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Sociology Ch. 8
Class and Stratification in the United States
Question | Answer |
---|---|
The hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on their control over basic resources | Social Stratification |
Max Weber's term for the extent to which individuals have access to important societal resources such as food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care | Life Chances |
The movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another | Social Mobility |
The social movement experienced by family members from one generation to the next | Intergenerational Mobility |
The social movement of individuals within their own lifetime | Intragenerational Mobility |
An extreme form of stratification in which some people are owned by others | Slavery |
Anything valued in a society, ranging from money and property to medical care and education | Resources |
The boundaries between levels in the hierarchies of social stratification are rigid and people's positions are set by ascribed status | Closed System |
A system of social inequality in which people's status is permanently determined at birth based on their parent's ascribed characteristics | Caste System |
The separation of races | Apartheid |
A type of stratification based on the ownership and control of resources and on the type of work that people do | Class System |
Karl Marx's term for the class that consists of those who own and control the means of production | Capitalist Class (Bourgeoisie) |
Thos who must sell their labor to the owners in order to earn enough money to survive | Working Class (Proletariat) |
A feeling of powerlessness and estrangement from other people and from oneself | Alienation |
Karl Marx's term fro the struggle between the capitalist class and the working class | Class Conflict |
Composed of the government, schools, churches, and other social institutions that produce and disseminate ideas perpetuating the existing system of exploitation | Superstructure |
The value of all of a person's or family's economic assets, including income, personal property, and income-producing property | Wealth |
The respect or regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others | Prestige |
The ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others | Power |
A combined measure that, in order to determine class location, attempts to classify individuals, families, or households in terms of factors such as income, occupation, and education | Socioeconomic Status (SES) |
Wealthy bankers, ship owners, professionals, and merchants who possess similar financial resources | Entrepreneurs |
Wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do not have to work | Rentiers |
Relatively low-paying, non-manual, semiskilled positions primarily held by women | Pink-Collar Occupations |
Those who are poor, seldom employed, and caught in long-term deprivation that results from low levels of education and income and high rates of unemployment | Underclass |
The hourly rate that is the lowest amount an employer can legally pay its employees | Minimum Wage |
The economic gain derived from wages, salaries, income transfers (governmental aid), and ownership of property | Income |
The federal income standard that is based on what is considered to be the minimum amount of money required for living at a subsistence level | Official Poverty Line |
A level of economic deprivation that exists when people do not have the means to secure the most basic necessities of life | Absolute Poverty |
A condition that exists when people may be able to afford basic necessities but are still unable to maintain an average standard of living | Relative Poverty |
The trend in which women are disproportionately represented among individuals living in poverty | Feminization of Poverty |
A reduction in the proficiency needed to perform a specific job that may lead to a corresponding reduction in the wages for that job | Job Deskilling |
A hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people's ability and credentials | Meritocracy |