CHAPTER 8: SOCIAL CLASS AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
BRIEF CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Social Differentiation and Social Stratification
A. Estate, Caste, and Class
II. The Class Structure of the United States: Growing Inequality
III. The Distribution of Income and Wealth
IV. Analyzing Social Class
A. Class as a Ladder
B. Class Conflict
VII. Poverty
A. Defining Poverty
B. Who Are the Poor?
C. Causes of Poverty
D. Welfare and Social Policy
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain how class is a social structure.
2. Describe the class structure of the United States.
KEY TERMS (listed in text)
caste system (178)
class consciousness (194)
class system (178)
false consciousness (194)
feminization of poverty (200)
ideology (195)
poverty line (199)
prestige (187)
Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) (205)
KEY PEOPLE
Karl Marx (195)
Max Weber (196)
LECTURE OUTLINE
I. Social Differentiation and Social Stratification
1. Status, as defined in previous chapters, is a socially defined position in a group
or society.
2. Social differentiation is the process by which different statuses in any group,
A. Estate, Caste, and Class
1. In estate systems of stratification, the ownership of property and the exercise
of power are monopolized by an elite who have total control over societal
2. In caste systems, one’s place in the stratification system is an ascribed status,
assigned at birth.
3. In class systems, status is partially achieved, with some potential for
movement from one class to another. In the U.S. class system, the class a
person is born into has major consequences for that person’s life.
4. Social class (or class) is the social structural position groups hold relative to
a particular class. He sees class as a feature of society.
8. Class is a structural phenomenon; it cannot be directly observed, although
consumption (the ostentatious display of goods to define one’s social status).
II. The Class Structure of the United States: Growing Inequality
1. The class structure of the United States is elaborate and can be conceptualized
as a ladder, with social class being the common position groups hold in a status
hierarchy on the ladder rungs.
2. Economic problems creating inequality are caused by a number of social forces
and are social in nature, both in their origins and consequences. Race and
III. The Distribution of Income and Wealth
1. Income – is the amount of money brought into a household from various
2. Wealth – is the monetary value of everything one actually owns. Wealth is a
person’s net worth. Wealth is accumulated and passed down to younger
generations. Wealth is more unequally distributed than income. The wealthiest
one percent in the United States own 34% of all wealth, while the bottom half
hold only one percent of all wealth. The “American Dream” (owning a home
IV. Analyzing Social Class
A. Class as a Ladder – Studies of status attainment in the United States suggest
that stratification is hierarchical, but somewhat fluid. With a few exceptions, most
people remain relatively close to their class of origin.
1. Social class, or socio-economic status (SES), is indicated by factors such
as levels of:
a. income (money received in a certain period)
b. occupational prestige (the subjective evaluation people give to jobs)
c. educational attainment (total years of formal education)
bureaucratic workers)—known as the working class
v. lower class (little formal education; unemployed, displaced, working
poor). Recently, the concept of the urban underclass has been
added to the lower class. The urban underclass are those who are
likely to be permanently unemployed.
B. Class Conflict
a. Conflict theory sees class not as a continuum, but as a relationship of
exploitation and domination in which class is defined by the relationship of
C. Diverse Sources of Stratification
1. Class is only one basis for stratification in the United States.
2. Factors like age, ethnicity, gender, and national origin have a tremendous
influence on stratification.
4. Class position, race, and gender interact as overlapping systems of
stratification.
5. The Race–Class Debate
a. The class structure among African Americans has existed alongside the
White class structure, separate and different.
b. Both the African American and Latino middle class have expanded in
6. The Influence of Gender and Age
a. Gender: The measurement of class status for women is complicated by
the question of how women’s status is derived and how circumstances
can dramatically affect women’s status. Class differences among women
V. Social Mobility: Myths and Realities – The assumption is that the United States class
system is a meritocracy—that is, a system in which one’s status is based on merit or
accomplishments, not on other social characteristics.
A. Defining Social Mobility – Social mobility can be up or down, intergenerational
or intragenerational, and class systems can be relatively closed or open (loose class
boundaries, high rates of class mobility). Despite the popular characterization of
the U.S. class system as open, most people remain in the same class as their
parents, and many actually experience downward mobility.
B. The Extent of Social Mobility
1. Social mobility is much more limited than people believe.
C. Class Consciousness
1. Class consciousness is the perception that a class structure exists along
with a feeling of shared identification with others in one’s class—that is,
those with whom you share life chances.
2. The belief that upward mobility is possible ironically perpetuates
internalized the view of the dominant class, is also a factor.
VI. Why Is There Inequality?
A. Karl Marx: Class and Capitalism – Karl Marx (1818–1883) defined classes in
terms of their relationship to the means of production, including the capitalist class
supported by the petty bourgeoisie, and the working class, including the
lumpenproletariat or unnecessary workers (the urban underclass of today).
1. Marx’s analysis, which focuses on the consequences of a system based on
B. Max Weber: Class, Status, and Party – Max Weber (1864–1920) took a
multidimensional view of social stratification that focused on the connections
between economic, cultural, and political systems through the three dimensions of
class, status, and party.
