Exam 8: Class and Stratification in the United States

Sociologist Max Weber divided those who work for wages into two classes.The __________ class consists of skilled,semiskilled,and unskilled workers.

The Davis-Moore thesis assumes that social stratification results in __________-a hierarchy in which all positions are rewarded based on people's ability and credentials.

Utilizing sociologists Dennis Gilbert's model of the United States class system,locate where you are currently or locate where you aspire to be.

Sociologist Max Weber placed categories of people who have a similar level of wealth and income in the same class.He identified a class of __________-wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do not have to work.

For many of the working poor,medical insurance is out of the question.Approximately __________ million people in the United States were without health insurance coverage in 2009.

__________ is computed by subtracting all debt obligations and Converting the remaining assets into cash.

According to the sociologist Erik Wright's Marxian model,the __________ is composed of individuals who have inherited fortunes,own major corporations,or are top corporate executives with extensive stock holdings or control of company investments.

Relatively low-paying,non-manual,semiskilled positions primarily held by women,such as day care workers,checkout clerks,cashiers,and waitpersons are referred to as:

In 2009 __________ households had the lowest median income ($32,584),as compared with __________ households,which had the highest median ($65,469).

According to sociologist Karl Marx,the capitalist class maintains its position at the top of the class structure by control of the society's __________,which is composed of the government,schools,churches,and other social institutions.

__________ is the movement of individuals or groups from one level in a stratification system to another.This movement can be either upward or Downward.

The term "underclass" is another word for the upper-middle class because it refers to those people found just below the wealthiest Americans.

About two-thirds of all adults living in poverty are women.In 2009,single-parent families headed by women had a __________ percent poverty rate as compared with a 5.8 percent poverty rate for two-parent families.

The working poor account for about 20 percent of the U.S.population.

According to functionalist sociologists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore,all societies have important tasks that must be accomplished and certain positions that must be filled.In addition,some positions are more important for the survival of society than others and the most important positions must be filled by the most qualified people.

According to sociologist Karl Marx,when the workers realized that capitalists were the source of their oppression,they would overthrow the capitalists and their agents of social control,leading to the end of capitalism.The workers would then take over the government and create a(n) __________ society.

__________ theorists view education as the "elevator" to social mobility.Improvements in the educational achievement levels (measured in number of years of schooling completed) of the poor,people of color,and white women have been cited as evidence that students' abilities are now more important than their class,race,or gender.

According to sociologist Karl Marx,the __________ (capitalist class) consists of those who own the means of production-the land and capital necessary for factories and mines.

Distinguish between functionalist perspectives and conflict perspectives in regards to explaining social inequality in the U.S.

One of the most important characteristics of systems of stratification is their degree of flexibility.In a closed system of stratification: