Macionis 15 - C11 - E

Chapter 11
SOCIAL CLASS: INEQUALITY

IN THE UNITED STATES
Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Social Class: Inequality in the United States
Learning Objectives
• LO 11.1 Describe the distribution of income and wealth in the
United States.
• LO 11.2 Explain how someone’s position at birth affects social
standing later in life.
• LO 11.3 Describe the various social class positions in U.S. society.
• LO 11.4 Analyze how social class position affects health, values,
politics, and family life.
• LO 11.5 Assess the extent of social mobility in the United States.
• LO 11.6 Discuss patterns and explanations of poverty in the U.S.
population.
• LO 11.7 Assess the trend toward increasing economic inequality in
the United States.

The Power of Society
What are a
person’s odds of
being born into
poverty?

Dimensions of Social Inequality
Income
Wealth
Power
Occupational prestige
Let’s look at each of these
LO 12.1 Describe the distribution of income and wealth in the United States.
Dimensions of Social Inequality: What Is…?

Income in the United States
• U.S. society is highly

stratified.
• During recent decades,

income inequality has
increased.
• The very richest people

now receive a much
Rosa’s life is not the same as the
social world of the people who hire
larger share of all income.
these women.

Dimensions of Social Inequality
Wealth is distributed more

unequally than income.
The richest 20% of U.S. families

own roughly 89% of the country’s
wealth.
Wealth By 2010, average family wealth had

fallen to a level not seen since the
mid-1990s.
The lowest-ranking 40% of U.S.

families have little or no wealth at all.

Dimensions of Social Inequality: What Is…?

Dimensions of Social Inequality: Schooling
Is the key to better

career opportunities
Schooling
Affects both
occupation and
income

U.S. Stratification: Merit and Caste
Born to privilege or
poverty affects schooling,
occupation, and income.
Much wealth of richest

Ancestry U.S. families is inherited.
Inherited poverty shapes

the future of tens of
millions of people.
LO 11.2 Explain how someone’s position at birth affects social

standing later in life. Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015
Race is closely linked

to social position.
Social ranking also

Race and involves ethnicity.
ethnicity
Disparity still exists on

social and financial
variables.

More poor families are

headed by women.
Gender On average, women

have less income,
wealth, and
occupational prestige
than men

Social Classes in the U.S.
Defining classes in U.S. society is difficult because

of relatively low level of status consistency.
Standing may change among dimensions.
Social position may change during a lifetime.
LO 11.3 Describe the various social class positions in U.S. society.

General Rankings of Social Class
Rankings
Upper class
Middle class
Working class
Lower class

Within which social class category do you
think these women fall?
These women have appeared on the television program Real

Housewives of New Jersey.
Social Classes: Upper Class
• The upper-uppers
– The “blue bloods”
– Membership almost
always based on
ascription
– Set apart by the
amount of wealth their
families control
– “Old money”
– Devote time to
community activities

Social Classes: Upper Class
The lower-uppers
The working rich
The “new rich”

Social Classes: Middle Class
• $116,000 to $205,000
yearly income
• Education is important
Upper- • High occupational
middles prestige
• Involvement in local
politics

Social Classes: Middle Class
• Less occupational
prestige
• White collar or high-
Average- skilled blue collar jobs
middles • $50,000 to $112,000
yearly income
• Income provides
modest security

Social Classes: Working Class
• Marxist “industrial
proletariat”
• Routine jobs with less
satisfaction
Lower- • One-half own their own
middle homes
class • One-fourth of children
go to college
• Vulnerable to financial
problems caused by
unemployment or illness

What Would You Say?
What would you say about the social class standing of the Harrison
family and their friend Chumlee, who star in the popular reality
television show Pawn Stars?

Social Class: Lower Class
• 46.3 million Americans

classified as poor in 2011
(about 12.5% of the
population)
• 70% complete high school;
Lower class about 15% attend college
• About 43% own their homes
in less desirable urban
neighborhoods/rural south
• Others are “working poor”
with minimum-wage jobs

The Difference Class Makes
Social stratification is
linked to health, values
and attitudes, politics, and
family life.
Compared to high-income
LO 11.4 Analyze how social class position people, low-income people
affects health, values, politics, and family life. are only half as likely to
report good health.

Cultural values
Health
and attitudes
• Amount and • Vary with social
adequacy of class position
needed medical
care vary with
income level

Politics
• Follow complex pattern along class lines
• Higher class: Conservative on economic

issues; more liberal on social issues; more
political involvement
• Lower class: Liberal on economic issues;
more conservative on social issues; lower
voting records and political involvement

Family and Gender
• Family life shaped by social class.
• Lower-class families are larger; child conformity to

conventional norms expected.
• Higher social standing families have different social
capital and different parenting styles and
expectations for children.
• Gender-role responsibilities more rigid for lower-
class families.

Social Mobility: What Is…?
LO 11.5 Assess the extent of social mobility in the United States.

LO 11.5 Assess the extent of social mobility in the United States.


Research Conclusions about U.S. Social
Mobility
Social mobility has been fairly

high.
• Long-term trend has been upward.
• Intergenerational mobility is small, not
dramatic.
• Social mobility since the 1970s has been
uneven.
• Short-term trend has been downward.

