...Social stratification exists in America because the wealth and power belongs to a small portion of the population. Wealthy people possess an enormous amount of power over the political system and are held in high esteem by our society. There is a general feeling that those who are wealthy and powerful are superior to the average person. Social stratification involves not only socio-economic inequality, but the belief system held by people in America. A stratified society exists when there is an unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. In American society, political power and wealth are not distributed equally (Johnson, 1996). Paul Krugman is an economist and author of the book, 'The Spiral of Inequality' (1996). Krugman believes corporate greed, the decline of organized labor and changes in the way goods are produced are the causes of the growing social and economic inequality in the United States (Anderson, 2003). There is an unspoken general agreement in America that certain occupations deserve higher wages and more respect. Professions, such as physicians, lawyers, athletes and actors, are held in high esteem, whereas custodians, waitresses and trash collectors are considered professions that are not worthy of respect or praise and require minimal skill or intelligence. America most definitely needs skilled physicians and lawyers, but it also needs custodians, trash collectors and others who perform much needed tasks in order for society to thrive and function...
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...1: Introduction to Sociology – Social Stratification | Slide # | Slide Title | Slide Narration | Slide 1 | Introduction | Welcome to Introduction to Sociology. In this lesson we will introduce and discuss Social Stratification.Next slide. | Slide 2 | Topics | The following topics will be covered in this lesson:What Is Social Stratification?;Caste and Class Systems;The Functions of Social Stratification;Stratification and Conflict; andSocial Stratification: Facts and Values.Next slide. | Slide 3 | What Is Social Stratification? | Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. The study of social stratification across cultures shows that it has four basic principles.First, Social stratification is a trait of society. While personal ability and achievement play an important role in a person’s position in the stratification hierarchy, it is also a function of the social organization one operates under. As an example, children who are born into a wealthy family are more likely to enjoy good health, do well in school, succeed in a career, and live a long life.Second, Social Stratification persists over generations. We can see that stratification influences society by observing how parents pass along their social position to their children. Social mobility, a change in one’s position in the social hierarchy, is a product of a high-income society, but it is constrained by the social stratification processes. In America we celebrate...
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...Social Stratification | [Your Name]Sociology | “Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, so that some people have more money, power, and prestige that others.” (Macionis, 2012, p. 242) Like all societies, the United States is stratified, and this stratification is often based on a person’s socioeconomic status. The number of years a person spends in school, plus the prestige of his or her occupation, plus the amount of money he or she makes, determine one’s social class. While this method of dividing up the population into classes might be useful, it has several shortcomings. One determinant of socioeconomic status is education. People with a high school degree are classified in one group. People with college degrees are put into another. Using educational attainment levels to indicate SES is problematic for two reasons. School systems in this country are not uniform in quality and not everyone has equal access to primary, secondary, and higher education. The reliance on educational level as an indicator of social class becomes more problematic when one considers the huge variety of colleges in the United States. There are vocational schools, junior colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. Some colleges prepare individuals for specific careers, whereas others emphasize the development of intellectual and life skills. Occupational prestige is very subjective and varies from country to country. “In the United...
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...boost our economy and aid a real, long-term recovery. People who work for a living should be able to make a living from their work. Low-wage workers should not have to scrap by. While many of the companies they work for are making thousand if not millions of dollars. The federal minimum wage hasn’t kept up with inflation. If it has been, low-wage workers or family would be able to survive on minimum wage income. However is stratification necessary and positive in America? Society has developed the concept of social class to categorized people into different groups based on economic, political, and socio-economic status. This system of social stratification contributes to the difficulties that the middle and lower classes have to experience in order to succeed in the United States. America is a place where all people are supposed to be equal, but social class has created divisions in our society. Unfortunately social class has become the backbone of American society, where being upper-class gives people an advantage and a controlling position in the United States. In order for some people to feel secure and happy, they feel that they need to move up in the socio-economic...
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...different kinds of social problems in societies around the world and in the United States, such as poverty, social inequality, race and cultural discrimination, gender stratification, environmental damage, population growth, and urbanization. For the final project, you will write a 1,750- to 2,450-word paper examining the impact of a current social problem on a particular social group. You may choose a social problem and social group from the list below, or you can research a social problem and social group that is not in the list. However, if you choose your own, you will need to submit a request for approval to the instructor by Week Four. | | |Suggested Social Problems and Social Groups List | |Choose one combination of a social problem and a social group from the list below. | | | |Social Inequality and Minorities in the United States | | | |Gender Stratification and Women in Developing...
