slavery does still exist in today’s world.■ India, South Asia, West Africa and many other countries engage in the following

forms of slavery: child soldiers, serfdom, forced and bonded laborers, human trafficking, and sex slavery.

Slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States

Systems of Stratification: Caste

■ Caste System: a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one’s family history and background and cannot be changed.

■ Based on heredity, whole groups of people are born into a certain strata.■ Castes may be differentiated along religious, economic, or political lines.■ May also be differentiated by a person’s skin color or other physical characteristics.■ Creates a highly stratified society where there is little or no chance of a person changing their

position within the hierarchy, no matter what the person may achieve individually.■ In a caste system, members must marry within their own group, and their caste ranking is passed

on to their children.– Members of high-ranking castes tend to be more prosperous.– Member of low-ranking castes tend to have less access to resources, live in poverty, and

suffer discrimination.

Caste System

Caste System: Apartheid

■ Apartheid: the system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.

■ South Africans were classified into four main racial groups:■ White (English/Dutch Heritage)– Held the political, social and economic power■ Indian (India)■ “Colored” (Mixed Race)■ Black (60% of South African population)

– The four groups were geographically and socially separated from one another.– Blacks were forcibly removed from almost 80% of the country.

■ Relocated to independent “homelands”…similar to Native American Reservations■ Blacks could not enter the “rest of the country” without a pass.

Apartheid

Apartheid

Apartheid

Apartheid

■ Meritocracy: is an ideal system based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit—that determines social standing.

– High levels of effort will lead to a high social position.– The concept of meritocracy is an ideal because a society has never existed

where social rank was based purely on merit.

Status Consistency

■ Social stratification systems determine social position on factors like income, education, and occupation.

■ As a sociologist, we use the term status consistency to describe consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across these factors.

■ For example: If I was a high school graduate (with no college experience) working a minimum wage job, struggling to afford my rent, and relying on government subsidies…we can argue there is a degree of status consistency because my reality may illustrate the daily struggle of the working poor.

■ However, if I started with only a high school diploma, working a minimum wage job, and struggling to support myself but after a few years, I am able to save up enough money to open up my own business and I earn $125,000 (in income) my first year, then there is a degree of status inconsistency because I am now earning a middle class income but my educational background and financial woes in the past represented that of the working poor status.

Social Stratification and Mobility in the United States

■ Standard of Living: the level of wealth available to a certain socioeconomic class in order to acquire the material necessities and comforts to maintain its lifestyle.

■ Based on factors such as income, employment, class, poverty rates, and housing affordability.

■ Due to the relationship between standard of living and quality of life, it can also represent factors such as the ability to afford a home, own a car, and take vacations.

■ In the United States, there is not an even distribution of wealth.

■ Many Americans assume that the United States is a “middle-class society” but in reality, that is not true.

■ Since the 1970’s, the middle class has been shrinking (size, income, and wealth have been declining).

Social Mobility

■ Social mobility refers to the ability to change positions within a social stratification system.

■ When people improve or diminish their economic status in a way that affects social class, they experience social mobility.

■ Upward Mobility: refers to an increase (upward lift) in social class.– Examples: earning a college degree, getting a job promotion, or marrying an

individual with a good income.

■ Downward Mobility: a lowering of one’s status.– Can occur when there are business setbacks, unemployment, or illness.

Social Class

■ Social Class: a system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige (practiced primarily in Capitalist societies).

■ Socioeconomic status: a measure of an individual’s place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with “class”.

■ Not as rigid as the caste system.

■ Although children may “inherit” the social class of their parents, during the course of a lifetime, they can move up or down levels in the strata.

■ Social class is not necessarily based on race, ethnicity, gender, or age…often times, there is a connection between these categories and social class.

Social Class: Intersectionality

■ Intersectionality: a concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups.

■ We do not simply fulfill the category of ”middle-class”, “Christian”, “Male”, etc..■ Our life chances are influenced by our class and our race and our gender and our

religion and our age…..

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Upper Class:■ 1% of the U.S population (elite and largely self-sustaining).■ Its total net worth is greater than that of the entire other 99%.■ “Old Money”…passed on from one generation to the next.■ “New Money”…based on individual achievements.■ $2,000,000 per year (or more).■ Highly education and influential.■ Access to private prep schools and prestigious universities.

