Capitalism

An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.

Caste

A heredity rank, usually religiously dictated, that tends to be fixed and immobile.

Class

A group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income.

Class Consciousness

In Karl Marx's view, a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common vested interests and the need for collective political action to bring about social change.

Class System

A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility.

Closed System

A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which there is little or no possibility of individual social mobility.

Conspicuous Consumption

Purchasing goods not to survive but to flaunt one's superior wealth and social standing.

Dominant Ideology

A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.

Estate System

A system of stratification under which peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Also known as feudalism.

Estemm

The reputation that a specific person has earned within an occupation.

False Consciousness

A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position.

Feminization of Poverty

A trend in which women constitute an increasing proportion of the poor people of both the United States and the world.

Horizontal Mobility

The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank.

Income

Salaries and wages.

Intergenerational Mobility

Changes in the social position of children relative to their parents.

Intragenerational Mobility

Changes in social position within a person's adult life.

Life Chances

The opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences.

Objective Method

A technique for measuring social class that assigns individuals to classes on the basis of criteria such as occupation, education, income, and place of residence.

Open System

A social system in which the position of each individual is influenced by his or her achieved status.

Power

The ability to exercise one's will over others.

Precarious Work

Employment that is poorly paid, and from the worker's perspective, insecure and unprotected.

Prestige

The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society.

Proletariat

Karl Marx's term for the working class in a capitalist society.

Relative Poverty

A floating standard of deprivation by which prop;e at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole.

Slavery

A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by other people.

Social Inequality

A condition in which members of society have differing amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.

Social Mobility

Movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society's stratification system to another.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

A measure of social class that is based on income, education, and occupation.

Status Group

People who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent of their class positions.

Stratification

A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society.

Underclass

The longterm poor who lack training and skills.

Vertical Mobility

The movement of an individual from one social position to another of a different rank.

Wealth

An inclusive term encompassing all a person's material assets, including land, stocks, and other types of property.

Which of the following descries a condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power:

social inequality

In Karl Marx's view, the destruction of the capitalist system will occur only if the working class first develops:

class consciousness

Which of the following were viewed by Max Weber as analytically distinct components of stratification:

class, status, and power

Which sociological perspective argues that stratification is universal and that social inequality is necessary so that people will be motivated to fill socially important positions:

functionalist perspective

British sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf views social classes as groups of people who share common interests resulting from their authority relationships. Dahrendorf's ideology aligns best with which theoretical perspective:

conflict perspective

The respect or admiration that an occupation holds in a society is referred to as

prestige

Approximately how many out of every nine people in the United States live(s) below the poverty line established by the federal government:

one

Which sociologist has applied functionalist analysis to the existence of poverty and argues that various segments of society actually benefit from the existence of the poor:

Herbert Gans

A measure of social class that is based on income, education, and occupation is known as:

socioeconomic status (SES)

A plumber whose father was a physician is an example of:

downward intergenerational mobility

The most extreme form of legalized social inequality for individuals or groups.

Slavery

In this system of stratification, or feudalism, peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services.

estate

Karl Marx viewed this as differentiation as the crucial determinant of social, economic, and political inequality.

class

The term Thorstein Veblen used to describe the extravagant spending patterns of those at the top of the class hierarchy.

Conspicuous consumption

This kind of poverty is the minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below.

Absolute

This kind of poverty is a floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantage in comparison with the nation as a whole.

Relative

Sociologist William Julius Wilson and other social scientists have used the term to describe the longterm poor who lack training and skills.

underclass

Max Weber used the term to refer to people's opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences.

life chances

An open class system implies that the position of each individual is influenced by the person's *insert word here* status.

achieved

This kind of mobility involves changes in social position within a person's adult life.

Intragenerational