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...First Essay: Sociological Theories of Social Inequality The article “Marine Tracked Suspected Killer” is about the killing of the Chicago dermatologist that was murdered in his downtown office. It talks about how a marine helped locate the killer. The marine helped the police by letting them search the apartment that he shared with the killer in New York, where they found a cigarette with his DNA. Although, the killer fled to West India to avoid being prosecuted in the United States, the French West Indies has him in their custody. They have refused to extradite him because he is still part citizen there because of his mother citizenship in West India. The inequality that is portrayed in this article would be the custody battle of Hans Peterson with the French and United States government. The problem that the United States is having is that Hans Peterson has killed an American citizen in the United States and should be prosecuted by the U.S. government. Instead, Hans fled to the French government where they are protecting him from being prosecuted. Also, I feel that Hans should be brought back to the United States for trial because he is not really a French citizen. He was probably born in the United States. The reason I say this is because the article states the only reason why he is granted protection by the French government is because his mother was born there, which consider him a French citizen. The French government is being inconsiderate about the U.S. government...
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...2/13/15 I. Theories of Stratification In Modern Societies ⁃ Karl Marx and Max Weber have have developed various of theoretical approaches for studying stratification in modern society. II. Marx: Means of Production and the analysis of class ⁃ class: people who stand in a common relationship to the means of production. ⁃ means of production: production of material goods is carried in a society on multiple levels. ⁃ The main classes are those who own the means of production, or capitalist- and those who perform labor for a living, the working class. ⁃ Capitalist: those who own companies, land, or stocks and use these to generate economy. ⁃ Marx believed the relationships between the classes are extremely important for societies. III. WEBER: CLASS AND STATUS • The two main differences between Weber’s theory and Marx’s is that Weber believed: class derives from not from control or lack of control of the means of production, but economics differences that doesn’t deal with property. It’s based on qualifications or professional occupations:. • Marketable workers have, degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Blue Collar workers perform the labor jobs and are less qualified than the marketable workers. Davis and Moore: The Function Of Stratification • The Davis and Moore theory suggest that a person’s social position is based on talents and efforts. HOW IS SOCIAL CLASS DEFINED IN THE UNITED STATES? • Davis and Moore’s...
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...* SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Meaning, Nature, and Importance of Stratification * Stratification is an institutionalizes pattern of inequality in which social categories are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources * Social Stratification is the hierarchical arrangement and establishment of social categories that evolve into social group together with status and their corresponding roles. * Meaning, Nature, and Importance of Stratification * Social Stratification is a system whereby people rank and evaluate each other as superior and, on the basis of such evaluations, inequality rewarded one another with wealth authority, power and prestige. One result of each differentiation is the creation of a number of levels within society. Meaning, Nature, and Importance of Stratification * Different Views for Social Stratification: * Social Structure – status, social roles into ranked orders * Social Problem – discontentment and social justice * Importance of Stratification * Through S.S., men all over, dispels discrimination, stereotyping and prejudice. * Man will exert great effort in competing with others. * Knowledge of S.S. may enable man to adapt to the social environment * Improvement of man’s standard of living * Effect economic development in a society. * Attainment of a harmonious and stable society. * Types of Stratification System * Caste System * Brahmins...
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...Sociology 1 5/15/2014 Final Exam: Short Answer Questions 1. Class Stratification Describe the social class system in the U.S. In United States have six social classes, from the top to low, there are upper classes which is top-level executives, celebrities, heirs, income over fifty thousands and have highly education, second is new money class which is people inherit a huge money from their family. Thirdly is middle class which is people having highly educational and also have their professionals like lawyer and doctor. Fourthly is working class which is people have low educated or technical training, they always is blue-collar worker and worker. Also they have a union. Fifth is working poor class which is people have lower educational, usually work in the lowest-paying jobs. The last one is poverty level which is people can’t meet their basic needs. Discuss how class shapes life chances using segments from the film, People Like US: Social Class in America below: The working class vs. the middle class In the work, the working-class people more easy to injury at work than the middle class t. And, the working class people are least possibly have the extra money to buy essential, moreover luxurious things and holiday. The social class in US, the middle class family has the better survival qualifications, therefore they have the social activity, and their child can have a better education compared to the working class people. “Bourgeoisie Blues” – the black middle class ...
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...operations deliver goods and services to many different areas. “Although this can lead to great sales and provide the services around the world, this can lead to what is called global stratification” (Ivancevich, J. M., & Baker, J. C. 1970). Global stratification is defined as the inequality amongst countries in the world. The differences in rich and poor countries and the patterns of global stratification are imperialism, world system, culture of poverty and dependency theories. “Each country that is stricken with poverty will be becoming rich as the United States is becoming poor” (Hira, R. 2004). More jobs are being sent overseas, although a company such as Nike has a world headquarters in Washington State, there are many other headquarters in other countries such as; Canada, Austria, Japan, and Mexico. When the company decided to branch off and send jobs elsewhere, this leaves the United States’ workers out of jobs, which then will cause loss of homes, and ability to pay their bills and take care of their families. Having no job means the unemployment rate has skyrocketed in the past several years. The positive effect this has no the United States is that the price of merchandise will be cheaper, due to the fact materials that are used to make the product is cheap, but if made in the United States the price will rise for sales, because the materials is higher quality. When we look at the government having the company out of the nation will be cheaper on the economy. Nike...
