Social Class

Social Class

1. Social Stratification: A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.

   • System of inequality

   • Major system of stratification in industrialized societies: social class system

2. *Social Class: social structural position a group holds relative to the economic, social, political, and cultural resources of society.

   • Class is about more than income.

   • Class determines access to resources.

   • Class puts people in different positions of advantage or disadvantage. e.g., Ehrenreich reading

3. What is social class? e.g., Film: Inequality for All

Models of Society

1. Marx (Conflict Theory) - Karl Marx (1818 - 1883)

   • Economic Structure and Class Position:

     • Social structure of all societies is determined by economic structure.
       • Think: how much wealth people have relative to others.
     • Western Europe & U.S.: economic structure is Capitalism

   • Social Class is all about position in the economic structure

   • Social class = relationship to "Means of Production"

   • Means of Production = system by which goods are produced and distributed.

   • Under Capitalism:

     • Two basic relationships to the Means of Production:
       • Own/Control means of production (Capitalist class or Bourgeoisie)
       • Label for others (Working class or Proletariat)
       • E.g., Pillow factory
     • This produces a 2-level hierarchical social class system.
       • Capitalist class has power -- Powerful (Bourgeoisie)
       • Working class has little or no power -- Poor (Proletariat)
     • This system leads to conflict and revolution.

   • Class and Power:

     • Economic Structure is PRIMARY:
       • Other parts of social structure reflect capitalist interests.
       • E.g., Politics, Education, Law

       • Base: material forces of production and their economic foundations.

       • Superstructure: legal, political, religious, philosophic, aesthetic life.

     • Thus, Capitalist class has power and controls resources (in all other spheres of social structure):
       • E.g., Political resources
       • E.g., Religious institutions
       • E.g., Educational institutions
     • They control most resources and perpetuate the system that benefits them
       • E.g., Debt from college
     • The elite also reproduce the class structure in each new generation.
       • Through the family wealth and power are passed down from generation to generation.
       • The legal system defends private property and inheritance.
       • Elite children mix at elite schools and other institutions.
         • Forging social ties that will benefit them throughout their lives.

   • Critique of Marx:

     • Two-level economic system is too simplistic.
     • Is economic position ALL-important?
     • Are the only ones who are powerful those with economic resources?
     • What do you observe in "Inequality for All"?
     • Clip from Roseanne

2. Weber (Structural Conflict) - Max Weber (1864 - 1920) Germany

   • Social stratification involves 3 dimensions of inequality:

     • Class: economic position (continuum):
       • One can have a higher or lower economic position.
       • Related to ability to control economic resources
     • Status: degree of prestige or social honor
       • One can have a higher or lower position of prestige in society.
       • Occupation and/or education are usually the basis for amount of prestige. E.g., BA, MA, MBA, PhD
       • Related to ability to control cultural resources.
     • Power: ability to make other people do what you want (political power)
       • One can have higher or lower position in the political realm.
       • Related to ability to control political/government resources.
     • These 3 dimensions often go together, but not always. Examples of when they may not be consistent?

   • These three dimensions of inequality lead to three different groups in society. Class, Status, and Power are the basis for three different types of groups in society:

     • Class = economic group; those with similar market position.
       • Think: "Upper-Middle Class," "Middle Class," etc.
       • Group based on economic aspect of occupation (income), as well as overall wealth.
       • Similar in terms of economic resources/power.
     • Status = "Status group": a community which has a similar "style of life."
       • Group based on prestige of occupation (often linked to educational attainment as well).
       • Similar in terms of cultural style/resources.
     • Power = Party: organized group pursuing power.
       • Group based on political position.
       • Similar in terms of political resources/view.

   • Critique of Weber:

     • Weber discounted income too much:
       Although class lines not always clear, income is a primary dividing factor in high-income societies. (a PhD won't buy you a Mercedes!)
     • Income inequality has increased in recent years in the U.S. (bigger divide)
     • Some think that Marx's view of rich and power is closer to reality than Weber's multidimensional hierarchy.

   • Weber's great contribution:

     • Social inequality/class is a multidimensional ranking rather than a hierarchy of clearly defined economic (income) groups.
     • In line with this thinking, sociologists use the term -> Socio-economic Status (SES): a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality. E.g., income, wealth, occupation, education

3. Comparison of Marx and Weber:

Social Class in the U.S.

