THE STUDY OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY

ALL SOCIOLOGISTS AGREE – THAT SOCIETY IS A STRATIFICATON SYSTEM BASED ON A HIERARCHY OF PROPERTY, POWER AND PRESTIGE THAT IS MANIFESTED IN PATTERNS OF STRUCTURED SOCIAL INEQUALITY.

ALL SOCIOLOGISTS AGREE – THAT INEQUALITY IS ABOUT ENTITLEMENTS: THAT IS, WHO GETS WHAT, HOW AND WHY?

ALL SOCIOLOGISTS DO NOT AGREE – HISTORICALLY, ABOUT THE STATUS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY – EX:

A) SOME HAVE HISTORICALLY SEEN SI AS “NATURAL AND INEVITABLE” – NOT ONLY USEFUL BUT NECESSARY FOR ANY SOCIETY; A SYSTEM OF DIFFERENTIAL REWARD IS ONE WAY OF GETTING INDIVIDUALS TO EXPEND EFFORT, TIME, AND RESOURCES IN ORDER TO PERFORM NECESSARY ROLES IN SOCIETY.

B) OTHER SEE SI AS “ARBITRARY AND EXPLOITATIVE” – THE "CONTEST FOR SUCCESS" IS RIGGED; MATERIAL REWARDS AND INCENTIVE ARE NOT INDUCEMENTS TO PERFORM DIFFICULT JOBS, THEY ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY ACQUIRED. TO THINK OTHERWISE IS "FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS" GENERATED BY SPECIAL INTERESTS.

...

TODAY, MANY SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE COME TO ACKNOWLEDGE TWO MEASUREMENTS OF INEQUALITY IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY:

MEASUREMENTS(?)

(A) INEQUALITY OF CONDITIONS =======> {ECONOMIC PRIVILEGE OR THE MATERIAL DISTRIBUTION OF REWARDS};

AND/OR

(B) INEQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITIES ======> {“LIFE CHANCES” – REFLECTED IN SUCH MEASURES AS THEIR LEVEL OF EDUCATION, HEALTH STATUS, NUTRITION, AND TREATMENT BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM}

THE GROWING SOCIOLOGICAL PREMISE: WHEN WE CONSIDER THE CONCEPT OF INEQUALITY IN TERMS OF THE ACCESS TO REWARDS AND LIFE CHANCES, “STRUTURES OF INEQUALITY” CAN BE VIEWED AS A COMPLEX PICTURE OF – THE LACK OF INSTITUTIONALIZED POWER, DISCRIMINATORY BARRIERS, AND DENIAL OF OPPORTUNITY.

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIETY AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY

THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIETY AND SOCIAL INEQUALITY

1. SOCIETY IS A “HIERARCHY” OF GROUPS.

2. INDIVIDUALS ARE POSITIONED AT VARIOUS LEVELS IN THE HIERARCHY – THAT IS, “SOCIAL STRATIFIED” – DEPENDING ON THERE MEMBERSIP IN GROUPS.

3. BECAUSE SOCIETY IS HEIRARCHICAL IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY DIFFERENTIAL POWER AND STATUS.

4. BECAUSE GROUPS HAVE DIFFERENTIAL POWER AND STATUS THEY ARE SOCIALLY UNEQUAL (THAT IS, THEY STAND IN INEQUITABLE RELATIONS TO SOCIETY’S RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES).

5. BECAUSE SOCIETAL GROUP RELATIONS ARE UNEQUAL – THAT IS, CHARACTERIZED BY “STRUCTURED SOCIAL INEQUALITY” – SOCIOLOGISTS EXAMINE SOCIETY AS A STUDY IN DOMINANT AND SUBDOMINANT INTERACTION

1) WHAT IS SOCIAL INEQUALITY?

SOCIAL INEQUALITY - IS STRUCTURED AND RECURRENT PATTERNS OF INEQUITABLE GROUP RELATIONS [*****DOMINANT-SUBDOMINANT INTERACTION].

SOCIAL INEQUALITY - IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE EXISTENCE OF UNEQUAL OPPORTUNITIES AND REWARDS FOR DIFFERENT SOCIAL POSITIONS OR STATUSES WITHIN A GROUP OR SOCIETY.

A) WHAT IS A DOMINANT GROUP?

DOMINANT GROUP – THE COLLECTIVITY OF PERSONS IN SOCIETY WITH BOTH POWER AND AUTHORITY TO PRESERVE AND PROMOTE THE PREVAILING DISTRIBUTION OF PRIVILEGE IN SOCIETY. THE DOMINANT SECTOR REPRESENTS THAT PART OF SOCIETY WITH THE CAPACITY TO DEFINE ITSELF AND ITS CULTURE AS THE STANDARD OR NORM BY WHICH OTHERS ARE JUDGED AND EVALUATED.

– [PRACTICES ARE SUPERIOR, NECESSARY, INEVITABLE -- EX: JOB INTERVIEW -- BURQUA, BRAIDS]

B) WHAT IS A SUBDOMINANT GROUP?

SUBDOMINANT GROUP – ALSO CALLED SUBORDINATE, SUBDOMINANT GROUPS STAND IN AN UNEQUAL RELATION TO DOMINANT GROUPS, ALTHOUGH THIS INEQUALITY MAY BE CONTESTED AND TRANSFORMED.

