SOCIOL 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Gilded Age, Economic Inequality, Family-Wise Error Rate
1 Oct 2018
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Lecture #10
Widening Inequality and the Marriage Ideal
Note: Bourdieu = culture from the inside out
I. Emberging Class Patterns in the Trump Era
A. Inequality
1. What inequality means:
a) Cultural meaning =>
(1) In an individualistic culture (like in the US) - lack of
economic success = personal failure
(2) In a communal culture - lack of economic success = norm
2. Psychic costs of differences
3. Inequality erodes institutional anchors of identity
a) Institutional anchors of identity = marriage, family, work/career,
religion/community
B. Inequality in America
1. Long Gilded Age (1917-1937): Richest 10% => 40-45% of total wealth
2. Middle Class America (1947-1977): Richest 10% => 20-30% of total
wealth
3. Recent times (1977-present): Richest 10% => 40-45%+ of total wealth
C. Economic inequality => family inequality
1. Changes for less educated workers => loss of access to high paying jobs
and stable careers
2. Produced divide in family patterns by education especially between
college educated and the rest
a) Access to stable marriage unequally distributed by education level
(1) (Economic/Dominant explanation) No stable income/job =>
potential partner won’t marry you and are reluctant to
commit
(2) (Social explanation) MAYBE education helps navigate
marriage conflicts
b) Increase in children living with a single mother 8-20% from 1980 -
2010 among people with a high school diploma and/or some
college
c) Increase in children living with a single mother 17-28% from 1980-
2010 among people with no high school diploma
(1) Little difference between whites/nonwhites
II. Culture as Resources for Defining and Solving Problems
A. The cultural resources people seek differ (based on social class) given the
problems they face:
1. Creating and maintaining relationships/families
2. Creating and maintaining a sense of self/identity
B. Culture = collective wisdom of community
C. Churches (esp. More conservative churches) offer support for marrying and
staying married
