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Social Stratification in the United States and Globally 177 distribute or Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call Socialpost, Stratification in the United States and 7 Globally copy, Learning Objectivesnot 7.1 Describe the three dimensions of social stratification. Do edge.sagepub.com/ritzeressentials4e 7.2 Identify factors contributing to economic inequality. 7.3 Identify different types of social mobility. • Take the chapter quiz 7.4 Discuss theories of social stratification. • Review key terms with eFlashcards 7.5 Explain the relationship between consumption and social stratification. 7.6 Understand the characteristics of global stratification. • Explore multimedia links and SAGE readings 7.7 Identify the different types of worldwide inequalities. 7.8 Discuss the changing positions in the global stratification system. 7.9 Outline the different theories of global stratification. 175 Copyright ©2021 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. 176 ESSENTIALS OF SOCiolOGY Student “Haves” and “Have-Nots” in Of great and particular concern is debt incurred by Higher Education students who attend for-profit colleges such as the University of Phoenix, as well as those institutions that The world of higher education in the United States don’t even deserve to be thought of as colleges (or (and generally in many parts of the world, but often universities), such as the scandalous and now defunct to a lesser degree) is stratified in various ways. For Trump “University,” where students each lost tens of example, a status hierarchy is formed by graduates of thousands of dollars. Such colleges are most likely high-ranking Ivy League universities, midlevel state to be attended by those who are underprepared for universities, and lower-level community colleges. higher education, are economically disadvantaged, Whatever the level of the higher education system from and rank low in the stratification system.T hese students which you graduate, another aspect of stratification, and may receive a poor education, have a lower-than- one that undoubtedly interests and may even trouble average graduation rate, and incur higher-than-average you, is the high cost of your education. Cost is not much student debt, even if, as is often the case, they do not of a problem for the very wealthy or those brilliant (or complete their degrees (see Trending box, Chapter athletically gifted) enough to earn full scholarships. 11). For-profit colleges enroll only 11 percent of all col- However, for most students, it is a major issue, and for lege students in the United States, but they account many (and likely their parents), it can be a hardship if for almost 35 percent of student defaults on loans. not an overwhelming barrier to attending and ultimately Further complicating mattersdistribute for such students is the graduating from college. The ability to afford a college fact that they are preyed on by debt-relief compa- degree is closely related to social class position. nies that charge highor fees and/or often do not deliver on their promises to cut or eliminate the debt. These Students from the middle and lower classes deal students’ debt is high both because they have fewer with the cost of education in various ways, such as by economic resources with which to repay the debt and holding part-time jobs, attending lower-cost state and because for-profit colleges are often more expensive especially community colleges, and taking out loans, than other colleges are. either on their own or through their parents. Whatever post, route they take, they are disadvantaged in compari- The educational experience is just another example son to those who have no problem affording whatever of the highly stratified character of many areas of U.S. college they wish to attend. society in which the poor pay more—and get far less. Student loans represent an especially big problem for many students. Private loans are likelycopy, to have vari- Dimensions of Social able interest rates and offer little protection in case of default. This stands in contrast to federal student Stratification loans, which have fixed rates and many protections, We often hear that American society, as well as the including against default. notTotal student loans in the world as a whole, is unfair. This is generally taken United States amount to about $1.5 trillion, more to mean that a relatively small number of people than a fourfold increase since 2000. Many students have way too much, while most of the rest of us leave college Doowing $25,000 or more, and they are have far too little. In the United States, this unfair- then likely to find themselves unemployed or with ness is made abundantly clear when we see news reports about the excesses of the super-rich, such low-paying jobs. As a result, many are unable to as multimillion-dollar bonuses, private jets, man- make the payments due on their loans, and they may sions, or condos in New York or London worth remain saddled with college debt for a large part of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. At the other their lives, perhaps even into old age. extreme, the gap is just as clear when we encounter Copyright ©2021 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. CHAPTER 7 SoCIAL STRATIFICATioN IN The UNITed STATES AND GLOBAllY 177 homeless people begging on street corners and at FIGURE 7.1 turn lanes on heavily traveled roads. What is it that some people have, or are thought to have, and others lack? The most obvious Social Classes, Occupations, and Incomes in answer is money and what money buys. However, the United States social stratification involves hierarchical dif- ferences not only in economic positions but also in other important areas, such as status, or social TYPICAL TYPICAL honor, and power. Social stratification has a pro- OCCUPATIONS INCOMES found effect on how monetary and nonmonetary Investors $1.5 million Heirs Upper class resources are distributed in American society and Executives 1% around the globe (global stratification is discussed Large business owners in more detail later in this chapter). Any sociologi- Upper managers $285,000 Professionals cal discussion of stratification draws on an import- Medium-sized business owners ant set of dimensions derived from the work of the Lower managers great German social theorist Max Weber ([1921] Semiprofessionals Craftsmen, foremen 1968; Bendix and Lipset 1966). These three dimen- Nonretail sales Middle class and sions are social class, status, and power. upper middle class 44% Low-skill manual distribute $65,000 workers Social Class Clerical workers Retail sales Working poor and One’s economic position in the stratification sys- Lowest-paidor manual, working class tem, especially one’s occupation, defines one’s retail, and 40% service workers social class. A person’s social class position strongly determines and reflects his or her income Unemployed, About $15,000 and wealth. Those who rank close to one another intermittently Underclass per year employed, or 15% in wealth and income can be said to be members part-time menial workers, public of the same social class. For example, multibillion- assistances disabled. aire entrepreneurs such as Mark Zuckerberg,post, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett belong to one social class; the janitor in your university building Source: Adapted from D. L. Gilbert (2018). The American class structure in an age of growing inequality. Thousand Oaks, CA: and the mechanic who fixes your car at the corner SAGE. gas station belong to another. Terms often used to describe a person’s social class are upper class (for example, large-scale entrepreneurs and many large investors, especiallycopy, in hedge funds), middle class (nurses, teachers, veterinarians, air traffic Status controllers, travel agents, and firefighters),work- The second dimension of the stratification sys- ing class (manual, clerical, and full-time service tem, status, relates to the prestige attached to a workers in industriesnot such as fast food), and lower person’s positions within society. The existence class (part-time service and other workers and the and importance of this dimension demonstrate unemployed). Figure 7.1 illustrates the relation- the fact that factors other than those associated ships among occupation, income, and social class with money are considered valuable in society. in theDo United States (Gilbert 2018). Its teardrop For example, in a 2015 Harris poll of 2,223 U.S. shape represents the percentage of Americans in adults, the well-paid doctor was ranked the most each class; there are substantially more people in prestigious, followed by the less well-paid scien- the working and lower classes than there are in the tist, and in third place the comparatively modestly upper class. As we will soon see, the United States paid firefighter. However, the often exorbitantly is even more stratified than Figure 7.1 suggests. paid and rewarded corporate executive was not Copyright ©2021 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. 178 ESSENTIALS OF SOCiolOGY even in the top 10 occupations in terms of prestige Power, of course, is not restricted to the polit- (Harris Interactive 2016). ical system but also exists in many other institu- tions. Thus, top officials in large corporations have greater power than do workers, religious leaders have more power than do parishioners, and those Power who head households are more powerful than are A third dimension of social stratification ispower , their spouses or children (Collins 1975). or the ability to get others to do what you want Greater income is generally associated with them to do, even if it is against their will.
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