SOCI 210: Sociological Perspectives Oct. 13 1. Inequality & mobility 2. Social divisions and class 3. Global inequality 1
Social Divisions & Social Class 2
Social class Last week: Today: ⦙ Discussed social class from a ⦙ Broader perspective micro-sociological perspective ⦙ Social class from a macro- ⦙ Interactionist lens on class sociological perspective boundaries ⦙ Michelle Lamont 3
Social class, revisited What is social class? Some theoretical perspectives: Karl Marx Max Weber Pierre Bourdieu ⦙ Relation to means ⦙ Interplay of three ⦙ Three forms of of production components: interchangeable capital: ⦙ Wealth , prestige , ⦙ Bourgeoisie, petite bourgeoisie, and power ⦙ Economic: money, proletariat, income, wealth lumpenproletariat ⦙ Social: relationships, social circles ⦙ Cultural: knowledge of art, cuisine, tastes Multidimensionality of class ⦙ Contemporary sociologists tend to engage with all of these frames ⦙ Focus on class as multi-faceted Class is defined by a bundle of differentiated resources, behaviors, and cultural attributes 4
Class systems Social class becomes institutionalized Explicit formalization Less explicit formalization ⦙ Feudal societies (notably Europe ⦙ In Canada, class delineation is fuzzy and Japan) ⦙ Modern ethos: class boundaries Class defined directly by economic role should be permeable ⦙ Formal caste system (colonial India) Self determination, primacy of individual Class defined directly by birth ⦙ Class distinctions not formalized in ⦙ Distinction not always clear everyday life Rigidity of class systems almost always But still used ubiquitously in record- related to both economic role and family keeping and statistics heritage, whether or not it is explicit 5
Class systems Hierarchy alignment Class is bound to other hierarchical divisions ⦙ Social hierarchies tend to line up ⦙ Racial, ethnic, national, and gender ⦙ Whenever a social division has a categories power dimension, it will likely align with class ⦙ Distinct from general social Canadian MPs over 85% white and over divisions, which are not necessarily 70% men hierarchical (?) More than 90% of Fortune-500 CEOs are white men ⦙ The large majority of social divisions are tied to hierarchical distinction ⦙ Barriers to mobility become tied to categories Relation to ethnicity, gender, race, etc. complicates strictly economic interpretation of class 6
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