Social Class and Delinquency: One More Time*

The diversity of findings on the class-delinquency relationship may reflect differential middle-class cultural dominance in school systems. In predominantly middle-class schools, the minority of working-class youth conform to the majority standards and the relationship does not hold. In more class heterogeneous schools a cross-class cultural diffusion occurs among youth such that objective class status no longer is predictive of delinquency. In predominantly working-class schools a negative class-delinquency relationship is found; in such a milieu, those youth who are committed to conventional middle-class culture only can have acquired such commitments from their middle-class parents. The self-report studies of class and delinquency are reviewed in the light of these hypotheses.     

Social Class Segregation within Ethnic Groups in Toronto*

La structure de classe a l'interieur des groupes ethniques n'a pas fait l'objet d'etudes particulieres dans les recherches ecologiques. Etant donne que pour les donnees du Recensement de 1961, nous disposons de renseignements speciaux, il nous a ete possible d'etudier les modeles de meme que les niveaux de la segregation residentielle en se basant sur les differences dans l'occupation et le revenu de groupes de Toronto choisis en fonction de leur langue maternelle et de leur milieu de naissance. On a decouvert que la segregation de classe chez les groupes ethniques est aussi prononcee qu'elle Test dans les communautes de noirs des villes americaines. Le niveau du revenu a tendance a separer les residents d'une maniere plus determinante encore que le niveau professionnel. Les patrons de segregation, a l'interieur de chacune des communautes, s'inserent d'une maniere coherente dans un modele concentrique (pour evaluer la distance du centre de la ville). Social class segregation within ethnic groups has been neglected in ecological research. With the availability of 1961 special-run census data, it was possible to analyse the extent and pattern of residential segregation based on occupation and income differences for selected mother-tongue and birthplace groups in Toronto. It was found that social class segregation within ethnic groups is as high as that found within Negro communities of American cities. Income tends to sort out residents to a greater degree than does occupation and the pattern of segregation within each community is consistent with the distance (concentric) model.     

The American Educational Structure and the Reproduction of Social Class*

While considerable attention has been drawn to “reproduction” theories of education, little empirical research has been conducted within this framework. This paper uses the reproduction perspective to examine how various mechanisms of the American educational structure contribute to the maintenance of the mental-manual division of labor within class structure. Using a national, longitudinal sample of high school seniors, we look at the reproduction effects of public versus private schooling, the composition of school communities and curriculum tracking. We find that reproduction results from the schooling experiences of a majority of students and that tracking is the most important mechanism in this process. However, nonreproduction is apparent as well which points to some issues that reproduction theories must address to provide viable explanations of the role of education in society.     

Gender,Race, Social Class,and Self-Evaluations among College Students*

The purpose of this study was to modify Heiss and Owens's (1972) formulation on trait differences in the self-evaluations of blacks and whites and integrate it with the literature on sex role socialization, thereby elaborating the instrumental-expressive dichotomy they proposed so as to generate and test hypotheses regarding race, gender, and SES differences in self-evaluations. University students rated themselves on a fifteen-item semantic differential scale. A principal component factor analysis with varimax rotations yielded five factors, three of the factors were seen as private-domain, one as public-domain, and one as mixed. A series of 2X2X2 ANOVAS indicated that (1) on the public-domain factor, black females rated themselves more positively than did the white females, while black males and white males did not differ; (2) blacks rated themselves more positively than did whites on two private-domain factors; (3) white females rated themselves more positively than did males on the private-domain factor indicative of a feminine stereotype; and (4) SES differences appeared on the private-domain factors in particular.     

Social Class and Success Goals: An Examination of Relative and Absolute Aspirations*

Aspirations may be measured in absolute terms, by asking individuals how much of a given goal they desire, or in relative terms, by asking individuals how much they desire a given goal relative to other goals . Prior studies on the relationship between social class and success goals have always employed either relative or absolute measures alone, with the absolute measures focusing on desire for education, occupational prestige, or income and the relative measures usually focusing on such goals as job security, advancement, and importance. This paper argues that a focus on absolute or relative aspirations alone can produce a misleading image of the relationship between social class and success goals, and it remedies the above neglect by examining the absolute and relative aspirations of different social classes for the same, set of goals. Using a sample of males from Detroit and Baltimore, it was found that the lower class places more emphasis on economic security, while the upper class places more emphasis on self-actualization goals like job advancement and importance. However, when absolute aspirations were examined, it was found that lower-class people have a strong desire for self-actualization and that middle-class people do not have a strong desire for security. These findings provide a more complete picture of the relationship between social class and success goals, and they are relevant to such topics as Rodman's "lower-class value stretch." social mobility, anomie theories of deviance, and explanations of social movements based on relative deprivation.     

Theoretical Interpretations of Social Class and Racial Differentials in Legal Decision-Making for Juveniles*

This paper examines three theoretical interpretations of the frequently observed relationship between social class, race and legal decision-making for juveniles. The literature provides only weak evidence of a social class differential, particularly at arrest and judicial decisions, but provides clear and consistent evidence of a racial differential operating at each decision level. Moreover, the differentials operate continuously over various decision levels to produce a substantial accumulative racial differential transforming a more or less heterogeneous racial arrest population into a homogeneous institutional black population. The importance of regarding legal decision-making for juveniles as a process is suggested. For the most part no one theoretical interpretation of this differential is supported by the literature. Controlling for the explanatory conditions suggested by either the legal, interactionist, or conflict perspective leaves a substantial portion of the observed differential unexplained.     

