Chapter 7 Vocabulary - Social Inequality

Front

The division of society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy

Back

social stratification

Front

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, or prestige among members of a society.

Back

social inequality

Front

The most extreme form of social stratification, based on the ownership of people.

Back

slavery

Front

a form of social stratification in which status is determined by one’s family history and background and cannot be changed.

Back

caste system

Front

The system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.

Back

apartheid

Front

A system of stratification based on access to such resources as wealth, property, power, and prestige.

Back

social class

Front

A measure of an individual’s place within a social class system; often used interchangeably with “class”.

Back

socioeconomic status

Front

A concept that identifies how different categories of inequality (race, class, gender, etc.) intersect to shape the lives of individuals and groups.

Back

intersectionality

Front

An elite and largely self-sustaining group who possess most of the country’s wealth; they constitute about 1 percent of the U.S. population.

Back

upper class

Front

Social class consisting of mostly highly educated professionals and managers who have considerable financial stability; they constitute about 14 percent of the U.S.population.

Back

upper-middle class