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| Ascription: placed in a stratum beyond individual control. Refers to the use of non performance related criteria in evaluating a person, such as class of origin, race/ethnicity, or gender. In societies which emphasis ascription, opportunity is low and status is often inherited. |
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| Achievement: class or stratum placement based on qualities that can be controlled by individuals, involving merit through living up to certain socially defined ideals or certain achievement rules. Use of performance-related criteria that are equally applied to all persons, skill requirements. |
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| Life Chances: the ability to share in the available goods and services, unequal resources affect long-term possibilities. |
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| Karl Marx: the greater the economic development, the greater the inequality. Historical materialism- the view that a society must be understood with a focus on the underlying material conditions and hw these material conditions have shaped society. Themes: 1)emphasis on social structure. 2) degree of opportunity 3)significance of class 4) emphasis on power 5) importance of alienation |
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| Means of Production: the type of technology used to produce basic necessities and other valued goods. |
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| Mode of Production: the overall set of economic factors within the Marxian concept of substructure. |
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| Substructure: the Marxian concept of the underlying economic base of the society which shape all other aspects of a society. |
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| Superstructure: the Marxian concept referring to aspects of societies (such as political systems, family system, and religion) that are shaped by the economic substructure of the society. |
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| Relations of production: the human relationships within a given mode of production (whether they work together and can interact in a mass-production setting or work in smaller settings or in isolation from other workers), the dominance-submission relationships among workers and authorities, and the ownership and distribution of valued goods in the society. |
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| Bourgeoisie: a Marxian term indicating the owners of the mans of production or capital in a capitalist society. |
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| Proletariat: urban industrial workers in a capitalist system who do not own the means of production. |
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| Monopoly Capitalism: The later stages of capitalism according to Marxian theory where fewer and fewer capitalists own the means of production. |
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| Reference Group: collectives of people whose characteristics (values, norms, tastes, and patterns of action) are significant in the development of ones own attitudes and behavior. |
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| Occupational Prestige: the jobs that people have give them a certain social standing. |
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| Status: ranking based on honor or prestige within the society. According to Weber, the dimension of social stratification based on respect and following a specific honored lifestyle in the society. |
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| Status Attainment: the study of how individuals enter into one occupation. Study of achievement versus ascription factors that determine where a person ends up in the class system |
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| Structural Mobility: upward rate of movement from their class of origin due to historical changes in the occupational structure. |
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| Intragenerational Mobility |
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| Intragenerational Mobility: Social mobility experienced by a person during his or her occupational career. Intra |
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| Intergenerational Mobility |
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| Intergeneratinal Mobility: Social mobility by adults from the occupational position of their parents. |
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| Shared Monopoly: when four or fewer companies control 50% or more of an industry. |
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| Interlocking directorate: the linkage between corporations that results when an individual serves on the bard of directors of two companies ( a direct interlock) or when two companies each have a director on the board of a third company. |
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| Oligarchy: a governmental system that is ruled by few, decisions are made by a small and powerful number of people. |
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| Plutocracy: a governmental system by or in the interest of the rich argued US represents a plutocracy. |
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| Democracy: a political system in which the majority rules, there is equality before the law, and decisions are made to maximize the common good. |
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| Systematic imperatives: institutions of society are patterned to produce prearranged results regardless of the personalities of the decisions makers. There are economic and social constraints on political decision markers that promote status quo. |
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| Capitalism: the economic system based on private ownership of property. Guided by the seeking of maximum profits. In order to represent pure capitalism the following must exist: private ownership of property, personal profit, competition. |
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| Adam Smith: God Father of Laissez Faire capitalism. Laws of the marketplace provide an invisible hand that regulates the economy without government intervention. All you need is free and competitive marketplace and that will balance supply and demand. |
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| Socialism: the economic system in which the means of production are owned by the people for their collective benefit. |
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| Trickle Down Economics: the government provides subsidies to business rather than directly to needy individuals; it is based on the assumption that private profit maximizes rather than the needy themselves and the economic benefits “trickle down” to all. |
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| Corporate Dumping: the exporting of goods by a business that have either been banned or not approved for sale in the United States, because they are dangerous. |
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| Absolute poverty: a condition of life so degraded by disease, illiteracy, malnutrition, and squalor as to deny its victims the basic necessities. Statistically, throughout the world those making less than $1.00 a day are in this category More than 3 in 10 people of the world’s population are in this condition. |
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| Human/social capital: the resources on individual has that make them marketable in some economic context, often refers to education, because this is an investment whose returns are in the form of wage, salary, or other compensation, However, other attributes can been seen as human capital, such as, life experiences, race, class, gender. |
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| Informal Economy: a bartering system used by people to get services. The exchange of goods and services can be gained from legal activity such as mechanic work, baby-sitting, hair care, sewing, or illegal activity such as drugs, pushing stolen merchandise etc. |
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| Discouraged workers: persons not in the labor force who want and are available for a n who have looked for work somtime |
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