Social Class in America

Chapter 8

Chapter Overview

I. Introduction II. Social Class Structure ModelsIII. Does Social Class Really Effect

You?IV. Yet another “Quiz”V. Social MobilityVI. Poverty in the U.S.VII. Is Horatio Algers Dead or Alive?VIII.Review

I. Introduction

1. “Quiz”

1. Wealth and income are not the same.

True

2. Americans live in a classless society.

False.No kidding.

3. When some people graduate from college, they are offered positions in very large corporations with stock

options and with the expectation that they will

become a millionaire.True

4. Wealthy parents have a much greater say in their

children’s marriage partners than the lower

classes.True

5. Generally speaking, social class has no

bearing on a person’s longevity.

False

6. The reason that there is so much mental illness in the

lower social classes is that they are mentally ill to begin

with so their situation prohibits them from getting

an education and a good job.

Mostly false.

7. New technology is a great equalizer in that it benefits all social classes

equally. False

8. The average welfare recipient is an African

American male or female.False

9. Most impoverished Americans are poor

because they are lazy.False

10. Anyone in America can succeed if he or she

tries hard enough.It’s debatable.

B.Weber’s Concept of Social Class

1. Definitionsa.Social Classb.Wealth c.Power d.Prestige e.Status Consistencyf. Status inconsistency

2. Gerhard Lenski’s Conclusion:

Frustration from status inconsistency => political radicalism

II. Social Class Structure Models

A. Erik Wright: Modification of Marx’s Model

1. Capitalists2. Petty bourgeoisie3. Managers4. Workers

B.Gilbert & Kahl: the Social Ladder or Modifying Weber

1. Capitalist2. Upper middle3. Lower middle4. Working class5. Working poor6. Underclass

III. Yet Another Quiz

1. Some social scientists view sickness as a special form of deviant behavior.

True

However, it is not equivalent to other forms of deviance such as crime or violent behavior.

Societies typically provide the sick with therapeutic care so

that their health will be restored and they can fulfill their roles in society, unlike those defined as criminals.

2. The field of epidemiology focuses

primarily on how individuals acquire

disease and bodily injury.False. Its primary focus is on the

health problems of social aggregates or large groups of people, not on individuals as

such.

3. The primary reason that African Americans

have shorter life expectancies than Whites

is the high rate of violence in central cities

and the rural South.False

It is due to a higher prevalence of life

threatening illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and AIDS. Note: African American

males do have the highest death rates from homicide of any racial-ethnic category in

the U.S.

4. Native Americans have shown dramatic

improvement in their overall health level since the 1950s.

True

Some analysts attribute this change to better nutrition and health care services. However, other analysts

point out that Native Americans continue to have high rates of mortality from

diabetes, alcohol-related illnesses, and suicide.

Native American Hospital Near Little Big Horn

5. Health care in most high-income, developed nations is organized on a fee-for-

service basis as it is in the United States.

False

The U.S. is one of only two high-income, developed nations that do not have some form of universal health coverage. In the U.S, health care has traditionally been purchased by the patient. In most other high-income countries, health care is provided by the government.

6. The ,medical-industrial complex has operated in the

U.S. with virtually no regulation, and allegations of health care fraud have

largely been overlooked by federal and state

governments.

False

In the mid-to-late 1990s, government investigation

focused on rising health care payments and allegations of fraud in health care. Billing frauds have been found in

Medicare and Medicaid payments to physicians,

hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical labs, and medical equipment

manufacturers.

7. Media coverage of chronic depression and other mental conditions

focuses almost exclusively on these problems as “women’s illnesses.”

False

In the 1991s, male celebrities have made the general

public more aware of male depression. However, it

should be noted that women average higher levels of depression than men do,

perhaps because women and men have unequal adult

statuses.

8. It is extremely costly for employees to

“mainstream” persons with disabilities in the

workplace.False

Although disability expenditures may be costly, individual

employers often find that they can accommodate the needs of

a disabled worker at costs ranging from zero to several thousand dollars. This opens

new doors for people previously excluded from certain types of jobs and

careers.

IV. Does Social Class Really Effect You?

You Tell Me: Group work.

A. Family lifeB. EducationC. ReligionD. PoliticsE. Physical Health F. Mental HealthG. Criminal JusticeH. New Technology

IV. Yet Another Quiz

1. People no longer believe in the American

Dream.False.

2. Individuals over age 65 have the highest rate of

poverty.False

3. Men account for two out of three impoverished

adults in the United States.False

4. African Americans receive the majority of

welfare benefits.False

5. Most poverty-level households headed by

women have only one or two children below age 18 residing in the household.

True

6. Income is more unevenly distributed than

wealth.False

7. People who are poor usually have personal

attributes that contribute to their impoverishment.

False

8. A number of people living below the official

poverty line have full-time jobs.True

9. The majority of poor people receive welfare

benefits.False

10. The average welfare recipient stays on welfare

less than two years.True

V. Social Mobility

A. Three Types of Social Mobility1. Intergenerational2. Exchange mobility3. Structural

B. Upward & Downward Movement

Changing Structure of Occupations, U.S. 1900-2000

VI. Poverty In the U.S.

A. Drawing the Poverty Line1. Demonstration and

Definitionsa. Poverty lineb. Absolute povertyc. Relative povertyd. Subjective poverty

2.Who are the poor?a.Female-headed householdsb.Childrenc.Minority Group Members

The Pay Gap by Race, Ethn

Poverty in the U.S. by Age and Race/Ethnicity

3. How Long Does Poverty Last?

How long does poverty last?

VII. Why Are they Poor?A. Myths (see p. 196 of the

textbook) 1. Poor people are lazy2. Poor people are trapped in a cycle

of poverty that few escape.3. Most of the poor are African

Americans and Latinos.4. Most of the poor are single

mothers and their children.5. Most of the poor live in the inner

city.6. The poor live on welfare.

B. Structural factors1. Geography2. Race-ethnicity3. Education4. Sex

VIII. Is Horatio Alger Dead or Alive?

Ramifications of the mythA.Encourages people to get

aheadB.Blames failure on the

individual’s attributes.

Review

1. What is social class?2. What is status inconsistency3. How did Wright update Marx?4. How did Gilbert and Kahl

update Weber?5. How does social class influence

family life?

• 6. How does social class influence education?

• 7. How does social class influence religion?

• 8. How does social class influence politics?

• 9. How does social class influence physical health?

• 10. How does social class influence mental health?

• 11. How does technology influence social class?

12.What are the 3 types of social mobility?

13.Tell about women and social mobility.

14.What are new fears connected with technology?

15.What is the poverty line?16.Who are the poor?17.Tell about children in poverty.18.What are the dynamics of

poverty?19.Why are people poor?20.What is the Horatio Alger myth?

VIII.Additional Key Terms

Key TermAnother TermYet Another TermYou Guessed It

Key TermAnother TermYet Another TermYou Guessed It