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SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Slavery, caste, estate and class

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How much chance does someone from a poor background have of reaching the top of the economic ladder? Why do economic inequalities exist? What social factors influence your economic position in society? Are your chances any different if you are ..?

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Social stratification Inequalities that exist between individuals and groups within societies. Not just in terms of property or assets but differential access to rewards occur also because of Gender Age Religion Race/ethnicity Structured inequalities between different groupings of people.

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Social Stratification A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy based on their access to scarce resources. IT HAS FOUR BASIC FEATURES: It is a characteristic of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences. It persists over generations It is universal but variable It involves not just inequality but beliefs. However, most societies allow some social mobility or changes in peoples position in a system of social stratification. Social mobility may be upward, downward, or horizontal.

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Social stratification is all about structured inequalities; i.e., in terms of assets, property, attributes (such as gender/ race /religion, ethnicity or military rank) among different groups unequal access to rewards with respect to ones position in society layering of society; less privileged to most favored sharing common characteristics without necessarily interacting or identifying with one another being male/ female/ black/ white/ upper class/ working class makes difference about life chances stratification changes through time early human societies versus advanced societies

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Individuals from a category can change their rank but the category continues to exist even if people move out of it and into another category (sharing common characteristics without necessarily interacting or identifying with one another ).

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Life experiences and opportunities depend on how social category is ranked (can sometimes be more significant than personal effort). Ranks of social categories change slowly over time.

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Classical Stratification Top ( Most privileged ) Middle (more privileged ) lower (least privileged)

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Stratification in Modern Industrial societies Upper class Middle classes Working classes

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Stratification and Inequality Social inequality: condition in which members of society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power Stratification: structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society Four major stratification systems: slavery, caste, estate, and class

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IS STRATIFICATION NATURAL? Is it possible to change ones position in any social stratification system? 4 basic systems of stratification: Slavery Caste Estate Class

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SLAVERY Extreme form of organized inequality Certain groups of people are treated as property Legal procedures/conditions regarding slavery varied and changed over time/ place domestic slavery gang/plantation slavery constant threat of punishment and supervision Obvious form of subjection; therefore slave systems were vulnerable for rebellions Spartacus case Economically not quite efficient Since the 18th century, social movements to abolish slavery Slavery is illegal, however different forms of it exists; trafficking and enslavement for sex work (child+female prostitution) forced labor and bondage

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CASTE Systematic inequalities that are believed to be bestowed by birth Life-long social position race/ethnicity or perceived physical characteristics can be the criteria purity- occupational and group purity limiting contact Caste is ascribed and reproduced through family. A person is born into a caste and remains there for life. Special type of class society in which class position is ascribed by birth.

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Common in agricultural and not fully developed and industrial societies. Contact with members of other caste is discouraged. Purity maintained by rules of endogamy.

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Caste Systems A caste system is social stratification based on ascription or birth. Caste systems are typical of agrarian societies because the lifelong routines of agriculture depend on a rigid sense of duty and discipline Caste systems shape peoples lives in four crucial ways: Caste largely determines occupation. Caste systems generally mandate endogamy. Caste systems limit out-group social contacts. Powerful cultural beliefs underlie caste systems.

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Indian caste system until 1949 South African apartheid regime before 1992 whites 15 % -- land, capital, political power blacks (majority) no right to vote, can only work for the white minority, lived in bantustas African National Congress (ANC)-- boycott of South African business. 1992 apartheid abolished by popular vote (among whites) Jewish communities in Europe- until 1945 (ghetto)

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Caste system in India

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Caste in Japan Feudal Japan was divided into several castes: Nobility. Samurai or warriors. Commoners. The burakumin or outcasts. Japan today consists of upper, upper-middle, lower- middle, and lower classes. People move between classes over time. But they may still size up ones social standing through the lens of caste.

