The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States

by Beeghley, Leonard

• ISBN13: 9780205278350
• ISBN10: 0205278353
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

"This text examines the structure of stratification in the United States, focusing on the way one's class location influences his or her life opportunities. Beeghley uses three themes to illustrate social stratification: How power influences the distribution of resources in the United States; how social structures influences rates of events; and how social psychological factors influence how individuals act on, and react to, the situations in which they find themselves."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Sociology and Stratification	1	(28)
Theoretical Perspectives on Stratification	3	(15)
Karl Marx	3	(4)
Max Weber	7	(5)
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore	12	(2)
Ralf Dahrendorf	14	(1)
Gerhard Lenski	15	(3)
A Strategy for the Study of Stratification	18	(8)
Historical and International Dimensions of Stratification	18	(2)
Levels of Analysis and Stratification	20	(5)
Power and Stratification	25	(1)
Summary	26	(3)
Social Class and Stratification: Occupational Prestige and Class Identification	29	(13)
Occupational Prestige	30	(5)
Occupational Prestige in the United States	30	(1)
The Meaning of Occupational Prestige	31	(2)
Racial/Ethnic and Gender Differences in Occupational Prestige	33	(1)
The Stability of Occupational Prestige over Time	33	(1)
The Stability of Occupational Prestige across Societies?	34	(1)
Class Identification	35	(5)
Patterns of Class Identification	35	(2)
The Meaning of Class Identification	37	(1)
A Note on Employed Married Women	38	(2)
Summary	40	(2)
Social Class and Stratification: Mobility and Status Attainment	42	(29)
Social Mobility	43	(8)
Social Mobility in the United States	43	(7)
Social Mobility in Other Nations	50	(1)
Social Structure and Mobility	51	(7)
The Reproduction of the Class Structure	51	(1)
A Vignette	51	(2)
The Inheritance of Social Class	53	(1)
The Long-Term Pattern of Mobility	54	(1)
Industrialization	54	(1)
Class Differences in Fertility Rates	55	(1)
Immigration Rates	55	(1)
Affirmative Action for White Males	56	(1)
International Variations in Mobility	57	(1)
Status Attainment	58	(5)
Status Attainment in the United States	59	(3)
Status Attainment in Other Nations	62	(1)
The Individual and Status Attainment	63	(6)
A Vignette	64	(3)
Socialization and Status Attainment	67	(2)
Summary	69	(2)
Gender and Stratification	71	(31)
Dimensions of Gender Stratification	73	(8)
Gender Stratification in the United States	73	(1)
Labor Force Participation	73	(3)
Occupational Segregation and Prestige	76	(3)
Income Differences	79	(1)
Gender Stratification in Other Nations	80	(1)
Some Consequences of Gender Stratification	81	(4)
Authority and Gender	81	(1)
Victimization and Gender	82	(3)
The Individual and Gender Stratification	85	(4)
Women's Choices	86	(1)
Discrimination against Women	87	(2)
Social Structure and Gender Stratification	89	(11)
The Decline of Gender Stratification	90	(1)
Industrialization	90	(1)
Female Labor Force Participation	91	(1)
Advances in Medical Technology	92	(1)
Legal Changes	93	(2)
The Rise of Feminism	95	(1)
The Continuation of Gender Stratification	96	(1)
Traditional Gender Norms	96	(2)
Institutionalized Discrimination	98	(2)
Summary	100	(2)
Race/Ethnicity and Stratification	102	(26)
Dimensions of Racial and Ethnic Stratification	104	(7)
Racial and Ethnic Stratification in the United States	105	(1)
Civil Rights	105	(1)
Infant Mortality	106	(1)
Housing Segregation	107	(1)
Occupation and Income	108	(1)
Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Other Nations	109	(2)
Some Consequences of Racial and Ethnic Stratification	111	(2)
The Individual and Racial and Ethnic Stratification	113	(4)
Public Place Discrimination	114	(1)
Discrimination by Organizations	115	(2)
Social Structure and Racial and Ethnic Stratification	117	(9)
Historical Variations in Racial and Ethnic Group Mobility	117	(1)
Conditions of Settlement	118	(1)
Prejudice and Discrimination	119	(1)
Affirmative Action	120	(3)
Racial and Ethnic Stratification Today	123	(1)
Reproduction of the Class Structure	123	(1)
