Social Stratification Lecture Notes PDF

9. Social Stratification & 10. Global Inequality Car for rich Watch for rich Housing for poor  Minimum wage according to a “professor” (!) "Look, even if the minimum wage is fifty, people will still spend fifty. Give them a hundred and they will spend a hundred. Th...

9. Social Stratification & 10. Global Inequality Car for rich Watch for rich Housing for poor  Minimum wage according to a “professor” (!) "Look, even if the minimum wage is fifty, people will still spend fifty. Give them a hundred and they will spend a hundred. There is no end to this. I always say. Poor life is the healthiest life. So they should not worry about the minimum wage, they should organise their lives according to the minimum wage." Invisible poverty Percentage of national income in Turkey Upper, middle, lower classes 6% Poorest 20 per cent 11% Second 20 per cent Third 20 per cent 47% 15% Fourth 20 per cent Richest 20 per cent 21% 9. Social Stratification The forms of social divisions and the processes of inequality Societies have hierarchies organised through: -Social and economic divisions; -Gender and sexuality divisions; -Ethnic and racialised divisions; -Age divisions; -Health and disablement; …or language, dialect, nationalities… What Is Social Stratification? Categorization of the people based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power (like layers of geology). An economic system, wealth, money and assets income, wages or investment dividends. Social standing: (for ex.) wisdom and charisma, the elderly; cultural beliefs reinforce the inequalities of stratification. Family: social position of the parents passed to the children. Inheritance of not only social standing but also the cultural norms of certain lifestyle. Systems of Stratification Closed systems - little change in social position; no shift between levels Open systems – achievement; movement and interaction between layers and classes. Fostering certain cultural values and shaping individual beliefs. The Caste System (closed system) People are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives (ascription) Assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. Hindu caste tradition; work in the occupation of their caste, marriage according to their caste. Accepting this social standing -> a moral duty. The Class System (open system) Based on both social factors and individual achievement. A class: a set of people who share similar status (factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation). Upper class - The middle class - The lower class Class systems are open; free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents; marry members of other classes -> exogamous marriages (unions of spouses from different social categories). Moving from one class to another-> Social mobility. The shapes of class upper The pyramid model => middle lower The onion model => Onion + underclass (social exclusion; economically, politically, => socially marginalised) And precaritry But… in practice? Social, cultural and economic conformities still exist. Marriage from the same social background: endogamous union. Meritocracy An “ideal system” based on the belief that social stratification is the result of personal effort—or merit —that determines social standing. Status Consistency Social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation. -> an individual’s rank across these factors. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency. More flexible class system has lower status consistency. Social Mobility The ability to change positions (economic status improved or diminished) within a social stratification system. Upward mobility: increase—or upward shift—in social class. Not only becoming rich and famous -> move up socially. Downward mobility: lowering of one’s social class, loss of income or status. Intergenerational mobility: different generations of a family belonging to varying social classes. Intragenerational mobility: difference in social class between different members of the same generation. Structural mobility: Changes in society as a whole, not individual changes. Soma: After the mine explosion and 301 people were killed A political “advisor” versus a coal miner Social inequality, harmful as economic discrepancies. Prejudice and discrimination (ex: Apartheid in South Africa, extreme case of institutionalized and legal racism) Gender inequity, (FGM) -> “longstanding cultural tradition”. Inequalities based on sexual orientation and gender identity exist around the globe. -> culturally sanctioned rape, state- sanctioned executions, serious abuses. Class traits (class markers) Typical behaviors, customs, and norms that define each class. The level of exposure to a wide range of cultures; the amount of resources a person has to spend on items like hobbies, vacations, and leisure activities. Upper, middle and lower classes, -> Identifying class traits, but also simple stereotypes. Class distinctions blurred in recent decades, so too have class traits. Global stratification The wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries across the world. -> worldwide patterns of social inequality. Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification Functionalism Different aspects of society exist; they serve a needed purpose. The function of social stratification? Davis-Moore thesis (1945) -> the greater the functional importance of a social role, the greater must be the reward -> inherently unequal value of different work. The degree of skill required for a job determines that job’s importance. But… A media personality with little education, skill, or talent becoming famous and rich on a reality show? Inequalities in the education; due to race or gender? A football/basketball player earning millions of dollars? Conflict theory Deeply critical of social stratification -> benefits only some people, not all of society. Perpetuates inequality. Awareness to inequalities, such as how a rich society can have so many poor members. Marx’s time and today… Conditions improved but strained working relationship between employers and employees still exists. Ownership of the means of production -> the resulting stratification creates class conflict. Symbolic interactionism Everyday interactions of individuals; micro-level perspective. How people’s social standing affects their everyday interactions. Interacting primarily with others who share the same social standing. People tend to live, work, and associate with others like themselves. People’s appearance-> perceived social standing. Housing, clothing, transportation, hairstyles, taste in accessories, etc. -> social status. Symbols communicate social standing -> conspicuous consumption -> purchase and use of certain products to make a social statement about status. 