Rate of Growth in Average U.S. Family
Income

Mobility: Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
Marriage
pushes social
Earnings gap standing
between upward.
Women have women and
limited men still exists
White people in opportunity for (77%).
U.S. have upward
always been mobility.
more
privileged.

The American Dream
Earnings have
stalled for many
workers.
Young people are More jobs offer little

remaining at home. income.
Recent recession
brought economic
decline.

Global Economy and U.S. Class Structure
U.S. class structure
• Global economic expansion underlies

shifts in U.S. class structure.
• Jobs changed from manufacturing to

service work.
• Upward mobility created for educated

people.

Global Economy and U.S. Class Structure
U.S. class structure
• Investments available for those with

money.
• Downsizing in companies affects

average workers.
• Many US families working harder to stay

afloat.

Poverty in the U.S.
• Social
stratification
creates both
“haves” and
“have-nots.”
• Extent of US
poverty
– 15% of population
are impoverished.

Poverty in the U.S.: What Is…?

Extent of Poverty: Poverty Line

Demographics of Poverty
Age Race and ethnicity
• In 2011, 48% of • Two-thirds of all

US poor were poor are white.
young people age • In 2011, 27.6% of
24 or younger. all African
• About 7.8 percent Americans and
(3.6 million) of the 25.3% of
poor are elderly. Hispanics were
poor.

Gender
• 59% of poor are women.
• Women who head households are at high risk

of poverty.
• Feminization of poverty is result of rapidly

increasing number of households at all class
levels headed by single women.

Urban and rural poverty
• Greatest concentration of poverty is found in

central cities (20% poverty).
• Most of the counties with the highest poverty

rate in the United States are rural.
• Almost 30 percent of the poor now live in

mostly poor communities.

Explaining Poverty
• The poor are mostly

responsible for their
own poverty.
Blame • Culture of poverty
the produces a self-
perpetuating cycle of
poor poverty.
• Time limits set for

welfare.

Explaining Poverty
• There is little
opportunity for work.
• William Julius Wilson

Blame • Society is mostly
responsible for
society poverty.
• Loss of jobs in the

inner cities is the main
cause of poverty.

Evaluation: Changing Poverty

The Working Poor
In 2011, 15% of heads of poor families

worked at least 50 weeks a year.
Individual ability and personal effort play a
part in shaping social position.
Society is the primary cause of poverty.
A rising share of available jobs offers only

low wages.

Homelessness
• Causes
– Poverty
– Substance abuse
and mental illness
– Long-term
– Structural changes Is society responsible for poverty or
are individuals themselves to
in the U.S. economy blame? When it comes Bureau
– Cutbacks in social (2012); U.S. Department of Health
service budgets and Human Services (2012).
homeless families, most people
– Recent economic think society should do more.
downturn

Did you know?
The typical person receiving
welfare in the U.S. is a child
who is white.

The Welfare Dilemma
Conservatives AFDC weakened families.
Marriage is the key to poverty

reduction.
Welfare encourages
dependency on government
handouts.

The Welfare Dilemma
Liberals Most welfare actually goes to richer

people.
Most poor families using public

assistance are truly needy.
Public assistance is a Band-Aid

approach to serious social problems.

Increasing Inequality, Increasing
Controversy
Rising level of debate about income inequality in the United

States.
Economic inequality has reached levels not seen since

1929.
Large majority of people agree with the statement, “This is a

country in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”
LO 11.7 Assess the trend toward increasing economic inequality in the

United States. Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015
Are the Rich Worth the Money?
• People doubt that the

highest-paid
individuals are really
worth the money they
are paid.
• The Occupy Wall

Street movement
criticized the very high
salaries leaders
receive.
Can the Rest of Us Get Ahead?
Rising doubt that those willing to make the effort can enjoy
economic security and expect to improve social standing
over time.
Some claim the U.S. is no longer the land of opportunity.
The most striking social inequality is found by comparing

living standards in various parts of the world.

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Chapter 11

SOCIAL CLASS: INEQUALITY

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Let’s look at each of these

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

• U.S. society is highly

• During recent decades,

• The very richest people

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Wealth is distributed more

The richest 20% of U.S. families

Wealth By 2010, average family wealth had

The lowest-ranking 40% of U.S.

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Is the key to better

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Much wealth of richest

Inherited poverty shapes

LO 11.2 Explain how someone’s position at birth affects social

Race is closely linked

Social ranking also

Disparity still exists on

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

More poor families are

Gender On average, women

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Defining classes in U.S. society is difficult because

Standing may change among dimensions.

Social position may change during a lifetime.

LO 11.3 Describe the various social class positions in U.S. society.

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

These women have appeared on the television program Real

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

The working rich

The “new rich”

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

• 46.3 million Americans

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

• Follow complex pattern along class lines

• Higher class: Conservative on economic

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Family and Gender

• Family life shaped by social class.

• Lower-class families are larger; child conformity to

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

LO 11.5 Assess the extent of social mobility in the United States.

LO 11.5 Assess the extent of social mobility in the United States.

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Social mobility has been fairly

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015

Young people are More jobs offer little

Sociology, 15th Edition, Global Edition, Pearson Education © 2015