Institutionalized Discrimination	124	(2)
Summary	126	(2)
Political Participation and Power	128	(24)
Types of Political Participation	130	(1)
Voting	130	(1)
Partisanship	130	(1)
Unruliness	131	(1)
The Rate of Voting	131	(5)
Voting in the United States	132	(2)
Voting in Other Nations	134	(2)
The Role of Money in Elections	136	(3)
The Cost of Winning	136	(1)
Money, Winning, and Reelection	137	(1)
Where Does the Money Come From?	138	(1)
Two Examples	139	(1)
Social Structure and Political Participation	139	(8)
The Structure of Voting	140	(1)
Election Day	140	(1)
Registration Requirements	140	(2)
Voting Procedures	142	(1)
Separation and Frequency of Elections	142	(2)
The Sources of Partisanship	144	(1)
Money	145	(1)
Family Background	146	(1)
Institutional Location	146	(1)
Money and Anomie	147	(3)
Summary	150	(2)
The Rich	152	(22)
The Characteristics of the Rich	153	(5)
Counting the Rich	153	(2)
The Basis of Great Wealth	155	(1)
Top Wealthholders	155	(3)
The Historical Trend in the Distribution of Wealth	158	(5)
The Kuznets Hypothesis	158	(1)
The Colonial Era	159	(1)
The Nineteenth Century	160	(1)
The Twentieth Century	161	(1)
The Trend Since 1980	162	(1)
The Origin and Expansion of Wealth	163	(3)
Power and Wealth Inequality	166	(3)
Social Class and Lifestyle	169	(3)
Summary	172	(2)
The Middle Class	174	(25)
Social Class and Job Perquisites	176	(8)
Private Pensions	177	(2)
Medical Insurance	179	(1)
Sick Leave	180	(1)
Disability Insurance	181	(1)
Vacation and Personal Leave Time	182	(1)
Top-Level Perquisites	182	(1)
Power and Job Perquisites	183	(1)
Social Class, Income Inequality, and Income Transfers	184	(10)
Social Class and Income	184	(1)
Trends in Income Inequality	185	(1)
Income Inequality, 1950--1970	186	(3)
Income Inequality since 1970	189	(1)
Tax Expenditures and Income Inequality	189	(4)
Power and Income Inequality	193	(1)
Social Class and Lifestyle	194	(4)
Summary	198	(1)
The Working Class	199	(23)
Social Class and Occupation	201	(5)
Working-Class and Middle-Class Occupations	201	(1)
Social Class and Job Setting	202	(1)
Unpleasant and Dangerous Working Conditions	203	(2)
Close Supervision and Petty Work Rules	205	(1)
Intense Production Pressures	205	(1)
Social Class and Job Security	206	(4)
The Human Consequences of Unemployment	210	(6)
A Note on the Meaning of Work	211	(1)
Economic Deprivation	212	(2)
Psychological Stress	214	(1)
Familial Disruption	215	(1)
Social Class and Lifestyle	216	(3)
On the Working Class	219	(2)
Summary	221	(1)
The Poor	222	(38)
Dimensions of Poverty	224	(8)
Poverty in the United States	224	(2)
Poverty in Other Nations	226	(1)
The Measurement of Poverty	227	(1)
Are the Poor Really Poor?	228	(4)
Public Assistance and Poverty	232	(10)
Characteristics of Public Assistance Programs	232	(1)
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families	232	(3)
Supplementary Security Income	235	(1)
Food Stamps	236	(1)
Medicaid	236	(1)
The Paradox of Public Assistance	237	(2)
The Benefits of Poverty	239	(3)
The Individual and Poverty	242	(3)
Age	242	(1)
Race and Ethnicity	243	(1)
Family Characteristics	243	(1)
Low-Wage Job Skills	243	(1)
Work Experience	244	(1)
Social Structure and Poverty	245	(8)
The Long-Term Fall in the Poverty Rate	245	(1)
Industrialization	246	(1)
Class Differences in Fertility Rates	247	(1)
Declining Discrimination	247	(1)
The U.S. Poverty Rate Today	248	(1)
The Reproduction of the Class Structure	248	(1)
The Vicious Circle of Poverty	248	(2)
Macroeconomic Policy	250	(1)
The Structure of Elections	250	(1)
The Structure of the Economy	251	(1)
Institutionalized Discrimination	252	(1)
Concluding Comments	253	(5)
Summary	258	(2)
The United States in Global Context	260	(11)
Poverty and Inequality in the United States and Developing Nations	262	(5)
Inequality in the United States and Western Nations	267	(2)
Some Practical Strategies for Reducing Inequality	269	(1)
Summary	269	(2)
Reflections on the Study of Stratification	271	(7)
Objectivity in the Study of Stratification	272	(1)
Research Methods in the Study of Stratification	272	(5)
Paradox in the Study of Stratification	277	(1)
Appendix: Hypotheses Discussed in The Structure of Social Stratification in the United States	278	(5)
References	283	(16)
Index	299