Description
A user-friendly introduction to social inequality
This text is a broad introduction to the many types of inequality– economics, status, political power, sex and gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity– in U.S. society and in a global setting.
The author provides a wide range of explanations for inequality and, using the latest research on the multiple impacts of inequality, surveys in detail the personal and social consequences of social inequality.
Learning Goals
Upon completing this book, readers will be able to:
- Understand that inequality is multidimensional
- Understand that it is essential to understand the explanations of the various forms of inequality in order to further a resolution to any inequality’s undesirable consequences
- Understand the discussion of inequality in its broader, historical cultural and international context
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Table of Contents
In this Section:
1) Brief Table of Contents
2) Full Table of Contents
1) Brief Table of Contents
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Study of Social Inequality
Chapter 2: Class, Income, and Wealth
Chapter 3: Poverty and Welfare
Chapter 4: Status Inequality
Chapter 5: Political Inequality
Chapter 6: Sex and Gender Inequality
Chapter 7: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Inequality
Chapter 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Chapter 9: Classical Explanations of Inequality
Chapter 10: Contemporary Explanations of Inequality
Chapter 11: The Impact of Inequality on Personal Life Chances
Chapter 12: Social Consequences of Inequality
Chapter 13: Social Inequality and Social Movements
Chapter 14 Social Mobility and Status Attainment
Chapter 15: Justice and Legitimacy: Assessments of the Structure of Inequality
2) Full Table of Contents
Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Study of Social Inequality
Some Controversial Issues of Substance
Issues of Methodology
Organization of the Book
Part 1: Extent and Forms of Social Inequality
Chapter 2: Class, Income, and Wealth
The Everyday Reality of Class
Two Views of U.S. Class Structure
Technology and the Shaping of the U.S. Class Structure
Income Inequality
Is the Middle Class Shrinking?
Wealth Inequality in the United States
Confronting Economic Inequality
The Global Context and the Impact of Globalization
Chapter 3: Poverty and Welfare
Historical Roots of U.S. Poverty Perspective
Explanations and Racialization of Poverty and Welfare
Cultural Values and the Poor
Myths about the Poor
Who Are the Poor?
Flaws in Pre-1966 Assistance Programs
Welfare Reform and Current Poverty Programs
An Assessment of the Reform Act of 1996
U.S. Poverty and Welfare in Comparative Perspective
Chapter 4: Status Inequality
The Theory of Social Status
Spheres of Status in the United States
Inequality in Appalachia
The Importance of Social Status in the Global Arena
Chapter 5: Political Inequality
Portraits of National Power Structure
Distribution of Political Power
Interlinkage of Economic and Political Power
Ruling Class Unity
Power Inequality in the Work Experience
Power Inequality in a Global and Globalizing Context
Chapter 6: Sex and Gender Inequality
The Status of Women in the Early United States
Balancing Work and Home
Sex Segregation in Occupations
Earnings and Gender
Microinequities in the Treatment of Women
General Theories of Sex and Gender Inequality
The Global Context and the Impact of Globalization
Chapter 7: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Inequality
The Complexity of Sexuality and Gender
Public Opinions on Homosexuality
Gays and Lesbians as Status Groups
Discrimination, Legal Confusion, and Sexual Orientation
A Socioeconomic Profile of Lesbians and Gays
Negative Consequences of Stigmatization
Sexuality in the Global Context
Chapter 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
The Meaning and Creation of Race
U.S. Racial and Ethnic Relations: A Historical Sketch
Racial and Ethnic Inequality Today
White Privilege and the Relational Nature of Racial Inequality
Microinequities and Microaggressions against Racial and Ethnic Minorities
The Intersection of Class, Race, Sex, and Gender
Theories of Racial and Ethnic Inequality
The Global Context, Immigration, and Globalization
Part 2 General Explanations of Inequality
Chapter 9: Classical Explanations of Inequality
Karl Marx (1818–1883)
Max Weber (1864–1920)
Emile Durkheim (1858–1917)
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)
Marx, Weber, and Globalization
Chapter 10: Contemporary Explanations of Inequality
Functionalist Theory of Stratification
The Social Construction of Inequality
Theories of Social Reproduction
Labor Market Theories of Earnings Inequality
Theories of Global Inequality
Part 3: Consequences of Social Inequality
Chapter 11: The Impact of Inequality on Personal Life Chances
Basic Life Chances: Physical Health
Basic Life Chances: Psychological Health
Basic Life Chances: Food and Shelter
Life Chances in a Global Context
Chapter 12: Social Consequences of Inequality
Inequality and the Measurement of Crime
Street Crime and Inequality
White Collar Crime, Corporate Crime, and Punishment
Hate Crimes and Inequality
Social Inequality and Environmental Equity
Inequality, Trust, and Societal Well Being
Social Consequences on a Global Scale
Chapter 13: Social Inequality and Social Movements
The Labor Movement
The Civil Rights Movement
The Women’s Movement
Part 4: Stability and Change in the System of Social Inequality
Chapter 14 Social Mobility and Status Attainment
U.S. Mobility over Time
Comparative Studies of Mobility
Status Attainment: What Determines How Far One Goes?
Mobility and the Attainment Process among African Americans
Patterns of Mobility and Attainment among Women
Chapter 15: Justice and Legitimacy: Assessments of the Structure of Inequality
U.S. Attitudes about the Distribution of Income and Wealth
What Is a Just Distribution?
Bases for the Legitimation of Structured Inequality
Purchase Info
ISBN-10: 0-205-06477-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-205-06477-9
Format: Paper
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