Page 217 - Essencials of Sociology

190 CHAPTER 7 Global Stratification

Let’s contrast two “average” families from around the world:
Learning For Getu Mulleta, 33, and his wife, Zenebu, 28, of rural Ethiopia, life is a constant
struggle to avoid starvation. They and their seven children live in a 320-square-foot
Objectives
manure-plastered hut with no electricity, gas, or running water. They have a radio, but the
After you have read this chapter,
battery is dead. The family farms teff, a grain, and survives on $130 a year.
you should be able to:
The Mulletas’ poverty is not due to a lack of hard work. Getu works about eighty
Compare and contrast
7.1 hours a week, while Zenebu puts in even more hours. “Housework” for Zenebu includes
slavery (including bonded
fetching water, cleaning animal stables, and making fuel pellets out of cow dung for
labor), caste, estate, and
the open fire over which she cooks the family’s food. Like other Ethiopian women, she eats
class systems of social
after the men.
stratification. (p. 190)
In Ethiopia, the average male can expect to live to
Contrast the views of They live in a 320-
age 48, the average female to 50.
7.2
Marx and Weber on what The Mulletas’ most valuable possession is their oxen. square-foot manure-
determines social class.
Their wishes for the future: more animals, better seed, plastered hut
(p. 198)
and a second set of clothing.
Contrast the functionalist
7.3
and conflict views of why * * * * *
social stratification is
Springfield, Illinois, is home to the Kellys—Rick, 36, Patti, 34, Julie, 10, and Michael, 7.
universal. (p. 200) 1
The Kellys live in a three-bedroom, 2 / 2 -bath, 2,480-square-foot ranch-style house with a fire-
Discuss the ways that elites
7.4 place, central heating and air conditioning, a basement, and a two-car garage. Their home
keep themselves in power.
is equipped with a refrigerator, freezer, washing machine, clothes dryer, dishwasher, garbage
(p. 202)
disposal, vacuum cleaner, food processor, microwave, and convection stovetop and oven. They
Contrast social stratification also own computers, cell phones, color televisions, a Kindle, digital cameras, a digital cam-
7.5
in Great Britain and the corder, an iPod, an iPad, a printer-scanner-fax machine, blow dryers, a juicer, an espresso
former Soviet Union. (p. 204)
coffee maker, a pickup truck, and an SUV.
Know how neocolonialism, Rick works forty hours a week as a cable splicer for a telephone company. Patti teaches
7.6
multinational corporations, school part-time. Together they make $60,395, plus benefits. The Kellys can choose from
and technology help among dozens of superstocked supermarkets. They spend $5,218 for food they eat at home,
to maintain global
and another $3,559 eating out, a total of 15 percent of their annual income.
stratification. (p. 206)
In the United States, the average life expectancy is 76 for males, 81 for females.
Discuss how colonialism and On the Kellys’ wish list are a hybrid car with satellite radio, a laptop computer (with
7.7
world system theory explain solid-state drive, a terabyte of memory, and Bluetooth wi-fi), a 65-inch plasma TV with
how the world’s nations
surround sound, a boat, a motor home, an ATV, and an in-ground heated swimming
became stratified. (p. 210)
pool.
Know how neocolonialism, Menzel 1994; Statistical Abstract 2013:Tables 108, 701, 710, 984.
7.8
multinational corporations,
and technology help
to maintain global
stratification. (p. 216)
Systems of Social Stratification
Identify strains in
7.9
today’s system of global Some of the world’s nations are wealthy, others poor, and some in between. This
stratification. (p. 218) division of nations, as well as the layering of groups of people within a nation, is
called social stratification. Social stratification is one of the most significant topics
we will discuss in this book, since, as you saw in the opening vignette, it profoundly
affects our life chances—from our access to material possessions to the age at which
we die.
Compare and contrast Social stratification also affects the way we think about life. Look at the photo on the
7.1
slavery (including bonded labor), next page. If you were born into this family, you would expect hunger to be a part of
caste, estate, and class systems of life and would not expect all of your children to survive. You would also be illiterate and
social stratification. would assume that your children would be as well. In contrast, if you were one of the
U.S. parents, you would expect your children not only to survive but to be well fed, not
only to be able to read but to go to college. You can see that social stratification brings
with it not just material things but also ideas of what we can expect out of life.