Chapter 9: Social Stratification, Inequality, Poverty

Pages 228-256
Is it possible that the cause of stress faced by mothers living in poverty can affect the fetus just
like smoking or drug use?
Although U.S. has achieved levels of wealth & economic productivity, many families
continue to live in poverty & lack the resources to meet their everyday needs
Children are especially harmed by povertysubtle & hidden ways
Stress of mothers poverty might be toxic to child even before birth
Premature birth predicts developmental problems later on
Being exposed to stressful environment due to poverty before birth might have
negative effect on childs outcomes
Even before they are born, poor children are much more likely to be exposed to
stress that impacts their development in their mothers womb
o Stress is damaging, having life-long impacts
Poverty handicaps children literally from conceptresults in cumulative disadvantages
as children grow up deeply questioning goal of equality of opportunity
1. What is inequality?
Inequality: Introduction
Has the enormous gap b/w rich & poor always existed?
Social stratification is sociological subfield
Examines inequalities among individuals & groups
Systematic study of inequality
History of Inequality
In what specific ways are societies unequal?
Inequality: unequal distribution of valued goods & opportunities
Feature of virtually all known human societies
Form & level of inequality has varied widely
Primitive hunting & gathering societies shared limited food supplies & resources among
all members of tribe fairly
Decision-making powers exercised by tribal chiefs & privileges given to medicine
man (shaman)
Relatively little possibility for large inequalities w/o significant opportunities for
some individuals to gain at expense of others
o Mere survival was in question & few surplus left over after basic
necessities were met
Slavery:
The Who & What of Inequality

Class & Inequality

What is the sociological concept of class?

Justifying Inequality
How is inequality justified?

2. Why is America so unequal?

Unequal America in comparative perspective
Inequality in U.S. is about as high as it has ever been
Inequality is higher than in any other rich, democratic country
Some less developed countries also have more inequality
Although its enormously wealthy, U.S. has more people living in poverty than most other
similar countries
Trends in income inequality in United States & around world
How does income inequality in the U.S. compare to other countries around the world?

Sociological perspective: Why is inequality in U.S. today so high?

Inequality was very high during 1920sstock market & banking industry were
extremely profitable
Wealthiest 10% received almost half of the total national income
Included families that accumulated large amounts of industrial & financial wealth
Inequality dropped after 1930simpact of Wall Street crash of 1929
Big financial fortunes destroyed & induced Great Depression
World War II (1939-1945) pushed economic growth during & after war
Infusion of well-paid jobs in new industries expanded consumption possibilities
Middle class families prospered
1960sU.S. government launched Great Societypolicy aimed at reducing poverty &
racial inequality
Hit record low in 1960s-early 1970s
Poverty began to rise again in late 1970s
Since then, financial industries grew rapidly & allowed some people to become
very wealthy
By 2010, share of total income going to wealthiest 1/10 of families reached 1920s level
Families received about 45% of total national income
Why did inequality increase?
Why has economic inequality in U.S. increased since the 1960s?

Income Inequality
Corrado Gini: Gini Index

Most commonly used measure of overall income inequality

Index ranges from 0 to 1
o 0=complete equality (all families have same income)
o 1=complete inequality (1 family gets all income & all other families get
nothing)
Larger the Gini, more inequality there is
Income equality in America has grown since 1960s
Occurred mainly b/c rich are increasingly richer, not b/c poor are getting poorer

Changing relationship b/w technological expansion & education

Deindustrialization & restructuring

Government policies

Union decline

The 1 percent
Who is the 1 percent?

3. Do we all have an equal opportunity to succeed in life?

Inequality, education, & social mobility
Inequality of opportunity: ways in which inequality shapes opportunities for children &
young adults to maximize potential
Equality of opportunity would exist in world where all children have similar chances to
success in liferegardless of whether they were born in wealthy or poor families
Occurs regardless of social background (family, community they live/grow up in)
Everyone has similar chances of success in life as adult
Opportunity is unequally distributed if individuals chances to do well in life depended on
advantages or disadvantaged of birth & early childhood
One of most important topics in study of social stratification
Measuring inequality of opportunity & social morality
How is inequality of opportunity measured?

Social mobility in comparative perspective

How do chances for mobility in U.S. compare to other countries?

Factors influencing mobility

What factors affect how much mobility there is in a society?

Education & social mobility

What is the relationship b/w education & social inequality?

4. How much poverty exist in the U.S. & around the world?
Life at the bottom: problem of poverty
Poverty is complicated concept
Condition that involves inability to afford basic needs like food, clothing, shelter,
healthcare
Beyond minimum resources, it is difficult to define what basic needs are
Government measures poverty in U.S. by setting an income threshold (minimum income
necessary to afford basic necessities)
Threshold=poverty line

Poverty in U.S.: who are the poor?

Which factors increase the likelihood of poverty?

Poverty in international comparative perspective

How does the level of poverty in the U.S. compare to similar countries?

Poverty & children

How does growing up in poverty harm children?

Homelessness

Conclusion: should we be concerned about excessive inequality?