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Upper-Middle Class:■ 14% of the U.S Population.■ Well Educated (four-year college degree and/or postgraduate degree)■ Highly Skilled.■ Work primarily in executive, managerial and professional jobs.■ Earn $150,000 to just under $2,000,000 a year.■ Sense of financial stability.■ Typically own their own homes…enjoy the ability to travel…disposable income.

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Middle Class:■ 30% of the U.S population.■ Comprised on White Collar workers: a description characterizing lower-level professional

and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs.■ Earn $70,000 to just under $150,000 a year.■ High School education and some college experience.■ Decreasing home ownership rate.■ Believed to be shrinking…due to the following factors:

■ Economic Recession■ Housing Market Crash■ High Unemployment■ Corporate Downsizing■ Outsourcing of work to other countries

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Working (Lower-Middle) Class:

■ 30% of the U.S population.

■ High School education and typically work in manual labor/service industry.

■ Blue Collar: a description characterizing skilled and semi-skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs.

■ Earn $40,000 to just under $70,000 a year.

■ Low net worth and rental housing.

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Working Poor:

■ 13% of the U.S population.

■ Generally not well educated (most have not completed high school)

■ Lower levels of literacy.

■ Unskilled, temporary, and seasonal jobs (minimum wage)

■ Earn $25,000 to just under $40,000 a year.

■ High rates of unemployment and underemployment.

■ Some rely on social welfare subsidies.

Social Classes in the United States

■ The Underclass:■ 12% of the U.S population.■ Truly disadvantaged.■ Live in poverty conditions.■ Earn $15,000 to just under $25,000 a year.■ Rely on public benefits and charity to survive.■ Chronic difficulty with getting enough money to cover basic needs.■ Found in inner cities…substandard housing or homeless.■ Considered to be officially impoverished by the standards established by the federal

government.

Poverty

■ Relative Poverty: a comparative measure, whereby people are considered impoverished if their standard of living is lower than that of other members of society.

■ Absolute Poverty: a measure whereby people are unable to meet minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.

■ In the United States, we use the federal poverty line– an absolute measure, calculated annually – indicates the total annual income below which a family would be impoverished.

– In 2015, the poverty threshold was $24,250 for a family of four; $20,990 for a family of three; $15,930 for a family of two; and $11,770 for an individual.

Poverty

■ In 2013, 14.5% of the U.S population lived in poverty.

■ Most people living in poverty are not unemployed…”working poor”.

■ A full-time, minimum wage earner may still live under the poverty line (80% of the “working poor” population.

■ The federal minimum wage in the U.S has never been sufficient enough to help a worker rise above the poverty line.

■ The federal poverty line has faced a tremendous amount of criticism because it is uniformly applied…meaning, there is no regard for regional differences and the cost of living in particular areas/states/cities.

Poverty

■ Poverty is more prominent among certain groups in the United States.

■ African Americans: 27.2% of the population live in poverty.

■ Hispanics: 23.5% of the population live in poverty.

■ Asians: 10.5% of the population live in poverty.

■ Whites: 9.6% of the population live in poverty.

■ In addition, the elderly, disabled, foreign born, women, children and single-parent households face higher poverty rates.

■ Poverty is the highest in the southern states.

Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

■ Functionalism:– Davis-Moore Thesis (1945) argued that the greater the functional importance

of a social role, the greater must be the reward.– The social stratification system represents the inherently unequal value of

different work…certain tasks are more valuable than others.– According to the Davis-Moore Thesis, rewarding more important work with

higher levels of income, prestige, and power encourages people to work harder and longer.

– The degree of skill required for a job determines that job’s importance…the more skill required for a job, the fewer qualified people there would be to do that job.

Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

■ Conflict Theory:– Deeply critical of social stratification, asserting that it benefits only some

people, not all of society.– Attempt to bring awareness to inequalities, such as how a rich society can have

so many poor members.– Karl Marx believed social stratification resulted from people’s relationship to

production.■ Bourgeoisie (capitalists) vs. Proletariat (workers)■ Capitalists own the means of production, and a system is in place to make business

owners rich and keep workers poor.■ This creates class conflict.

Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification

■ Symbolic Interactionism:– A theory that uses everyday interactions of individuals to explain society as a

whole.– Examines stratification from a micro-level perspective…by explaining how

people’s social standing affects their everyday interactions.– In most communities, people interact primarily with others who share the same

social standing…people tend to live, work, and associate with others like themselves, people who share their same income level, educational background, or racial background, and even tastes in food, music, and clothing.

– People’s appearance reflects their perceived social standing…housing, clothing, and transportation may indicate social status.