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...Park Avenue Alexis Ashmeade Kristen Brown Principles of Sociology November 4 2014 Park Avenue is a documentary that focuses and reveals the social inequality currently consuming the United States’ economy. It shows the audience the behind the scenes networking and deals that are made behind the government’s curtain. How the wealthy or the one percent increase their own wealth through monopolies and lobbyist strategies. Social mobility in the United States was only 0.47 as stated in the documentary. Social mobility is the availability of individuals to move within or between social classes to different social statuses. More specifically the documentary talks about 740 Park Avenue in Manhattan which is home to the wealthiest people in Manhattan, it is also home to...
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...SO 141 - Introduction to Sociology SO 141 - Final Exam - Review Document [pic] Important Things to Keep In Mind! • You will have two (2) hours to complete the exam. This review includes all of the areas you need to study and review for the exam. • There are 100 multiple choice questions; each question is worth two (2) points, thus 200 points possible for the entire exam. • This is ALL you have to study for the Final Exam. The number of “bullet” points under each chapter is the number of questions for that chapter – and they are the topics for each question from that chapter. In essence this document IS the Final Exam – without specific answers and of course the answers ( • The exam will be "scaled" in the sense that your scores will be compared to others, so the normal “90% = A” will not be the hard fast rule at all. So don't be overwhelmed by the test, just do your best and let me worry about "the grade." • You will take the exam online, during Week 8, just like all of the quizzes you have taken. Below is the list of EACH chapter and the topics, theories, and theorists to study for the Final Exam. EVERYTHING that appears on this list WILL be on the exam and there will be NO surprises on the exam, study this and you should do just fine. |WEEK |CHAPTER |TOPICS TO STUDY | |Week 1 |Chapter. 1: The Sociological Perspective ...
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...Anabell Abud Professor Armstead SYG 2000 Social Class Paper 20 March 2013 An Analysis of Social Class in the United States As we all explore the outside world, we all see the same traffic, stores, supermarkets, restaurants, and shopping malls. There is just one difference, we all live differently according to social class. The social stratification is a system of structured social inequality. It can be described as one lady going to Macys with her credit card wasting $1,000.00 dollars in merchandise and the other woman going to a store of discounts in clothing with a strict budget of $20.00 paying in cash. Another way I see how there are inequalities in our society is a simple question, can you afford to go buy a Michael Kors bag? If you can’t, then the Payless store it is to buy a look-a-like that can hopefully give strangers the impression that you’re not in the poverty sector. Those that are part of the super-rich see the poor as lazy; they deserve to be with meager needs because they haven’t shown merit to escape the poverty class, and the underprivileged that they have to pay out of their tax dollars to support them. Sociologists say we need the poor it’s good for our economy out of many various reasons that most of society doesn’t realize. At least journalist B. Ehrenreich saw what it was to not make it in America as an experiment to educate us all in the jobs of the working class from the article “Nickel and Dimed.” I know I became well aware of these differences...
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...example, a bum on the streets of Brooklyn, living in a cardboard box and currently unemployed may resort to stealing in order to survive. He may steal food for nutrition, clothing for warmth, and money for personal pleasure. The criminal behavior in which he took part in gave him instant pleasure and comfort. In this case the immediate effects outweigh the consequences of the crime. It was the best thing the though he could do to guarantee his survival. The rich on the other hand may not need to resort to these measures to fulfill their so-called " American Dream" because it is a reality. This shows how the lower-class system may make the poor more prone and vulnerable to crime. It is highly apparent that certain societies and social groups are faced with situations that may prove to be conducive elements towards crime. Gangs and crime are bred in large cities. People who have a tendency to get in trouble may easily be dragged into the world of crime. The second focus of sociology and crime is the lower class value system and its relationship to gangs. Gangs hold their own standards of right vs. wrong. They believe their acts are normal and usual but others see it as breaking the law. Gangs do indeed engage in illegal activities such as drugs and the selling of stolen goods. Gangs...
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...The structural-functional strain of sociological theory will serve as a springboard for analyzing stratification in education and employment. Stratification is a system of positions that operates as a distribute system of rewards and punishments to populations based on only on their social position rather than the people occupying them (Davis & Moore, 1945). The rewards are considered rights essential to having a given social position and punishments are considered just deserts (Davis & Moore, 1945, p. 243). As a result, inequality in institution depends on control by an elite power structure over access to institutions such as education and employment, as these power structures ensure that the most desired social positions have individuals...
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