Social Mobility The wish for a higher status and income than one’s parents had is the American dream. The process whereby people achieve-or fail to achieve-this is called social mobility. NATURE OF SOCIAL MOBILITY Social mobility may. be defined’ as’ the act of moving from one social class to another. An open class society is one …
SOCIAL MOBILITY SUMMARY Social mobility is movement up or down in social status and (usually) income and may Transportable experienced by individuals or by entire groups. Upward- mobility brings increased life satisfactions as well as anxieties class society encourages much movement up and down the mobility ladder, while in a closed class or caste society,. class status …
Mobility and Equality households over $80,000 [Bresler, 1982]. These Although absolute equality is impractical proposed changes were based upon the belief in a modem society, existing inequalities could that more of the national income should go be reduced by an expanded program of in to the affluent in order to increase savings come redistribution. There are two …
TRANSFER PAYMENTS. Industrialized countries have made a good- deal of ,progress in terms of spreading prosperity. In the United States, for instance, as recently as 1959, nearly a quarter of the population (22.8 percent) were .classed as living in poverty, compared to 6.7 percent in 1979 [Smeeding,’ 1982, p. ’96], yet several million people are still poor, …
OVERCOMING HANDICAPS. Rehabilitation programs such as medical care, counseling, and vocational training may help overcome handicaps. People may be restored to health, be enabled to overcome emotional despair, or be trained for remunerative work. Many people who are poor can profit from such rehabilitative services, and many are kept from becoming poor by such help: Accompanying these efforts …
What About Poverty? Poverty-s-a situation in which people lack enough money to maintain a minimum standard 9f health and decency-used to be the normal condition of most people. Today, there is widespread feeling that, at least in the industrialized countries, there is enough to take care of all and that no one should be desperately poor. …
Mobility of Developing Countries The developing countries (or the Third World term used to distinguish these countries from both the capitalist and the communist countries) are .showing •.both upward and downward societal mobility ..Most of the nations in Africa, Asia,; and South America (Japan is an outstanding exception) are classified as “developing.” ,This means that their industrial technology …
SOCIET AL MOBILITY This chapter has focused upon the mobility of individuals, but entire groups within a society may. rise or fall in relative status and . entire. societies may become more or less prosperous. -There are many’ groups and societies -we could consider, but we will limit our discussion to· the mobility of the poor …
Mobility of Women Women have traditionally achieved mobility mainly through marriage [Chase, 1975]. Married women might work at “suitable” occupations (subordinate to but not too far beneath their husbands’ occupational status). But very few women gained social/status through occupation. Today, however: women are claiming equal occupational opportunity, and occupation may provide women with a mobility ladder apart …
MOBILITY PROSPECTS’ The increase in the proportion of highe rstatus jobs is the most important single factor in the amount of upward mobility [Stolzenberg and D’Amico, 1977, p. 862]. Automation, robots, and computers are decreasing the ‘demand for unskilled and semiskilled workers and calling for more technicians who can operate computers and complicated equipment. The multiplication …
