Lecture 11 - Social Stratification I PDF

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Social Stratification I Lecture 9 Feb 12, 2020 Readings: 146 - 156

Objectives ❏ Explain how patterns of social inequality arise and are maintained in diff types of societies ❏ Compare and contrast diff explanations of the origins and impact of social stratification systems ❏ Explain extent to which income and wealth are unequally distributed in Canada and the factors that underlie the trend toward increased inequality ❏ Understand how a person’s position in society’s stratification system has important consequences for lifestyle and quality of life

Intro ● ●

Social stratification - persistent patterns of social inequality Low lvl on social strat system = little wealth, power and prestige (and vice versa) ○ Power - ability to impose will on another

Stratification: A Cornerstone of Sociology ● ●

Social strat = manner in which valued resources are distributed and the way in which advantages are passed down fm gen to gen Constantly changing

Social Hierarchies in Stratified Societies ● ●

Hierarchy may emerge as a result of difference in skills Inds and groups ranked based on degree they move from one position to another, and the extent of inequality in wealth and power that exists wi the hierarchy

Ascribed and Achieved Status ● ● ● ●

Status - rank/position in social hierarchy Ascribed status - function of race, gener, age, and other factors not chosen or earned and that cannot be changed Achieved status - position in hierarchy achieved by virtue and how well someone performs in some role Meritocracy - equal chances to compete for higher positions → presumably,

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most capable will be awarded higher status Social mobility - more qualified ind go up hierarchy, those less competent go down

Open and Closed Stratification Systems ● ●

Open stratification system - merit determines social rank and in which social change is therefore possible Caste system underpins a relatively closed strat system

Social Class ● ●

Social class - position of ind/family wi economic hierarchy, along w others who have roughly the same amount of ctrl over or access to economic material resources Class structure - overall economic hierarchy comprising all such classes ○ Structure → relative stability and permanence of social ranking

Explanations of Social Stratification Karl Marx: Capitalism, Exploitation, and Class Conflict ●

Writings focused particularly on rapidly changing European world that he observed during his lifetime

Modes of Production and Social Classes ●

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Mode of production - system of economic activity in a society ○ Means of production - major component; tach, capital investments, raw materials) ○ Social relations of productions - major component; (relationships bt main classes involved in production 2 classes ○ Bourgeoisie - capitalist; owned means of production ○ Proletariat - working class; exchanged labour for wages ○ ***Petite bourgeoisie - middle class; independent owners/producers and small business owners Surplus value - value of goods far exceeding labour wages, cost of raw material, tech, and other means of producing the good → turned into profits for owner

Class Conflict and Class Consciousness ● ●

Class conflict - driving force behind Marx’s theory of social change Class consciousness - revolution bt proletariat and bourgeoisie when proletariat recognize they are being exploited ○ Destroy institutions of capitalism and replace with classless society

Max Weber: Class and Other Dimensions of Inequality Social Class and Life-Chances ● ● ●

Weber defined class more broadly than Marx Saw larger variety of class positions based both on ownership of property and on other labour-market statuses (occupation and education) Emphasized life-chances provides more power and allows an ind and his/her fam to enjoy more of the good things in life

Davis and Moore: A Functional Theory of Stratification Twentieth-Century Affluence and Functionalist Theory ●

Both part of functionalist aspect and arose in reaction to Marx’s conflict-oriented and socially-radical theories

Functional Necessity of Stratification ●

D and M → inequalities exists in all societies so it must be necessary to it ○ Social inequality is both inevitable and functionally necessary

Criticisms ● ●

Are huge wage gaps in society really necessary? How does a theory like this account for inherited wealth and for the fact that wealth leads to power and ability to accumulate still more wealth?

Gerhard Lenski: technology and Stratification Systems ● ●

“Power and privilege” theory ○ Explains material inequality in both contemporary and past societies Tech base largely determines degree of inequality wi

Erik Olin Wright: A Neo-Marxist Approach ● ● ●

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Contradictory class locations - occupational groupings that have divided loyalties wi a class structure Exploitation can occur through property ctrl, ctrl over means of production, or ownership of skill/credential assets 3 owner classes ○ Bourgeoisie ○ Small employers ○ Petite bourgeoisie w no employees 9 wage-labourers (non-owners) ○ 2 differentiated dimensions

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Organizational assets skill/credential assets

CLASS

Income Distribution in Canada ● ●

Not much has changed fm 1976 to 2016 Top 20%’s income increased 3.3%, other 4 have dropped a bit

Human Capital Theory Gary Becker (1930-2014) ● ●

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Human Capital (1964) Human capital - abilities, skills, knowledge, and experience that an ind or group possess; nurtured through training and education. ○ More investment in HC, better rewards (higher productivity for society or higher personal income for ind) Part of Freedman clan → free market, less taxes, better for economy → thought of to be insane “Education is an investment that you should be rewarded for later on” → exchange degree for higher wages

Human Capital and Educational Investment Critiques of Human Capital Theory ● ●

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1. Presumes that everyone is rational and that every rational being would think this way 2. Assumes everyone competes in an open and fair labour market and that everyone has equal access to resources ○ Wage gap - how much a woman is paid for working in a similar job to a man ○ 1969 = Women only 59% of man ○ Since 1995 = plateaued around 71% ○ Wage gap in 2016 3. Presumes that we live in a meritocracy, ie. ○ Meritocracy - a form of rule by an elite group of ppl whose progress is based on ability and talent rather than on class privilege or wealth

Functionalist Theory of Stratification ●

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Stratification system - consequence of collective judgements by which society (presumably people in general) evaluates the worthiness of a person’s occupational position w regard to its importance or its contribution to the collectivity ○ Min. wage → consequence of society judging you 2 determinants of occupational ranking ○ Differential Functional Importance ■ Eg. doctors, lawyers, engineers, police force, firefighters, etc. ○ Differential Scarcity of Personnel ■ More difficult, more skills/training req’d, more talent, the bigger the req ■ Scarce jobs = should be high paid Critique: just thinks of things as pure dollars and sense

Critiques of Functionalist Theory of Stratification ● ●

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Overemphasizes consensus Underemphasizes power ○ Schools, education, etc. ○ Limits social mobility Meritocracy ○ direct link bt one’s status and economy...