Measuring Social Class: Socio-Economic Status (SES): multidimensional

1. Income: wages from work and earnings from investments

2. Wealth: total value of assets and less debts (This is most close to Marx)

3. Occupational Prestige (similar to Weber's "Status"):

   • How important people consider each occupation
   • High prestige occupations most often required extensive training and have high income.
   • Low prestige often to those jobs that pay less and require less ability and schooling.

4. Education

5. Power is harder to quantify - usually seen as part of income or occupation.

Consequences of Social Class

Example: Ehrenreich Article - "Working Poor"

• What were some of the consequences of living on the minimum wage?
• Is the minimum wage of "living wage"?

• Living wage: wage necessary for a person working 40 hours a week to afford a certain minimum standard of living (e.g., be able to pay for food, housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare)

• Colbert Report Clip

• Physical health:

  • Higher mortality for children born into poor families.
  • Lower life spans for adults in lower classes

• Relationships:

  • Divorce is more common among poor
  • Single parent families more common

• Residential, social life:

  • Income affects where you live
  • Social services are frequently less for the poor.

Cultural Dimension of Social Class: Cultural Capital & Consequences

1. Cultural Capital Theory:

2. Later theorists have used Weber's notions of status group to show how cultural resources are an important part of the social class system in many societies. Think: education

   • From Weber:

     • Social stratification has three dimensions.
     • Class, status, and power are the basis for three different types of groups in society

   • Status and status groups:

     • Poeple with the same status have similar lifestyles, and, thus, form "status groups."
       • Having similar cultural experiences - shared
       • E.g., "Foodies"; Artsy Movie theaters (Midtown Arts Cinema)
     • These groups are parts of the social class system.

   • Status Groups and Establishing Cultural Capital:

     • High status groups establish their own cultural traits as the most valued culture (cultural capital):
       • This can include knowing WHEN to speak and HOW to interpret things
         • E.g., Clapping between movements at symphony
         • E.g., How to behave at a museum/gallery
         • E.g., Knowing WHEN to speak and HOW to speak, negotiating rules, etc.

   • They maintain their high status by knowing and using these cultural traits.

   • Systems in society give advantages to people with "higher" cultural traits or knowledge

3. Example: Accents or ways of speaking: Do accents have certain associations/meanings? Which ones sound "smarter"?

   • Cultural Capital:

     • Cultural Capital: Distinctive cultural traits, attitudes, and styles which can be used as resources/capital to gain advantages in society.

       • "Knowledge and familiarity with styles and genres that are socially valued and that confer prestige upon those who have mastered them." –Bourdieu & Passeron

     • Example:
       • "Refined" taste/style of clothing, home decor, other material possessions. E.g., Abstract art
       • "Proper" etiquette - table manners, speech patterns, language usage
       • Familiarity with "high culture" - art, music, theater
     • Elite (high) status groups pass this cultural capital from one generation to the next.
     • E.g., Students with high cultural capital tend to:
       • Communicate more easily (e.g., Learning how to speak with adults in primary school)
       • Receive more attention and assistance
       • Be thought of as more intelligent (accents? vacbulary?)

4. Example: Cultural Capital and Consequences: Aries and Seider, "Lower Income Students at Elite vs. State Schools"
   How do class-based aspects of identity shape the college experience?

   • Methods: In-depth interviews with 30 white lower income college students

     • 15 at "Little Ivy"
     • 15 at "State College"

   • Results:

     • Little Ivy vs. State College
       • Which kind of college presents the most challenge to lower income students? WHY?
     • Little Ivy:
       • What are some of the consequences of being a lower income student at an elite college?
       • What kinds of "cultural capital" do lower income students feel they lack?
       • What kinds of "new capital" do the students fell they gain in the elite college?

   • Summary:

     • Lower income students face greater challenges at elite schools than at state schools.
       • WHY?
     • Some challenges are about economic resources.
       • Examples?
     • A lot of the challenges have to do with cultural resources or cultural capital.
       • Examples?
       • Consequences?
     • Many of these students assimilate middle/upper class cultural capital during college.