-- [EX: WOMEN'S GROUPS, CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS, ORGANIZED RESISTANCE]

3) WHAT ARE MINORITY – MAJORITY GROUP RELATIONS?

THE CONCEPT OF A MINORITY AND MAJORITY GROUP DOES NOT REFER TO “NUMBERS” OR “STATISTICAL PROPORTIONS” — BUT RATHER — TO “POWER RELATIONS.”

THE CONCEPT OF MINORITY GROUP REFERS TO ANY GROUP — WHETHER BASED ON RACE, ETHNICITY, OR GENDER — THAT IS DISADVANTAGED, UNDERPRIVILEGED, OR EXCLUDED, DISCRIMINATED, OR EXPLOITED [SUBDOMINANT]. IT ALSO DESCRIBES A SOCIALLY DEFINED CATEGORY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE PERCEIVED AS DIFFERENT AND TREATED ACCORDINGLY BY THE [DOMINANT] MAJORITY === AND === WHOSE DISPROPORTIONATE SHARE OF RESOURCES STEMS FROM A LACK OF INSTITUTIONALIZED POWER, DISCRIMINATORY BARRIERS, AND DENIAL OF OPPORTUNITY.

2) HOW DO WE "RANK" IN SOCIETY?

STRATIFICATION -- THE HIERARCHICAL ARRANGEMENT OF SOCIAL STRATA == EVERY SOCIETY CAN BE DIVIDED INTO LAYERS OR HIERARCHIES THAT CAN BE RANKED ACCORDING TO CERTAIN CRITERIA IN ASCENDING OR DESCENDING ORDER. THIS SUGGESTS THAT INEQUALITY IS NOT RANDOM OR FLEETING, BUT IS PATTERNED AND PREDICTABLE AND TENDS TO CLUSTER AROUND CERTAIN DEVALUED CATEGORIES RELATED TO RACE OR ETHNICITY.

3) HOW ARE RANKS OR STATA CREATED?

SOCIAL BARRIERS AND IMPEDIMENTS CREATE DIFFERENTIAL ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITIES, RESOURCES AND REWARDS IN SOCIETY. [THEY INHIBIT AND DISADVANTAGE SOME GROUPS WHILE THEY FACILITATE AND ADVANTAGE OTHERS.]

4) WHAT IS THE RESULT OF RANKING IN CANADIAN SOCIETY?

STRUCTURED STATUS INEQUALITY. CANADA IS A VERTICALLY STRUCTURED ETHIC AND RACIAL MOSAIC. ETHNIC GROUPS WIELD VARYING DEGREES OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC POWER, STATUS, AND PRESTIGE. SOME GROUPS ARE HEAVILY REPRESENTED IN THE UPPER STRATA OR ELITE, AND OTHER GROUPS HEAVILY REPRESENTED IN THE LOWER STRATA.

5) HOW CAN WE MEASURE (TOOLS) RANKS IN SOCIETY?

[THE PRIMARY SOCIAL STRATA AND CONFIGURATIONS IN SOCIETY ARE:]

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION - A HIERARCHY OF POSITIONS THAT HAVE UNEQUAL PROPERTY, POWER AND PRESTIGE (3PS).

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS - ONE'S POSITION IN SOCIETY BASED ON SOME COMBINATION OF EDUCATION, INCOME AND OCCUPATION (EIO)

SOCIAL CLASS - ARE BASED ON PROPERTY RELATIONS, AND REFER TO AN INDIVIDUALS RELATIONSHIP TO THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION. (BOURGEOISIE & PROLETARIAT)

ETHNO-RACIAL GROUP - ARE COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS BASED ON SHARED CULTURAL AND/OR PHYSICAL TRAITS.

6) HOW DO MOST PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IN THE WORLD?

TODAY ETHNO-RACIAL STRATIFICATION IS THE KEY STATUS SYSTEM IN SOCIETY. [MANY SOCIOLOGISTS HAVE NOTED THE "GLOBAL ETHNIC REVIVAL" IN CONTEMPORARY HISTORY].

7) WHAT ARE THE MAJOR FAULT-LINES OF DIVISION?

INEQUALITIES REFLECT PATTERNS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION BY WHICH SOCIETY IS DIVIDED INTO UNEQUAL "STRATA" ALONG LINES OF CLASS, RACE AND ETHNICITY, GENDER, AGE, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND DISABILITY.

8) HOW CAN WE STUDY SOCIAL INEQUALITY (SOCIOLOGICALLY)?

SOCIAL INEQUALITY CAN BE STUDIED AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM ENCOMPASSING THREE DIMENSIONS: (1) OBJECTIVE [STRUCTURAL] CONDITIONS, {POWER, POVERTY, AND WEALTH, OCCUPATIONS AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT} (2) IDEOLOGICAL SUPPORTS, {FORMAL LAWS, PUBLIC POLICIES, DOMINATE VALUES, AND SO FORTH} [[[AND (3) SOCIAL REFORMS {E.G. ORGANIZED RESISTANCE, PROTEST GROUPS, SOCIAL MOVEMENTS}.]]]