10. Global Inequality A case: April 24, 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza in Dhaka, Bangladesh that killed over 1,100 people, was the deadliest garment factory accident in history, and it was preventable (ILO). Workers (young women, aged 20 or younger) refused to enter the building; threatened with the loss of a month’s pay. Worked over thirteen hours a day, with two days off each month; $10.56 to $12.48 a week. (U.S. federal minimum wage: $7.25 an hour). Outsourced famous brands vs. women and children’s work conditions -> slave labor. Sulukule - Before Sulukule - Before Sulukule – Demolition (by intersection”!) Gentrified Sulukule Crisis of modernity / victory of capitalism Dissociation of modernity - System and actors Double speed of modernity (Alain Touraine) Turkey: Changing classes: foundation of the nation state; war riches, periphery, “Anatolian tigers”, social mobility… Global Stratification and Classification Wealth concentrated among the richest citizens; the middle class slowly disappears. Unequal distribution among nations. Gaps between nations and gaps within nations. Concentration of the resources-> affecting the individuals in poorer and less powerful countries. The richest 85 people in the world are worth more than the poorest 3.5 billion combined. The wealth gap between the northern part of the world and the southern part of the world: 75.5 %. (GINI coefficient: 1 complete equality;100 highest possible inequality (100-point scale)) Percentage of all global wealth -1 12 Poorest 20 per 8 cent Fourth 20 per cent Third 20 per cent Second 20 per cent Richest 20 per cent of world population 90 Global Classification Avoiding an ethnocentric bias: “less- developed”, “developing” (nonindustrialized) and “developed” (industrialized) nations -> unindustrialized countries “inferior”? Shifting terminology, more inclusive view. Cold War Terminology First world, second world, and third world. “Fourth world” added; stigmatized minority groups with no political voice (underclasses, indigenous minority populations, prisoners, and the homeless, for example). Immanuel Wallerstein: World Systems Approach An economic basis to understand global inequality. Global economic hierarchy; some nations in positions of power (numerous resources) and other nations in a state of economic subordination (with significant obstacles to mobilization.) Core nations: dominant capitalist countries, highly industrialized, technological, and urbanized. Controling over global economy, exploiting power to gain the most advantageous position in global trade. Peripheral nations: very little industrialization; the factories and means of production owned by core nations; unstable governments, inadequate social programs, economically dependent. Semi-peripheral nations: in-between nations, not powerful enough to dictate policy but also exploiting peripheral nations. “Development” High-Income Nations Capital flight: movement of capital from one nation to another (automotive company closing here and opening there. Deindustrialization: consequence of capital flight, as no new companies open to replace jobs lost to foreign nations. Middle-Income Nations The problem of debt accumulation. Low-Income Nations Biggest part of the world’s population lives. Women disproportionately affected by poverty (global feminization of poverty) Much of the population lives in absolute poverty. Global Wealth and Poverty Relative poverty: people can afford necessities but are unable to meet their society’s average standard of living. Absolute poverty: lacking even the basic necessities, which typically include adequate food, clean water, safe housing, and access to healthcare. Subjective poverty: poverty that is composed of many dimensions; it is subjectively present when your actual income does not meet your expectations and perceptions. Underground economy (informal economy): a loosely defined unregulated market unhindered by taxes, government permits, or human protections.  What is poverty? According to the poor… We eat when we have, we sleep when we don’t. (Ethiopia) My children were hungry and I told them the rice is cooking, until they fell asleep from hunger. (An older man, Egypt) Poverty is pain; it feels like a disease. It attacks a person not only materially but also morally. It eats away one’s dignity and drives one into total despair. (A poor woman, Moldova) There is no control over anything, at any hour a gun could go off, especially at night. (A poor woman in Brazil) Poverty is “like living in jail, living under bondage, waiting to be free.” (A young woman in Jamaica) The police have become the rich people’s stick used against common people. (Dangara, Uzbekistan) Who Are the Impoverished? Global Feminization of Poverty Women are bearing a disproportionate percentage of the burden of poverty. 1. The expansion in the number of female- headed households 2. The persistence and consequences of intra- household inequalities and biases against women 3. The implementation of neoliberal economic policies around the world -> Africa, Asia, MENA region Consequences of Poverty The consequences of poverty are often also causes. The sedimentation of global inequality Once poverty becomes entrenched in an area, it very difficult to reverse; a cycle where the consequences and causes are intertwined. Physical and mental health ethnocentric bias; it supposes all countries have the same resources and are capable of following the same path; it assumes that the goal of all countries is to be as “developed” as possible. Dependency Theory A response to the Western-centric mindset of modernization theory. Global inequality is primarily caused by core nations (or high-income nations) exploiting semi- peripheral and peripheral nations (or middle- income and low-income nations), -> a cycle of dependence. Highly segmented labor markets that are built to benefit the dominant market countries. Companies want to see their partner countries healthy enough to provide work, but not so healthy as to establish a threat. The case of “Chinese Factory Girls”