| Absolute poverty | A minimum level of subsistence that no family should be expected to live below.
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| Achieved status | A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts.
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| Ascribed status | A social position assigned to a person by society without regard for the person's unique talents or characteristics.
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| Bourgeoisie | Karl Marx's term for the capitalist class, comprising the owners of the means of production.
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| Capitalism | An economic system in which the means of production are held largely in private hands and the main incentive for economic activity is the accumulation of profits.
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| Caste | A hereditary rank, usually religiously dictated, that tends to be fixed and immobile.
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| Class | A group of people who have a similar level of economic resources.
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| Class consciousness | In Karl Marx's view, a subjective awareness held by members of a class regarding their common vested interests and need for collective political action to bring about social change.
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| Class system | A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility.
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| Closed system | A social system in which there is little or no possibility of individual social mobility.
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| Cultural capital | Our tastes, knowledge, attitudes, language, and ways of thinking that we exchange in interaction with others.
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| Digital divide | The relative lack of access to the latest technologies among low-income groups, racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, and the citizens of developing countries.
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| Dominant ideology | A set of cultural beliefs and practices that helps to maintain powerful social, economic, and political interests.
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| Estate system | A system of stratification under which peasants were required to work land leased to them by nobles in exchange for military protection and other services. Also known as feudalism.
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| Esteem | The reputation that a particular individual has earned within an occupation.
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| False consciousness | A term used by Karl Marx to describe an attitude held by members of a class that does not accurately reflect their objective position.
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| Horizontal mobility | The movement of an individual from one social position to another of the same rank.
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| Income | Wages and salaries measured over some period of time, such as per hour or year.
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| Intergenerational mobility | Changes in the social position of children relative to their parents.
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| Intragenerational mobility | Changes in social position within a person's adult life.
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| Life chances | The opportunities people have to provide themselves with material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences.
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| Open system | A social system in which the position of each individual is influenced by his or her achieved status.
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| Party | The capacity to organize to accomplish some particular goal.
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| Prestige | The respect and admiration that an occupation holds in a society.
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| Proletariat | Karl Marx's term for the working class in a capitalist society.
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| Relative poverty | A floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of a society, whatever their lifestyles, are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the nation as a whole.
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| Slavery | A system of enforced servitude in which some people are owned by others as property.
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| Social inequality | A condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth, prestige, or power.
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| Social mobility | Movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society's stratification system to another.
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| Socioeconomic status (SES) | A measure of class that is based on income, education, occupation, and related variables.
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| Status group | People who have the same prestige or lifestyle, independent of their class positions.
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| Stratification | A structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society.
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| Underclass | The long-term poor who lack training and skills.
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| Vertical mobility | The movement of an individual from one social position to another of a different rank.
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| Wealth | The total of all a person's material assets, including savings, land, stocks, and other types of property, minus his or her debt at a single point in time.
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