C. Functionalism and Conflict Theory: The Continuing Debate
2. The Functionalist Perspective on Inequality
a. Functionalism views inequality as essential to the preservation of
3. The Conflict Perspective on Inequality
a. Conflict theory views social stratification as a system of domination
4. The Debate Between Functionalist and Conflict Theories
a. The assumptions made from each perspective frame public policy
debates.
VII. Poverty
A. Defining Poverty
1. The poverty line is the amount of money needed to support the basic needs
of a household, as determined by the government; below this line, one is
officially considered poor.
B. Who Are the Poor?
1. The vast majority of the almost 40 million people in the United States who
live below the poverty line (12.3% of the population) are women and
children. The feminization of poverty, which has been increasing in
2. The poor are diverse in age, race, and geography.
3. Inner cities became the home of most of the poor by the mid-1980s, and
poverty rates are highest in the most racially segregated neighborhoods.
C. Causes of Poverty
1. Two views about the causes of poverty prevail—that poverty is caused by
the cultural habits of the poor or that poverty has structural roots.
2. Blaming the Victim: The Culture of Poverty – The culture of poverty
argument views poverty as caused by welfare dependency, the absence of
work values, and the irresponsibility of the poor (blaming the victim).
3. Structural Causes of Poverty – The underlying causes of poverty lie in
the economic and social transformations occurring in the United States, the
D. Welfare and Social Policy
1. The AFDC program, created in 1935 as part of the Social Security Act,
was eliminated in 1996 by the Personal Responsibility and Work
Reconciliation Act that administers welfare programs through TANF
(Temporary Aid to Needy Families).
2. The law, implementing a policy known as workfare, stipulates a lifetime
LECTURE/DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS
1. The Disappearing Middle Class. Despite the fact that most Americans describe
themselves as middle class, the income and wealth gap continues to grow, and the
2. Social Mobility. Conduct a brief survey of the social class status of your students’
parents and their own current social class status. Be sure to have them indicate the
3. Labor Unions. Describe the labor movements of the 1920s and 1930s in the United
States, or better yet, use documentary films to convey the spirit of the era and to
initiate a discussion with students about class-consciousness in the United States and
4. Poverty and TANF. Share data from your state government’s website or the U.S.
Census Bureau on the extent and distribution of poverty in your state. Track the
5. Homelessness. Through your city or county housing authority, obtain official data on
the extent and distribution of homelessness and housing supports or shelters provided
6. Life Chances. Share with students the experiences of your own age group or cohort
that have influenced your life chances. Invite them to think about the formative
experiences of their own age cohorts. If the class has age diversity, this could lead to
an interesting discussion about social class, social policy, and life chances.
7. Social Class: Does Money and Lifestyle Equal Social Class? Divide the class
8. Socioeconomic Trends in the United States. Have students go to
https://www.census.gov and gather longitudinal data for three different time periods
(e.g., 1925–1950, 1950–1975, 1975–2000). They also need to gather information
9. Debating Marxism. Have your students debate Marxist theory. After viewing the
10. Perspectives on Poverty. Students need to apply the perspectives on poverty to
understand the role of sociology in the debates. Have your students compare and
contrast the functionalist and conflict approaches to poverty and social stratification.
11. Poverty and Science. In her 2010 TED talk, Esther Duflo looks at empirical
12. Million Dollar Murray. In his 2006 article in The New Yorker, Malcom Gladwell
suggests that some social issues might be better off being dealt with rather than being
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
1. Federal Taxes. Federal and state tax laws are designed to favor the rich. Invite a
professor or an accountant to speak to the class about the IRS taxation system and
have him/her address such issues as to who is favored in the IRS tax codes—the
2. Poverty and Families. Assign groups of students to construct budgets for families at
3. Poverty Scenarios. Even when confronted with the research, many students continue
to blame the poor for their own poverty. As a way to bring the daily realities alive to
the students, assign groups of students with “scenarios” reflecting the kinds of
families who might end up on welfare or homeless. Present them with the regulations
of the Personal Responsibility and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996 and typical
4. Wealth. Have students organize a debate related to the distribution of wealth and
income in the United States (Figure 8-1, page 182). Topics might include capping the
5. Service-Learning. Service-learning opportunities for students to work with the poor
6. Marx Versus Weber on Class Consciousness. Divide the class into groups, making
sure that an equal number of groups take each position—Marxian or Weberian. After
10. Changes in Wealth and Income Inequality. Students are not necessarily
11. Social Status. Have your students discuss which occupations have the most status
in their experiences.
12. Why Inequality? Drawing upon the discussion of stratification theories in the
13. Effectiveness of Government Poverty, Welfare, and Work Policies? The Urban
(Videos with a * next to them have corresponding activities below.)
The One Percent (2006, 76 min.)
In this hard-hitting but humorous documentary, director Jamie Johnson takes the
exploration of wealth that he began in Born Rich one step further. The One Percent refers
Titanic (1997, 194 min.)
