POVERTY, SOCIAL CLASS, AND STRATIFICATION

Question 1

Poverty

Answer 1

Lack of access to basic resources deemed normal in a society

• measured by looking at people’s access to resources

food, water, housing, how money impacts their overall health and well-being

• education, employment

Poverty is multidimensional

Question 2

Absolute poverty

Answer 2

you do not have resources needed to reach basic needs

Question 3

relative poverty

Answer 3

deficiency in material in economic resources compared to some other person or population

Question 4

Canada poverty stats
market basket measure

Answer 4

• 6.4 percent live in poverty

market basket measure

• expenses symbolizing a decent standard of living in geo. location
• this is compared to the income of individuals
• if income is below MBM, you are considered low-income

2020

• 11. 2 percent of Canadians experienced food insecurities
• marginalized groups are disproportionately impacted by poverty in Canada
• policies like Wealth Fair keep the wealthy, wealthy and poor, poor

ex. housing, healthcare, transportation, employment laws

Apathy - because we live in a capitalist society, people are worried about themselves and their situation. People don’t care about the circumstances of others.

Question 5

Human Poverty Index

Answer 5

deprivation of longevity
- developing Nations (age 40)
- developed Nation (age 60)

deprivation of knowledge
- developing Nations (adult literacy)
- developed Nation (functional literacy rate)

deprivation of decent living standards
- developing Nations (water, food, health care)
- developed Nation (below income poverty line)

Question 6

Social Stratification

Answer 6

categorizing people into groups in a way that upholds social ranks

those with the most power are a very small population

MOST POWER
Types:
class
gender identity
race/ethnicity
age
ability
sexuality
LEAST POWER

Question 7

Social mobility

Answer 7

refers to movements of people in the categories of social stratification

Horizontal: change jobs, but title and income remain the same

Vertical: going up or down the pyramid

• intergenerational
• intragenerational - movements within one’s own life, based on individual factors

grew up in poverty, and became a lawyer

gained disability by car accident

man decides not to be a man

• structural

An entire group sees a change in society

gay no longer gets hung

Question 8

Pierre Bourdieu

Answer 8

1980s,

activist work for people unemployed and immigrants without papers

Question 9

Pierre Bourdieu - Forms of capital

Answer 9

Believes not just money decides how you are ranked

in economic capital

• how much money do you have?
• private property?
• assets?

cultural capital

• knowlege?
• eloquence?
• skills + education?
• embodied state - accent, posture
• objectified state - material goods, transmissible, well-read, music
• institutionalized state - education

social capital

• connections, relations, networks
• the extent to which this converts into economic capital the stronger

symbolic capital

• some form of recognition associated with one of the other forms of capital

ex. honour, degree, prestige, trophies, awards, diplomas