5. Example: Annette Lareau, "Invisible Inequality: Social Class and Child-rearing in Black Families and White Families"

   • Background:

     • Debate among sociologists about the transmission of class advantages to children.
     • Many think that family life has little effect (would say it's more about schools, etc.)
     • Most studies have not given enough attention to the "culture" of the home. i.e., The meaning of events or the way the family interacts.

   • Hypotheses:

     • Child-rearing approaches (part of culture) vary by class
     • These different child-rearing approaches have different effects on life outside the home. They create advantages (or not) for children.

   • Methods (Table 1):

     • Qualitative study of black and white children, middle-class, working class, and poor
     • Interviews and observations of children aged 8-10.
     • Interviews with parents.
     • Total of 88 families
     • Home observations with 12 of these families.

   • Results:

     • Child-rearing Approaches - cultural logic (pp. 752-753; 761-765; Table 2)
       • These approaches arise from values and beliefs about child-rearing.
       • Cultural child-rearing beliefs are different for the two social classes.
       • Middle class parents: "Concerted Cultivation"
         • Organization of daily life:
           • Foster child's talents through leisure activities
           • Believe these activities transmit important life skills.
         • Language use:
           • Development of reasons.
           • Parents use extensive reasoning for discipline.
         • Social connections:
           • Weak extended family ties; play with children same age.
         • E.g., "Developing Alexander Williams" (pp. 753-757)
       • Working Class Parents: "Accomplishment of Natural Growth":
         • Organization of daily life:
           • Provide love, food, safety (conditions for children to grow)
           • Do no focus on developing children's talents
           • Few organized leisure activities - child "hangs out"
         • Language use:
           • Parents use "directives" rather than reasoning for discipline.
         • Social connections:
           • Strong extended family ties; play with wide age of children.
         • E.g., "Supporting the Natural Growth of Harold McAllister" (pp. 757-759)
       • What type of parenting style is the adult exhibiting here? What about the children?
     • Effects of Child-rearing Approaches ("Impact of Child-rearing Approaches on Interactions with Institutions," pp. 766-770; Table 2):
       • Middle Class Effect: Emerging "Sense of Entitlement" (Cultural Capital):
         • Middle class parents try to get institutions to respond to their individual needs.
         • Informed, assertive in interactions.
         • Not intimidated or confused in interactions.
         • See these encounters as among peers
         • What emerges is a "sense of entitlement" for the child: urge adults to accommodate their individual preferences.
         • E.g., Alexander at doctor's office: How does this sense of entitlement play out?
       • Working Class Effect: Emerging "Sense of Constraint" (A "lesser" cultural capital)
         • Working class parents are cautious in interactions.
           • WHY?
         • Parents accept authority figures as such - don't question or assert selves.
         • Distrustful of professionals - feel bullied and powerless.
         • What emerges is a "sense of constraint" for the child:
           • Children are passive and compliant with adults
           • Boundaries between adults and children are clearer.
           • E.g., Harold at doctor's office: How does this sense of constraint play out?
     • CONSEQUENCES of these Class Effects:
       • Middle Class Sense of Entitlement - Advantages
         • Gain advantages from this way of relating to outside professionals
         • Middle class children expect institutions to be responsive to them and accommodate their individual needs, and this tends to happen.
           • E.g., Doctor takes medical concerns seriously
           • E.g., Parent gets child into gifted program
       • Working Class Sense of Constraint - Few advantages:
         • Sense of constraint leads outside institutions to treat them differently.
         • Passivity is not rewarded, but looked down on, especially at school.
           • E.g., School officials are dismissive towards these parents.
         • Then the parents, frustrated by unresponsive of school, tell kids to deal with things in way that institution will further dislike:
           • E.g., "hit the boy that's bothering you
     • Summary ("Why does social class matter?" pp. 771-772)
       • RQ: Does social class determine these parenting styles
       • Both status group (education and lifestyle/occupation) and economic position are connected to these cultural styles of parenting.
       • The two parenting styles are influenced by:
         • Economic resources - ability to take children to organized activities
         • Parents' education (part of status group) - language use and vocabulary
         • Life experiences/Occupational conditions (part of status group/culture)
           • Middle class: Working is rewarding, want to instill work values in children - games and activities do this.
           • Working class: Working is deadening; just follow orders; see some of this in child-rearing.