This popular film displays the ways that class inequality impacts people’s
experiences, relationships, and life chances. Instructors may want to find clips rather
than show the whole film.
* Easy Street (2006, 90 min.)
Inside Job (2010, 109 min.)
Inequality for All (2013, 89 min.)
A documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks
The Colbert Report (approx. 25 min.)
The Colbert Report often presented segments that directly (and humorously) addressed
People Like Us (120 min., divided into 11 stories, and also has short segments)
This popular documentary, originally broadcast on PBS, explores the lives of people in
various positions within the American class system. From working-class families in
Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (2004, 85 min.)
This Academy Award–winning documentary was made with photographs taken by the
Black Gold (2006, 78 min.)
This documentary follows the path of coffee beans from grower to drinker,
Elizabeth Warren and Economist Thomas Pikkety discuss economic equality on HuffPost
Live (2015, approx. 10 min.)
The “HuffPost Live” interview with economist Thomas Pikkety, author of Capital in the
When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006, 255 min.)
This Spike Lee film looks at the racial and class-based ways that Hurricane Katrina
affected New Orleans residents differently.
Class Dismissed: How TV Frames the Working Class (2005, 62 min.)
This documentary looks at how TV shows shape our visions of the working class,
* In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts (2006, 52 min.)
This impactful documentary looks at how debt is strangling Americans—the young in
* Wasteland (2010, 99 min.)
This film by Lucy Walker looks at waste pickers in Brazil. The film shows what it is like
VIDEO ACTIVITIES
Have students view In Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts and analyze
their own spending and charging habits and how they are related to the concepts of
prestige, class consciousness, and perception versus reality of social mobility. You could
also ask the students about their own student loans for college and how they expect to
pay those loans once they have graduated.
INTERNET EXERCISES
1. Browse through the United States Census Bureau website (https://www.census.gov/)
and pick a topic related to diversity, income, housing, or poverty. Read and interpret
2. The National Coalition for the Homeless website (nationalhomeless.org) has
extensive resources in its On-line Library and Projects, which include a number of
work of the conference’s standing committees, mayors are organized into task forces
to examine and act on issues that demand special attention, such as civic innovation,
exports, and hunger and homelessness. Engage the class in a discussion of how
hunger and homelessness increase the burden on everyone in this country. Help the
class design a project to identify the homeless in their city and develop a self-help
get-work project for the able-bodied homeless.
5. End Poverty 2015 (https://www.endpoverty2015.org) gives us an overview of
6. The World Bank Poverty site offers statistics on poverty worldwide. The World Bank
is the leading institution addressing large-scale development. The site offers the
Bullock, Heather E., Karen Fraser, and Wendy R. Williams. 2001. Media images of the
poor.
The Journal of Social Issues 57(Summer): 229–246.
Compton, Rosemary. 2008. Class and Stratification. Cambridge, U.K.: Polity
Gersch, Beate. 1999. Class in daytime talk television. Peace Review (11): 275–281.
Gilen, Martin.1996. Race and poverty in America: Misperceptions and the American news
media. Public Opinion Quarterly 60(Winter): 515–541.
Neubeck, Kenneth J. and Noel A. Cazenave. 2001. Welfare Racism: Playing the Race Card
Against America’s Poor. London, U.K.: Routledge. This book provides a race-centered
analysis of the U.S. welfare policy, detailing past and present attitudes toward welfare and
exposing racial privilege and discrimination in America’s policies toward the poor.
Ostrower, F. 1995. Why the Wealthy Give: The Culture of Elite Philanthropy. Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press. This fascinating study, based on interviews with 99
wealthy Americans, illustrates the class-consciousness of elites who give away large sums
of money to universities, cultural organizations, and charities primarily to set themselves
apart from those below them in the social class hierarchy.
Piven, Frances Fox and Richard A. Cloward. 1993. Regulating the Poor: The Functions
of Public Welfare. Revised Edition. New York: Vintage Books. In this update of their
1971 groundbreaking work, Piven and Cloward demonstrate how public relief has been
used to avert civil chaos during economic downturns and to exert pressure on the
workforce during periods of stability. The study provides an historical context to current
welfare policy.
Rose, Stephan. 2007. Social Stratification in the U.S.: The American Profile Poster. New
York: New Press. This work looks at statistics and studies showing the distribution of
wealth and income in the United States.
WEBSITE SUGGESTIONS
In addition to the Internet Exercises, you might find the following websites useful as
resources for student research or as bases for discussions.
income and wealth distribution in the United States, with good links to other sources.
current economic and financial news. Go to the website and find America’s 400 Richest.
Investigate this and other Forbes sites to discover how the wealthy can spend their
money.
Muslimaid is a website dedicated to poverty in Muslim Countries
Washington DC NGO shows how nonprofits work for the poor by lobbying. Bread for
the World provides data on poverty, including reports on hunger and nutrition.
measures of poverty and other indicators from around the world, as well as an amazing
visual way of organizing all the information.