Class Domination and Ideological Hegemony*

Sociological theory poses the issue of whether ideational or coercive factors provide the central basls of social order. The former view maintains (and requires) that a value consensus exist in the empirical world; the latter assumes the existence of a ruling class which dominates the ideational institutions of the society. A preliminary scrutiny of available evidence suggests that: (1) a value consensus does not exist, and (2) there is a high concentration of wealth and economic control which appears to extend into vital political and ideological areas, thereby implying the existence of a dominant or ruling class. Based upon these conclusions, the concept of ideological hegemony is introduced as a significant component of a Marxist view of social order. The hegemonic process is described and available evidence is examined in the areas of political socialization and mass media. A pattern in which debate and discussion are circumscribed while alternative values and world views are ignored or suppressed was found to characterize these two areas. This pattern was seen to provide further support for the Marxist view that an ideological hegemony imposed by the dominant class is the ideational manifestation of a social order based upon coercion.     

Exploring the Family Album: Social Class Differences in Images of Family Life*

Based on an analysis of twenty family albums, this study investigates how social class affects the family's portrayal of kin and friendship networks as well as its geographical boundaries. The results suggest the visual collections of middle-class families are more likely to present a kin oriented image of family life, include friends, and portray the family as a system with broad geographical boundaries than those of the working-class. Theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.     

Social Class and Attitudes toward Mental Illness: a Study of a Canadian Prairie Community*

A partir d'entrevues obtenues auprés d'une population adulte échantillonnée au hasard, vivant dans une petite ville typiques des prairies canadiennes, l'auteur entreprend l'examen des relations qui existent entre les classes sociales et les attitudes vis-à-vis la santé mentale. Il n'existe aucune relation significative entre ces deux facteurs lorsqu'on utilise une échelle de « negation » de la santé mentale et deux indicateurs traduisant le refus de l'informateur à reconnaître que l'isolement est un problème. Par ailleurs, il existe des relations significatives entre les classes sociales et les échelles d'isolement physique et sociale. On tente, par après, d'éclairer ces résultats par diverses explications possibles. The relationship between social class and attitudes toward mental illness is examined using interviews with a random sample of the adult population of a typical, small, Canadian prairie town. There were no statistically significant relationships between social class and scores on a scale measuring “denial” of mental illness and two indicators of “insulation” of mental illness. There were, however, significant relationships between social class and scores on scales of physical and social “isolation” and responses to one other interview question. Various explanations for the results are explored.     

Industrialization and Social Stratification*

This paper reviews the current state of knowledge about the effects of industrialization upon systems of social stratification. Taking societies as the unit of observation, we consider the relationships between level of industrialization and (1) the distribution of status characteristics in the population (the structure of stratification); (2) the pattern of interrelations among status characteristics (the process of stratification); and (3) the form of linkages between status characteristics and other aspects of social behavior (the consequences of stratification). A set of propositions is specified, a few of which are empirically well established but most of which yet require empirical testing.     

Class exploitation in Canada*

Onze évaluations du taux de plus value de Marx ou de l'exploitation de classe sont présentées aux industries manufacturiàres canadiennes, pour les années allant de 1917 à 1971. Les analyses suggèrent que I'exploitation de classe a augmenté d'une façon dramatique au Canada, surtout depuis la deuxième guerre mondiale. Il est aussi expliqué que I'exploitation de classe et les conflits de classe qui en résultent sont largement démontrés par les grèves et les mises a pied. L'exploitation de classe peut expliquer jusqu'à 56 pour cent du désaccord dans les conflits de classe. On y conclut que l'approche marxiste pour l'analyse de classe offre beaucoup de possibilités quant à l'étude des inágalités sociales. Eleven alternative estimates of Marx's rate of surplus value or class exploitation are presented for the manufacturing industries of Canada between 1917 and 1971. The analyses suggest that class exploitation in Canada has dramatically increased over time, especially since the Second World War. It is also shown that class exploitation generally has a positive effect on overt class conflict measured by strikes and lockouts. Class exploitation explains up to 56 per cent of the variance in overt class conflict. It is concluded that a Marxian approach to class analysis has much potency in the study of social inequality.     

Minority Group Status and Self-evaluated Class*

Self-evaluated class status is shown to vary among white Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and black Protestants. Holding economic status constant, Jews are most likely to select the middle- (or upper-) class label, followed by white Protestants, white Catholics, and black Protestants. Thus, the independent effect of minority status on self-evaluated class status reinforces the ranking directly attributable to the economic levels of each of the four groups. Also, the congruence between self-identified class and objective economic status is closer among Jews and white Protestants than among white Catholics or black Protestants. The hypothesis that affiliation with a minority necessarily reduces class consciousness was, therefore, not supported.     

