Chapter 8 Flashcards
(38 cards)
Social stratification
the existence of structured inequalities between groups in a society in terms of their access to material or symbolic rewards. While all societies involve some form of stratification, only with the development of state-based systems did wide differences in wealth and power arise. The most distinctive form of stratification in modern societies is class divisions.
intersectionality
a sociological perspective that holds that our multiple group memberships affect our lives in ways that are distinct from single group membership. Example= black women have different experiences than white women
structured inequality
social inequalities that result from patterns in the social structure
slavery
a form of social stratification in which some people own others as property
caste
a social system in which ones social status is held for life
class system
a system of social hierarchy that allows individuals to move among classes. The chief bases of class are income, ownership of wealth, education, occupation, and lifestyle.
class
no clear agreement on definition. Most use it to refer to socioeconomic variations between groups of individuals that create variations in their material prosperity and power
Life chances
introduced by Max Weber to signify a person’s opportunities for achieving economic prosperity
income
money received from paid wages and salaries or earned from investments
wealth
money and material possessions held by an individual or group
social capital
the relational networks that provide a person with tangible resources (such as wealth) and intangible ones (such as personal connections)
cultural capital
the accumulated cultural knowledge within a society that confers power and status
means of production
the means of which production of material goods is carried on in society including not only technology but also the social relations between the producers
bourgeoisie
people who own companies, land, or stocks/shares and use these to generate economic returns
proletariat
people who sell their labor for wages according to Karl Marx
surplus value
in Marxist theory, the. value of a worker’s labor power left over when an employer has repaid the cost of hiring the worker
Communism
a social system based on everyone owning the means of production and sharing in the wealth it produces
status
the social honor or prestige a particular group is accorded by other members of a society. Status groups normally display distinct styles of life- patterns of behavior that the members of a group follow. Status privilege may be positive or negative
pariah groups
groups who suffer from negative status discrimination- they are looked down on by most other members of society
contradictory class locations
Positions in the class structure , particularly routine white collar and lower managerial jobs, that share characteristics with the class positions both above and below them
upper class
a social class broadly composed of the more affluent members of society, especially those who have inherited wealth, own business, or hold large numbers of stocks (shares)
middle class
a social class composed broadly of those working in white collar and lower managerial occupations
working class
a social class broadly composed of people working in blue-collar, or manual, occupations
lower class
a social class comprising those who work part-time or not at all and whose household income is typically lower than $31,000 a year
