Page 249 - Essencials of Sociology

222 CHAPTER 8 Social Class in the United States

Property

Property comes in many forms, such as buildings, land, animals, machinery, cars,
stocks, bonds, businesses, furniture, jewelry, and bank accounts. When you add up
the value of someone’s property and subtract that person’s debts, you have what
sociologists call wealth. This term can be misleading, as some of us have little
wealth—especially most college students. Nevertheless, if your net total comes to
$10, then that is your wealth. (Obviously, wealth as a sociological term does not
mean wealthy.)
Distinguishing Between Wealth and Income. Wealth and income are sometimes
confused, but they are not the same. Where wealth is a person’s net worth, income
is a flow of money. Income has many sources: The most common is wages or a busi-
ness, but other sources are rent, interest, and royalties. Even alimony, an allowance,
and gambling winnings are part of income. Some people have much wealth and little
income. For example, a farmer may own a lot of land (a form of wealth), but bad
weather, combined with the high cost of gasoline, fertilizers, and machinery, can cause
the income to dry up. Others have much income and little wealth. An executive with
a $250,000 annual income may be debt-ridden. Below the surface prosperity—the
A mere one-half percent of Americans exotic vacations, country club membership, private schools for the children, sports cars,
owns over a quarter of the entire and an elegant home—the credit cards may be maxed out, the sports cars in danger of
nation’s wealth. Very few minorities being repossessed, and the mortgage payment “past due.” Typically, however, wealth
are numbered among this 0.5 percent. and income go together.
An exception is Oprah Winfrey, who
has had an ultra-successful career in Distribution of Property. Who owns the property in the United States? One answer,
entertainment and investing. Worth of course, is “everyone.” Although this statement has some merit, it overlooks how the
$2.8 billion, she is the 215th richest nation’s property is divided among “everyone.”
person in the United States. Winfrey
has given millions of dollars to help Overall, Americans are worth a hefty sum, about $49 trillion (Statistical Abstract
minority children. 2013:Table 735). This includes all real estate, stocks, bonds, and business assets in
the entire country. This wealth is highly concentrated. From Figure 8.1, you can see
that just 10 percent of the nation’s families own 75 percent of the nation’s wealth.
Explore on MySocLab
Activity: The Distribution of
Wealth: Characteristics of Wealth
in Southern Connecticut
FIGURE 8.1 Distribution of the Property of Americans

The wealthiest 10 percent The wealthiest 1 percent
of Americans... of Americans...

10% 1% 1%
10%

social class according to Weber,
a large group of people who rank
close to one another in property, 90% 99%
90%
99%
power, and prestige; according to
Marx, one of two groups: capitalists
who own the means of production
or workers who sell their labor ...own 75 percent of the ...owns 36 percent of the
nation's wealth nation's wealth
property material possessions:
animals, bank accounts, bonds,
buildings, businesses, cars, cash, 75% 36%
commodities, copyrights, furniture,
jewelry, land, and stocks
wealth the total value of everything
someone owns, minus the debts 64%
25%
income money received, usually
from a job, business, or assets
Source: By the author. Based on Beeghley 2008.