Class, work, and politics*

Le texte explore la relation entre la classes sociale et l'idéologie politique en utilisant les résultats d'un sondage-échantillon effectué parmi environ 1800 Canadiens au travail. En se basant sur les catégories de classe de Marx et les développements théoriques de Carchedi, l'auteur fait ressortir des différences modérées entre les classes pour ce qui a trait à l'appui du mouvement ouvrier, les dépenses encourues pour le bien-être social et pour une nouvelle répartition des revenus. Une analyse de régression démontre qu'une attitude plus gauchiste dans la classe ourvière reflète certains aspects des conditions de travail. En effet, la situation au travail joue un rôle considérable dans l'attitude politique, endehors des différences associées à la classe sociale. Par contre, la famille et l'instruction ne se révèlent pas comme étant des facteurs importants pour expliquer la relation entre la classe et l'idéologie politique.
The paper explores the relation between social class and political ideology using data from a simple survey of approximately 1800 Canadians with jobs. Using Marxist class categories, following theoretical developments by Carchedi, moderate class differences are found to support the labour movement, social welfare expenditures, and redistribution of income. A regression analysis shows that the more left-wing position of the working class reflects a number of aspects of working conditions. Indeed, aspects of the work situation have a considerable impact on political attitudes beyond those differences associated     

Class,conformity and political powerlessness*

Ce document clarifie le lien entre deux traditions indépendents de recherche sociale: 1/ les recherches de Kohn traitant des expériences du travail comme L'origine des différences de conformitè extérieure entre les classes sociales; et 2/ la documentation considérable qui démontre la relation négative entre les classes sociales et L'impuissance politique subjective. Les données d'un échantillon de London, Ontario confirment cette dernière relation et montrent que deux éléments expliquent cette relation: L'éducation et le contrôle du travail. On discute ensuite L'importance de ces résultats pour L'extension de la thèse de Kohn sur les classes sociales et la conformité. This paper makes explicit the link between two independent bodies of social research: 1/ Kohn's work on occupational experiences as the root cause of social class differences in external conformity; and 2/ the extensive literature demonstrating the negative relationship between social class and subjective political powerlessness. Findings from a London, Ontario sample confirm the latter relationship and show that two occupation-related factors - level of educational training and level of control in the workplace - account for this relationship. The significance of these results for extending Kohn's class and conformity thesis are discussed.     

Environmentalism,New Social Movements,and the New Class: A Cross‐National Investigation*

Abstract The environmental movement is one of the most successful social movements in recent decades, garnering substantial public support throughout western Europe and the United States. Environmentalism is also considered a key “new social movement” (NSM), assumed to share fundamental characteristics with other NSMs such as the women's, antinuclear, and peace movements. Using the results of a 1990 cross‐national survey of western Europe and the United States, we examine three broad suppositions regarding public support for the environmental movement and other NSMs. We first examine the idea that the general public distinguishes between two branches of contemporary environmentalism—the more traditional one of nature conservation and the newer, broader one of general environmental protection—and find that the general publics in 18 nations make little distinction between them. We next examine the degree to which public support for environmental protection is related to support for other NSMs, and find a strong relationship between the two‐thereby validating a widely assumed but seldom‐tested tenet found in the NSM literature.Finally, we examine the presumed bases of support for environmental protection and other NSMs, particularly the notion that NSM supporters are drawn heavily from the “new class.” We find that demographic variables, including membership in the new class, are poor predictors of support for the goals of NSMs in general and of support for environmentalism in particular.     

Social Class and Opportunity In Canada

Cet article illustre le niveau des differences regionales et provinciates qui existent dans la distribution de classe entre ceux qui sont nés au pays et des immigrants qui arriverent au Canada avant 1946 et durant la periode 1946–1961. En utilisant un index socio-economique compose de trois cent vingt (320) occupations, on etablit six classes sociales. Au Quebec et dans les provinces de l'Atlantique, ceux qui sont nes au pays sont quelque peu sous-representes dans les trois classes superieures, tandis que les immigrants venant des Etats-Unis, du Royaume-Uni, et de l'Allemagne sont sur-representes. Par ailleurs, ceux qui sont nes au Canada sont sur-representes dans la province de 1'Ontario et dans les provinces de 1'Ouest. Les immigrants americains qui emigrerent au Canada durant la periode de I'apres-guerre, sont substantiellement plus sur-representes dans les trois classes superieures que tout autre groupe d'emigrants. lis sont suivis, en cela, par les emigrants d'apres-guerre du Royaume-Uni. Ce sont les principales conclusions de l'auteur. This paper shows the extent to which regional and provincial differences exist in the class distribution of native-born and immigrants who arrived before 1946 and between 1946 and 1961. Using six classes based upon a socioeconomic index of 320 occupations the author shows that in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec, the Canadian-born are slightly underrepresented in the three top classes. Immigrants from the United States, tie United Kingdom and Germany are overrepresented. In Ontario and the Western provinces, the Canadian-born are overrepresented. The postwar immigrants from the United States have a substantially higher degree of overrepresentation in the three top classes than any other immigrant group, followed by postwar immigrants from the United Kingdom.