Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Social Class
Social Status
Ascribed
Achieved
Roles
Upper Class
Elite families found mostly in agriculture,
industry, business or government
New Rich
Traditional Rich
Middle Class
Small business, industry owners, professionals
May or may not have properties
Lower Class
Largest in number and live in subsistence levels
Underemployed, indigent families, artisans
Social Mobility
Social Distance
Class consciousness
Class struggle
Upper-middle class
Highly educated professionals
Many families with family-owned businesses
A combination of factors qualifies people for this
class: university degree, authority and
independence on the job, high income.
Middle class
2-year or 4-year college degrees
Technicians, lower-level managers, semiprofessionals
Working class
Semiskilled
Clerks, salespeople
Working poor
Live just above the poverty line
Unskilled jobs, seasonal and migrant jobs, service
jobs
Underclass
Poor, seldom employed
Long-term deprivation
Low levels of education and income