Sociology Chapter on Social Stratification

Conflict Theory

• Conflict theory views social stratification as perpetuating inequality for the majority.
• Karl Marx believed stratification was driven by economic forces, dividing society into the bourgeoisie (owning class) and the proletariat (working class).
• The bourgeoisie owns the means of production, while the proletariat provides labor.
• Inequality leads to worker alienation, isolation, and misery due to their lack of power.
• Inequality causes class conflict.

Symbolic Interactionism

• Focuses on how social standing affects everyday interactions at a micro-level.
• People interact more with those within their own social class, sharing background, interests, and lifestyles.
• Social stratification is a system of grouping people together.
• Appearance reflects perceived social standing through housing, clothing, transportation, and personal style.
• "Conspicuous consumption" refers to buying items to signal social status.

Social Inequality and Poverty

• Societies are often divided into upper, middle, and lower/working class.
• The upper class holds significant political power and wealth.
• The middle class falls between the upper and lower classes.
• The lower/working class is employed in low-paying jobs with limited economic security.
• The underclass experiences poverty and social exclusion, facing obstacles to societal participation.
• Income disparities exist between social classes, with significant wealth accumulation in the upper class.
• Globalization has contributed to growing wealth gaps.
• Poverty is most common in developing countries.

Gender Inequality

• While strides have been made towards gender equality, patriarchy persists.
• Functionalists see gender roles as contributing to social stability.
• Feminist theories reject the naturalness of gender inequality.
• Liberal feminists attribute gender inequality to social and cultural attitudes, calling for reforms to achieve equality.
• Radical feminists view patriarchy as the root of women's exploitation and advocate for a "sexual revolution" to address it.
• Black feminism emphasizes the intersection of gender, class, and ethnicity in oppressing non-white women.

Ethnicity and Race Issues

• Ethnicity is a sense of belonging to a specific population, cultural group, or territory.
• The concept is complex, encompassing racial and cultural aspects.

Global Inequality

• Global stratification refers to the uneven distribution of wealth, power, and prestige globally.
• This creates vast discrepancies in lifestyles and opportunities.
• Modernization theory attributes poverty in low-income countries to cultural and institutional barriers, suggesting that adjusting values, promoting limited government intervention, and encouraging savings can lead to development.
• Dependency theories argue that global poverty results from wealthy nations exploiting poorer ones, trapping them in a cycle of dependence.
• World-systems theory focuses on the relationships between "core", "peripheral", and "semiperipheral" countries in the global economy.
• State-centered theories emphasize the role of governments in fostering economic development.

Key Statistics

• In 2017, the richest 1% owned nearly half of the world's wealth.
• In 2013, the wealth of the top 1% amounted to $110 trillion, 65 times that of the poorest half of the world's population.
• The Philippines had a poverty incidence of 21.6% in 2015.

Stratification Systems

• Stratification involves categorizing social groups based on their access to resources.
• Systems can be closed (limited mobility) or open (movement between layers).
• Caste systems are closed, based on ascribed status (birth).
• Class systems are more open, influenced by achievement (wealth, income, education, occupation).
• A meritocracy rewards social standing based on personal merit and effort.