Introduction to Sociology

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Introduction to Social Mobility and Poverty

What you’ll learn to do: examine social mobility and poverty

Do you believe in the American Dream? How plausible do you think it is for someone to grow up in poverty and to become a millionaire? Watch this video from popular vlogger John Green to ponder how “open” our “open system” of stratification is in the United States. How does it compare to other open systems of stratification like those found in Denmark and Canada? How does systemic inequality of opportunity, particularly for racial and ethnic minorities, and for women, affect one’s ability to move up the social class ladder?

Watch It

https://youtu.be/iYGc8-L_NmE

LICENSES AND ATTRIBUTIONS
CC LICENSED CONTENT, SHARED PREVIOUSLY

• 
  Introduction to Social Mobility and Poverty. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
  
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  Is the American Dream Real? Authored by: vlogbrothers. Located at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYGc8-L_NmE. License: Other. License Terms: Standard YouTube License
  

Social Mobility

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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  Describe how inequality of opportunity is measured through life chances and standard of living
  
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  Describe types of social mobility
  

Life Chances

Max Weber’s conceptualization of social class examines class, status, and power. We know by now that all societies have a mechanism to rank, or stratify, its members and that this stratification is unequal in terms of rewards and benefits. Weber used the term life chances (Lebenschancen in German) to describe the opportunities to increase one’s position in the social class structure. Categories that affect life chances include the social class one is born into, geographic location, family ancestry, race, ethnicity, age, and gender.
Consider the life chances of a child born in Syria today. Syria is one of the most violent countries in the world, and millions of Syrians have been displaced or are refugees seeking asylum in other countries. What kinds of life chances are afforded to Syrian children? 
Consider the life chances of a child born into the Kennedy family in Massachusetts, which has been called “America’s top dynasty” ^[1]versus the life chances of a child born to a poor family in Mississippi. The Kennedy child is born into class, status, and power, having a U.S. President, three U.S. Senators, four U.S. Representatives, and one U.S. Cabinet member within his or her extended family. This boy or girl will attend elite private boarding schools, will travel the world, and will be exposed to possibilities largely unknown to his or her counterpart in Mississippi. Now imagine that the child born in Mississippi is African-American and has ancestors who were sharecroppers that lived under Jim Crow Laws, and whose more recent forebearers struggled through the Civil Rights Movement. This child will likely attend underfunded public schools and watch his or her parents struggle economically to find sustainable work and obtain health care. More than likely, he or she will experience racism from a very young age.