absolute poverty
A severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.
The irony of rising standards of living is that one does not have to live in absolute poverty.
achieved status
A status received through individual effort or merits (eg. occupation, educational level, moral character, etc.).
A status one receives by virtue of being born into a category or group (e.g., hereditary position, gender, race, etc.) —and achieved status.
ascribed status
A status received by virtue of being born into a category or group (eg. hereditary position, gender, race, etc.).
Caste systems are based on a hierarchy of ascribed statuses, based on being born into fixed caste groups.
bourgeoisie
In capitalism, the owning class who live from the proceeds of owning or controlling productive property (capital assets like factories and machinery, or capital itself in the form of investments, stocks, and bonds).
Marx referred to these classes as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, respectively.
caste system
A system in which people are born into a social standing that they will retain their entire lives.
This difference in stratification systems can be examined by the comparison between class systems and caste systems.
class
A group who shares a common social status based on factors like wealth, income, education, and occupation.
Characterize the social conditions of the owning class, the middle class, and the traditional working class in Canada.
class system
Social standing based on social factors and individual accomplishments.
This difference in stratification systems can be examined by the comparison between class systems and caste systems.
class traits
The typical behaviours, customs, and norms that define each class, also called class markers.
Class traits, also called class markers, are the typical behaviours, customs, and norms that define each class.
conspicuous consumption
Buying and using products to make a statement about social standing.
Conspicuous consumption refers to buying certain products to make a social statement about status.
cultural capital
Cultural assets in the form of knowledge, education, and taste that can be transferred intergenerationally.
These divisions are based on gradations of status defined by levels of education, types of work, cultural capital, and the lifestyles afforded by income.
Davis-Moore thesis
A thesis that argues some social stratification is a social necessity.
In 1953, Melvin Tumin (1919-1994) countered the Davis-Moore thesis in Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis.
downward mobility
A lowering of one’s social class.
Downward mobility indicates a lowering of one’s social class.
empire
A new supra-national, global form of sovereignty whose territory is the entire globe.
It was a time of great social and political upheaval with the rise of empires that exposed many people — for the first time — to societies and cultures other than their own.
endogamous marriages
Unions of people within the same social category.
In a caste system, marriage is endogamous, meaning that marriage between castes is forbidden.
equality of condition
A situation in which everyone in a society has a similar level of wealth, status, and power.
This is the belief in equality of opportunity, which can be contrasted with the concept of equality of condition.
equality of opportunity
A situation in which everyone in a society has an equal chance to pursue economic or social rewards.
This is the belief in equality of opportunity, which can be contrasted with the concept of equality of condition.
exogamous marriages
Unions of people from different social categories.
An exogamous marriage is a union of people from different social categories.
Gini Index
A measure of income inequality in which zero is absolute equality and one is absolute inequality.
The Gini Index is a measure of income inequality in which zero is absolute equality and one is absolute inequality.
global stratification
A comparison of the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries as a whole.
Global stratification compares the wealth, economic stability, status, and power of countries across the world.
income
The money a person earns from work or investments.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
intergenerational mobility
A difference in social class between different generations of a family.
Intergenerational mobility explains a difference in social class between different generations of a family.
intragenerational mobility
A difference in social class between different members of the same generation.
Intragenerational mobility describes a difference in social class between different members of the same generation.
living wage
The income needed to meet a family’s basic needs and enable them to participate in community life.
Millions of women and men struggle to pay rent, buy food, and find work that pays a living wage.
lumpenproletariat
In capitalism, the underclass of chronically unemployed or irregularly employed who are in and out of the workforce.
In addition, he described the classes of the petite bourgeoisie (the little bourgeosie) and the lumpenproletariat (the sub-proletariat).
means of production
Productive property, including the things used to produce the goods and services needed for survival: tools, technologies, resources, land, workplaces, etc.
Marx’s definition of social class rested essentially on one variable: a group’s relation to the means of production (ownership or non-ownership of productive property or capital).
meritocracy
An ideal system in which personal effort—or merit—determines social standing.
This is often seen as a function of equal access to education, meritocracy (where individual merit determines social standing), and formal or informal measures to eliminate social discrimination.
neoliberalism
A set of policies in which the state reduces its role in providing public services, regulating industry, redistributing wealth, and protecting the commons while advocating the use of free market mechanisms to regulate society.
Neoliberalism is the term used to define the new rationality of government, which abandons the interventionist model of the welfare state to emphasize the use of “free market” mechanisms to regulate society.
petite bourgeoisie
In capitalism, the class of small owners like shopkeepers, farmers, and contractors who own some property and perhaps employ a few workers but rely on their own labour to survive.
In addition, he described the classes of the petite bourgeoisie (the little bourgeosie) and the lumpenproletariat (the sub-proletariat).
power
How many people a person must take orders from versus how many people a person can give orders to.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
primogeniture
A law stating that all property passes to the firstborn son.
Wealth was passed from generation to generation through primogeniture, a law stating that all property would be inherited by the firstborn son.
proletariat
Those who seek to establish a sustainable standard of living by maintaining the level of their wages and the level of employment in society.
Marx referred to these classes as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, respectively.
proletarianization (the act of being proletarianized)
The process in which the work conditions of the middle class increasingly resemble those of the traditional, blue-collar working class.
As office work became routine and closely supervised, many clerks experienced proletarianization.
relative poverty
Living without the minimum amount of income or resources needed to be able to participate in the ordinary living patterns, customs, and activities of a society.
Relative poverty refers to the minimum amount of income or resources needed to be able to participate in the “ordinary living patterns, customs, and activities” of a society (Townsend, 1979).
social differentiation
The division of people into categories based on socially significant characteristics, identities, and roles.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
social inequality
The unequal distribution of valued resources, rewards, and positions in a society.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
social mobility
The ability to change positions within a social stratification system.
Social mobility refers to the ability to change positions within a social stratification system.
social stratification
A socioeconomic system that divides society’s members into categories ranking from high to low, based on things like wealth, power, and prestige.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
socio-economic status (SES)
A group’s social position in a hierarchy based on income, education, and occupation.
These gradations are often referred to as a group’s socio-economic status (SES), their social position relative to others based on income, education, and occupation.
standard of living
The level of wealth available to acquire material goods and comforts to maintain a particular socioeconomic lifestyle.
This contradicts the interests of the proletariat who seek to establish a sustainable standard of living by maintaining the level of their wages and the level of employment in society.
status
The degree of honour or prestige one has in the eyes of others.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
status consistency
The consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across social categories like income, education, and occupation.
Sociologists use the term status consistency to describe the consistency of an individual’s rank across these factors.
structural mobility
When societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the class ladder.
Structural mobility happens when societal changes enable a whole group of people to move up or down the social class ladder.
upward mobility
An increase — or upward shift — in social class.
Upward mobility refers to an increase — or upward shift — in social class.
wealth
The value of money and assets a person has from, for example, inheritance.
Break the concept of social inequality into its component parts: social differentiation, social stratification, and social distributions of wealth, income, power, and status.
These terms were extracted from Introduction to Sociology – 2nd Canadian Edition by William Little, eCampusOntario (originally published by BCcampus, 2016) which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Based on Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax (© 2013 Rice University), licensed under CC BY 3.0.