SOCIAL CLASS IN REAL LIFE

(Related to Seccombe Chapter 5)

This Sumerian art shows the social

classes that were observed in society

then…The layer at the top (Upper Class) shows the nobles, priests,

officials and warriors…

The Middle Class, the layer in the middle,

shows the merchants, traders

and artisans…The bottom layer

(Lower Class) constituted the

majority of population,

containing serfs and slaves who

performed all the manual labor.

Learning Objectives – Ch 5

What is meant by social class and social stratification? How many social classes are there? What proportion belongs to each of them? What are the differences between a class system and a caste system? Examples? In what ways does social class affect family relationships in each social classes? What is the difference between an ascribed status and an achieved status? What are the risk factors for poverty in the United States? In what specific ways does poverty affect families to cause negative outcomes? What is meant by “resiliency” in families? Give examples What factors may assist individuals or families in overcoming poverty? Examples? What are the types of protective factors that help families? Give examples.

Defining Social Class Weber: An ordering of all persons in

society by degrees of economic resources, prestige, and privilege

Analytical definitions Marx: relation to means of production Weber: Marx + prestige

Empirical definitions Based in data Compare strata (layers)

Cultural Analysis Differences in behaviors, attitudes,

objects

Politicized versionof social class as seen by Karl Marx.

Marx and socialist theorists emphasized the process of exploitation, in which workers do not receive back in wages the full value they contribute.

Wealth created by what upper classes extract from lower ones.

Components of Social Class

A Weberian View of Class

Considers four dimensions Occupation Education Income (money earned through work/investments) Wealth (assets owned / money saved)

Interactive graphic – you can see how your prospective job or your family stacks up on dimensions of class

Up-to-date dollar amounts / prestige ratings From New York Times 2005

Social Class in Action

You Are Your Stuff (4) Trouble in Paradise (3) The Upper Class (3) The Working Poor (8)

Gilbert-KahlModel of

Social Classin the

United States

Source: Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure (Wadsworth, fifth edition, 1998),

How “middle” is the middle class?

Which theory(ies) of social classcan you detect in this film excerpt?

Nickled and Dimed (10)

How Class Works

Considers four dimensions Occupation Education Income (money earned through work/investments) Wealth (assets owned / money saved)

Interactive graphic – see how your family stacks up on dimensions of class

Up-to-date dollar amounts / prestige ratings Link on WebCT under “Resources” From New York Times 2005

How Class Works: Empirical

Income by Education

Considers three dimensions Level of Education Amount of Income Occupational group

Interactive graphic – see how the distribution of income for particular occupation groups

Up-to-date dollar amounts Link on WebCT under “Resources” From New York Times 2005

Income by Education

Source: Scientific Americanhttp://www.sciam.com/1999/0699issue/0699numbers.html

Ideology = American society is very open.

2/3 to 3/4 of all children inherit socio-economic status (estimates vary). 1979 Carnegie study:

son of lawyer 27 times more likely to get high paying job than son of custodian.

Social Reproduction of Class

Class Mobility: Moving Up

From Class MattersCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company

International Social Mobility

From Class MattersCopyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Global Stratification & Inequality

Ranking societies by power & rewards

� Which forms of power are important?• Economic power is dominant• Political power is secondary• Social honor not important

� Positions in global system defined by levels of development & productivity

• Highly concentrated between societies

• Absolute Poverty highest in Low Income set

� Education & HealthHigh IncomeMiddle IncomeLow Income

Adult Literac

y99%86%62%

School Enrollme

nt93%74%51%

Life Expectan

cy78 years69 years59 years

� Income & Poverty

Miniature Earth