1.5

• Social stratification


  The unequal ways in which the resources of society are distributed
• Stratification


  Who gets what and how much they get over time
• Social differences become social stratification


  When people are ranked hierarchically along some dimension of inequality whether this be income, wealth, power, prestige, age, ethnicity or some other characteristic
• In the United States, people like to believe everyone has an equal chance at success
• An emphasis on self-effort perpetuates the belief that people control their own social standing
• Sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent
• Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, social classes, and the like
• No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities
• The structure of society affects a person's social standing
• Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social stratification is created and supported by society as a whole
• Social standing of parents


  Key determinant of an individual's social standing
• Parents tend to pass their social position on to their children
• People inherit not only social standing but also the cultural norms that accompany a certain lifestyle
• Social standing becomes a comfort zone, a familiar lifestyle, and an identity
• This is one of the reasons first-generation college students do not, as a whole, tend to fare as well as students whose parents graduated from college
• The size, income, and wealth of the middle class have all been declining since the 1970s
• This is occurring at a time when corporate profits have increased more than 141 percent, and CEO pay has risen by more than 298 percent
• As a result of the Great Recession, many families and individuals found themselves struggling like never before
• The nation fell into a period of prolonged and exceptionally high unemployment
• Those in the working classes felt the impact of the recession most profoundly
• The COVID-19 pandemic roiled across the U.S. in 2020, with working class and poor Americans most at-risk for contracting this virus and most at-risk for facing financial challenges associated with COVID-19
• Counties with higher poverty rates experienced more cases and deaths than more affluent counties during the first ten weeks of the pandemic
• Essential workers tend to be occupied by lower-paid employees who may not have equal access to testing for the virus and may be less able to quarantine away from their families
• Low-income, under-resourced communities tend to suffer more from diabetes, heart disease, and pulmonary disease, pre-existing conditions which put these individuals at higher risk for COVID-19
• Communities of color, particularly Latinx, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, and African American, have experienced disproportionate cases and deaths from COVID-19

  
• 52% of lower income individuals in the U.S. are experiencing an economic fall-out from COVID-19 while only 32% upper income individuals are experiencing this fall-out
• Class system


  Based on both social factors and individual achievement; it affords the opportunity for mobility or movement
• Caste system


  Based on an ascribed status such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, or disability, and is characterized by a lack of mobility
• Social class


  A set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation
• Social class stratification system or ranking

  Creates inequality in society and determines one's social position in terms of these factors
• Wealth


  Comprises one's assets minus their debts; often equated with (ownership of) property
• Power


  The ability to influence others directly or indirectly
• Prestige


  The esteem or respect associated with social status
• People can occupy contradictory class positions throughout their lifetime
• Six-tier model of U.S. class structure

  • Underclass
  • Working-poor
  • Working
  • Lower middle
  • Upper middle
  • Capitalists
• In theory, people are free to gain a different level of education or employment than their parents
• Exogamous marriages represent unions of spouses from different social categories
• Endogamous union is marriage to a partner from the same social background
• The U.S. has remnants of a racial caste system associated with history and legacy of slavery, forced removal of Native Americans, and polices and practices associated with colonialism and Manifest Destiny
• Contemporary racial inequalities characterized by voter suppression, unequal educational outcomes, wealth, and income echo this history