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ESTATES Differentiated and unequal social groupings in preindustrial and tributary societies Distinct strata and differentiated mutual obligations Major examples of estate system European feudalism- manorial community aristocracy-gentry- noble birth clergy commoners- serf, free peasants, merchants Ottoman Tmar & Millet System- national/ empire based; non-muslims Social mobility is possible; via intermarriage and affluence, or bestowing of titles and knightship

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Characteristics of Estate Systems Estate stratification systems were agrarian and peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Local, not national system of stratification in medieval Europe. During the feudal era, British society was divided into three estates: The first estate was the hereditary nobility. The second estate was the clergy. The third estate was the commoners. The United Kingdom today is a class society, but it retains important elements of its former caste system

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Estate societies

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CLASS Large scale grouping of people with respect to economic resources and their position in the production system Common factors affecting life chances and life style Class is fluid, open for mobility and not legally defined, no formal restriction on intermarriage. Class is (rather) achieved- not simply given by birth, upward and downward mobility is possible. Class is economically based (inequalities in the possesion of material resources). Class systems are large-scale and impersonal.

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Characteristics of Class Systems In a class system, social stratification is based partly on birth, but largely on individual achievement/merits. Industrial societies move towards meritocracy, social stratification based on personal merit. In class systems, status consistency, the degree of consistency of a persons social standing across various dimensions of social inequality, is lower than in caste systems

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The American Class System Inequality follows relatively consistent and stable patterns that persist through time. Typically, stratified groups in the United States are referred to as the upper class, the upper middle class, the lower middle class, the working class and the lower class. Income inequality is high in the United States; it is increasing; and it is at its highest level in 50 years. In 2001, the top 20 percent of the population received half of the income and inequality in wealth is even greater.

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Social class largely determines peoples life chances and style of life. Children and the elderly account for nearly half of all the Americans living in poverty. Three theories predominate regarding poverty: The culture of poverty theory Poverty as situational Poverty as a structural feature of capitalist societies

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MARXIST THEORY OF SOCIAL/ CLASS CONFLICT Human societies are stratified- class based societies Every society/ each historical period and mode of production has its own exploitative class relations Social class according to Marx; group of people who have similar/ common relations with the means of production Means of production Mode of production Surplus production Accumulation of wealth Pauperization Classes in different mode of productions Pre-industrial societies land-owning classes vs. producers (serfs, slaves, free peasantry) Industrial societies owners of means of production (capitalist-investors) vs. laborers the proletariat

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Relationship between classes is exploitative. With the development of modern industry wealth is produced in enormous amounts but workers have little access to the wealth their labor creates. Pauperization: working class grows increasingly impoverished in relation to the capitalist class. Even if workers get more affluent in absolute terms, the gap separating them from the capitalist class widens.

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Interpretations of Stratification Functionalist Meritocracy Social Conflict (Marx) Max Weber Wealth, Prestige, Power Socioeconomic status- An individuals comparative status in a society based on factors (education, income and occupation).

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Functional Analysis of Stratification The Davis-Moore thesis is the assertion that social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operations of a society. It is difficult to specify the functional importance of a given occupation; some are clearly over- or under-rewarded. Davis-Moore ignores how social stratification can prevent the development of individual talents. The theory also ignores how social inequality may promote conflict and revolution.

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Conflict Analysis of Stratification Marx saw classes as defined by peoples relationship to the means of production. Capitalists (or the bourgeoisie) are people who own factories and other productive businesses. The proletarians sell their productive labor to the capitalists. Big Bucks: Are the Rich Worth What They Earn? Equating income with social worth is risky business. Critiques Marxism is revolutionary and highly controversial. Marxism fails to recognize that a system of unequal rewards may be necessary to motivate people to perform their social roles effectively. The revolutionary developments Marx considered inevitable within capitalist societies have failed to happen.

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How economic inequalities are translated into other inequalities; in addition to economic disparities, oppressive working conditions, wear- some, tedious work, politics Class conflict and class struggle Class in itself Class for itself- class consciousness transformation of state & politics proletarian dictatorship (state capitalism), then communism (stateless society) CRITIQUE ON MARXIST THEORY * over-simplified; no specific emphasis on other forms of inequalities and their relationship with class inequality such as gender, race, ethnicity, skill levels * rigid bi-polar view * class consciousness only arises from shared experiences, but there are various forms of sources for social identities

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Weberian Theory of Class, Party & Status Weber based his theory on Marxian theory; elaborated on Marxist theory of class conflict (society is sum of conflicts over power and limited resources) Weber had a multi-dimensional view: -- social stratification is not merely a class conflict, there are other dimensions; -- class divisions are not only about lack of control over means of production or directly related to economic differences -- there are issues regarding skill definitions, property, credentials, qualifications and market position (managerial professions vs. blue collar jobs) * Weber introduced status and party for the analysis of stratification.

