Social Stratification Structured inequality, unequal ranking of categories of people, all share 3 characteristics Rankings apply to social categories who are alike (economic role, occupation, gender, race, religion) People's access to material or symbolic rewards depends greatly on the rank of the category they are in Ranks change very slowly over time Three Types of Social Stratification: Slavery and Caste Systems Slavery - people are owned as property and their labor is directly controlled by their owners Caste - system of hereditary inequality in which people's social rank or status is given for life Class
Class Systems are: Fluid and subject to change. Class boundaries are not clearcut to legally defined "Open" class rank is partly achieved Economically based. Differ in the economic resources they own/control and in their life changes Larch-scale and impersonal Upper Class Top 5% of households with incomes of $311,00 Share the total national income received by the top 5% increased from 17% in 1973 to 22% in 2012 Income increase = increase political influence Middle Class Upper Middle Class (below the top 5%) with Incomes between $178,000 and $310,000 Lower Middle Class (the next 40%) with Incomes between 50k and 178k Receive most of their income from wages and salaries. Incomes have risen since 1970s Lower Class Have incomes between 29k and 50k (20% of households) Depend entirely upon wage income and the real wages of men have fallen since 1970s