Untitled Quiz

Poverty and Social Inequality

• Lack of education is a significant effect of absolute poverty that perpetuates its cycle.
• Sub-Saharan and Middle East-North Africa regions face the highest risks of social unrest.
• Africa has the most impoverished nations, with the largest number of people living in poverty found in Asia.
• Absolute poverty is characterized by living on less than $1.00 a day, which severely impacts well-being.

Trade Agreements and Economic Class

• The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was created by core nations to enhance trade.
• The middle class is rapidly disappearing in modern economies, contributing to economic instability.
• Global stratification studies inequality on a broad level, while social stratification focuses on individual social class standings.

Underground Economy and Employment

• The underground economy consists of unreported income activities, often prevalent among part-time workers like students.
• The World Bank classifies nations based on Gross National Income per Capita, a critical indicator for economic status.
• Labor practices such as child labor in sweatshops persist despite modern ethical standards in consumerism.

Social Mobility and Stratification

• Intragenerational mobility occurs when an individual moves between social classes over their lifetime, while intergenerational mobility refers to this movement between generations.
• Caste systems are characterized by closed social standings, limiting individual mobility, whereas class systems allow for movement and are more open.
• The concept of meritocracy suggests that individuals are rewarded based on their abilities and efforts, with promotions based on performance.

Sociological Perspectives

• Conflict theory, as proposed by Karl Marx, emphasizes the struggles between different social classes and the impact of historical contexts such as European colonialism.
• The Davis-Moore Thesis argues that economic incentives are tied to the societal value placed on certain professions, influencing income distribution.

Consumerism and Social Identity

• Conspicuous consumption highlights the trend of purchasing luxury goods as a display of social status.
• Most individuals identify as middle class, reflecting the ambiguous nature of social class boundaries in the U.S.

Mobility Trends and Challenges

• Economic trends such as deindustrialization lead to job losses and downward mobility for many workers.
• Increased participation of women in poverty indicates significant gender disparities in economic challenges.
• Structural mobility occurs when large groups shift in social class due to societal changes rather than individual actions.

Class Characteristics and Traits

• Class traits encompass behaviors and cultural norms associated with specific social classes, shaping identities and interactions.
• Low status consistency is illustrated through scenarios where individuals experience significant variations in class standing relative to their backgrounds.### Occupational Prestige
• Occupational prestige indicates that jobs are not equally valued within society.
• Individuals’ roles and their perceived value often vary considerably across different professions.

Social Stratification

• Social stratification ranks society members into categories based on various factors like wealth, education, and power.

Visual Representation

• The pyramid graphic is commonly used to illustrate social stratification, emphasizing hierarchical levels.

GNI PPP

• The GNI PPP (Gross National Income Purchasing Power Parity) figure reflects the average annual income of citizens in a country, providing insight into economic well-being.

Davis-Moore Thesis

• The basic premise asserts that unequal distribution of rewards in social stratification serves a purpose in society, potentially motivating individuals to pursue higher positions.

Melvin Tumin's Perspective

• Tumin argued that social stratification denies qualified individuals opportunities for higher-level job positions, highlighting inequality in access.

Symbolic Interactionism and Stratification

• From the symbolic interactionist view, Pat the janitor feels more at ease in informal dining settings, illustrating how social class affects daily experiences and interactions.

Alienation as Described by Marx

• Workers experience alienation, meaning they feel disconnected from their work and lack a sense of relationship with the labor they perform.

Conflict Theory and Capitalists

• Conflict theorists suggest capitalists enrich themselves at the expense of workers, perpetuating economic inequality.

Multinational Corporations Perspective

• Understanding how multinational corporations exploit workers in peripheral nations reflects a conflict theory perspective within the global economy.

Functionalist Perspective on Corporations

• A functionalist theorist might focus on how wealthy corporations improve lives in peripheral nations by providing jobs and contributing economically.

Symbolic Interaction Perspective in Sociology

• A sociologist applying a symbolic interaction perspective may interview factory workers to understand their daily struggles and interactions with supervisors.

Classification of Nations

• France is classified as a core nation due to its developed economy and stable infrastructure within the global market.

Capital Flight

• The relocation of manufacturing jobs from the United States to countries like China exemplifies capital flight, impacting local employment and economic dynamics.

Types of Poverty

• Chattel slavery is the form of slavery most similar to the conditions experienced in the pre-Civil War American South.
• Absolute poverty is illustrated by individuals like Maya, who lack basic survival needs.
• Relative poverty describes situations where individuals, like Mike, cannot meet societal standards of living but survive on limited resources.
• Subjective poverty is experienced by individuals, like Faith, who feel their income is insufficient despite meeting basic needs.

Debt Slavery

• A mining company controlling stores and housing in an American town exemplifies debt slavery, where workers are trapped in a cycle of debt and employment.

Dependency Theory Flaws

• A flaw in dependency theory is its failure to recognize that countries like China have successfully developed and are no longer entirely dependent on core nations.

Modernization Theory Flaws

• Modernization theory is critiqued for its ethnocentric bias, failing to acknowledge various pathways to development.

Sociological Theories on Global Economy

• Modernization theory posits that societies evolve towards advanced technology alongside cultural values promoting hard work and success.
• Dependency theorists emphasize that core nations dominate the global economy by exploiting peripheral nations.

Power Elite Concept

• C. Wright Mills introduced the concept of the Power Elite, a small group of individuals making significant decisions in the U.S., often operating behind the scenes.

Social Stratification Principles

• Key principles include that stratification persists over generations, is universal, involves inequality, is a trait of society, and is influenced by collective beliefs.

Structural Mobility

• Structural mobility refers to movements up or down the class hierarchy due to large-scale societal changes affecting groups rather than individuals.

Class Traits

• Class traits encapsulate the behaviors, norms, and customs typically associated with different socioeconomic classes, influencing cultural and lifestyle choices.