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STATUS & PARTY STATUS- differences according to social honor and prestige Styles of life may be resembling for a WC and a MC person According to Marx, status is a class bound concept, but for Weber status varies independently of class divisions i.e., genteel poverty, old money, new money social esteem even after one looses his/ her fortune PARTY An important aspect of power. A group of individuals working together because of common background, aims and interests for special goals Party interest is not reducible to class difference Protestant/Catholic Interests/ ideas cross-cuts classes Weber provided complex interpretations of class/ status and party

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Life Chances In times of danger, affluent and powerful have a better chance of surviving than people of ordinary means. Max Weber saw class as being closely related to peoples life chances: their opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences

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What Difference Does Class Make Health. Richer people live, on average, seven years longer because they eat more nutritious food, live in safer and less stressful environments, and receive better medical care. Values. Affluent people with greater education and financial security are more tolerant of controversial behavior, while working-class people tend to be less tolerant. Politics. Well-off people tend to be more conservative on economic issues but more liberal on social issues. The reverse is true for those people of lower social standing. Higher-income people are more likely to vote and join political organizations than people in the lower class.

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What Difference Does Class Make Family and gender. Most lower-class families are somewhat larger than middle-class families. Working-class parents encourage conventional norms and respect to authorities Whereas parents of higher social standing transmit a different cultural capital to their children, stressing individuality and imagination.

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Income and Wealth Income: wages and salaries measured over some period, such as per hour or per year Wealth: total of a persons material assets, including savings, land, stocks, and other types of property, minus his or her debts at a single point in time

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Who are the poor? Age. 2001, 16.3 percent of people under the age of eighteen (11.7 million children) were poor. Race and ethnicity. African Americans are about three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be poor. Gender and family patterns. The feminization of poverty is the trend by which women represent an increasing proportion of the poor. Urban and rural poverty. The greatest concentration of poverty is found in central cities.

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Explaining poverty One view: The poor are mostly responsible for their own poverty. The poor become trapped in a culture of poverty, a lower-class subculture that can destroy peoples ambition. Another view: Society is primarily responsible for poverty. Most of the evidence suggests that society rather than the poor is responsible for it While people continue to talk about welfare reform, no major political party has said anything about the lack of work in central cities.

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Social Mobility The process of moving from one stratification level to another takes a number of forms: vertical horizontal intergenerational intra-generational. Intra-generational social mobility is a change in social position occurring during a persons lifetime Intergenerational social mobility is upward or downward social mobility of children in relation to their parents.

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Social Mobility Religion Historically, people of English ancestry have enjoyed the most wealth and wielded the greatest power in the United States. Throughout our history, upward mobility has sometimes meant converting to a higher- ranking religion Turkey??

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Social Mobility Education Impact of formal schooling is even greater than that of family background Important means of intergenerational mobility Critical factor in development of cultural capital

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Social Mobility Income and Wealth Mobility occurs, but most do not move very far Likelihood of ending up in same position as ones parents has been rising since 1980 Occupational Mobility Common among males Most mobility is minor

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Understanding Gender Stratification Masculinity and femininity are culturally and historically constructed (non-essentialist) Masculinity and femininity are constructed in relation (often in opposition) to one another. Simone de Beauvoir One is not born but becomes a woman Man: the norm, neutral, autonomous (mankind) Woman: the other, the one that lacks, dependent Gender is one of the fundamental forms of social stratification in all societies (patriarchy exists in different forms and degrees). Multiple masculinities and femininities (hegemonic masculinity and hegemonic femininity) in a given society.

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How Sexism and Patriarchy works? Avenues of gender stratification; how sexism and patriarchy are built? family private property marriage sexual reproduction labor market (segmented labor market) ideology & culture religion/ traditions/ politics language