Exam 7: Class and Stratification in the United States.

Discuss the issue of what keeps the American Dream alive. What can be done to reduce the structural barriers to achieving that dream.

Describe the concept of global systems of stratification.

As practiced in the United States, which of the following was not a characteristic of slavery?

The American Dream is the belief that if people work hard and play by the rules, they will have a chance to get ahead. Moreover, each generation will be able to have a higher standard of living than that of its parents.

According to the social class model developed by sociologists Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl, the __________ is the one that is most shaped by formal education.

According to sociologist Dennis Gilbert, the top 5 percent of households alone received more than 20 percent of all income-an amount greater than that received by the bottom __________ of all households.

Both sociologists Karl Marx and Max Weber identified ___________ as an important determinant of social inequality and social change.

A combination of three factors qualifies people for the upper-middle class: university degrees, authority and independence on the job, and high income.

Until the 1990s, the white South Africans controlled the government, the police, and the military by enforcing __________ the term used in South Africa for "the separation of the races."

Four critical services that need to be addressed because of their price increases are: health care, higher education, child care, and housing.

According to sociologist Erik Wright's Marxian model, persons in the ___________ have substantial control over the means of production and over workers. However, these upper-level supervisors and professionals typically do not participate in key corporate decisions such as how to invest profit.

__________ mobility is the social movement of individuals within their own lifetime.

The President of the United States has declared that America will be a "classless society." In an attempt to implement this idea, the President has arranged to redistribute all of the wealth and divide it equally across the board.

In the discussion of poverty and children in the United States, which of the following statements was not cited?

Many writers believe that the federal minimum wage should be replaced with a federal living wage.

According to the social class model developed by sociologists Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl, members of the __________ class come from prominent families which possess great wealth that they have held for several generations. Family names such as Rockefeller and Kennedy are well known and often held in high esteem.

Conflict theorists stress that schools are agencies for reproducing the capitalist class system and perpetuating inequality in society. Great disparities exist in the distribution of educational resources because funding for education primarily comes from local property taxes.

According to sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf, which of the following is not a reason why workers have not overthrown capitalism as sociologist Karl Marx had predicted?

According to the text's discussion of race, ethnicity, and poverty __________.

According to sociologist Erik Wright's Marxian model of the U.S. class structure, the major sources of income for the managerial class are profits, interests, and very high salaries. Members of this class make important decisions about the workplace, including which products and services to make available to consumers and how many workers to hire or fire.