Ch.5 Social Inequality and Class Flashcards
What are Characteristics?
Features or qualities belonging to an individual.
Flexibility: open/closed
Ascribed vs Achieved status
Ascribed: Assigned at birth of assumed later in life.
Achieved: gained it yourself by means of hard work or/and education.
Social Mobility
inter- vs. intra-generational mobility; vertical (upward/down-ward) vs. horizontal mobility
Income
The economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income transfers (government aid), and ownership of property.
Wealth
Accumulated assets including property, as well as other assets such as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and insurance policies.
Capitalist (bourgeoisie)
Consists of those who own the means of production (land and capita). “Maintains a position on top of the class structure “Superstructure”.
Workers (proletariat)
Those who must sell their labor to the owners of capital in order to earn wages enough to survive.
Class Struggle
The struggle between the two classes (Capitalist and Worker).
Alienation of the working class
The feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from other people and from oneself.
The Capitalist Class
This class holds most of the wealth and power in society through ownership of capital.
Source of income: profits, interest, and very high salaries.
The Managerial Class
Are upper-level managers, supervisors, and professionals.
They hold a contradictory position: Do not own the capital but have substantial control over the means of production and decide how the business operation is to be run.
The Small Business Class
Small in nature.
May employ a limited number of workers, e.g., restaurants, convenience stores, trade businesses, etc.
Max Weber
Wealth, prestige, and power.
Max Weber’s theory identifies:
Wealth: total monetary resource a person has
Prestige: the respect with which a person or status position is regarded by others
Power: the ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others
socioeconomic status (SES)
To refer to a combined measure that attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education to determine class position.
The Weberian model of Class Structure in Canada
The class structure in Canada is divided into the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the underclass.
The Upper Class
Highest level of wealth; about 3% of Canadians.
Types: old money (wealth from generations past) and new money (wealth from current or recent success)
The Middle Class
Canada is predominantly a middle-class society.
Subtypes:
Upper-middle and
Lower Middle Class.
Issues that threaten this class: Housing costs, occupational insecurity, blocked upward mobility, inflation.
The Working Class
About 30% of Canadians
The Working Poor
About 20% of Canadians
The Underclass
Very poor, seldom employed, caught in long-term deprivation that results from low levels of education and income and high rates of unemployment.
Health Inequality
More wealth, more health
Less wealth, less health
e.g., life expectancy, diabetes, heart disease, earlier deaths.
Education Inequality
Issue: does education increase one’s chances of social mobility (functionalist theory); or does it reproduce the class
Crime and Lack of Safety Inequality.
Crime is not from random actions but the result of social inequalities.
