SOC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Meritocracy, Cultural Capital, Annette Lareau
Document Summary
The american dream: the myth of meritocracy. American dream: a set of ideals considered to be a guiding belief for. American(s) revolving around the ideal of freedom, the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. Meritocracy: the idea that power should be allotted to individuals according to merit, or what one deserves according to tested competency and ability. There is not as much social mobility as we believe. Opportunity structures create and determine future generations" chances for success. Hence, our lot in life is at least partially determined by where we grow up, and this is partially determined by where our parents grew up, and so on. Middle-class squeeze: the situation where increases in wages fail to keep up with inflation for middle-income earners, while at the same time, the phenomenon fails to have similar impact on the top wage earners. Real income is decreasing for the middle class.
