Inequality in American Communities is an empirical study of inequality in U.S. communities and its impact on individual Americans. The data for this study come from sample surveys in six American cities differing in size and region. In each survey, male heads of households were asked about attributes that ranked them in the system of inequality and about a variety of attitudes and behaviors that might be affected by their ranks. The analyses seek to determine how social rank affects various attitudes and behaviors and compare these effects from community to community.

Comprised of 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of theoretical assumptions about community stratification, with particular reference to how a person's life is shaped by his position in a local structure of inequality. The discussion then turns to patterns of social stratification in six cities: Columbus (Ohio), Linton and Indianapolis (Indiana), and Yuma, Safford, and Phoenix (Arizona). The distributions of various rank variables, such as income and education, in these cities are described, along with the ways in which they are related to form systems of inequality. A basic model of the processes of stratification is also presented. The remaining chapters explore the consequences of social rank and cover topics ranging from social participation and political ideology to anomia and intolerance.

This monograph will be of interest to sociologists.

Contenu

Preface
1 Inequality in the Community
Theoretical Orientations on Community Stratification
Objectives of the Study
Data and Methods
A Description of the Communities
Part I Inequality in Six Communities
2 Patterns of Inequality
The Interrelatedness of Ranks
Rigidity in Community Stratification Systems
Summary and Conclusions
3 Processes of Inequality
A Basic Model of the Stratification Process
The Role of Racial-Ethnic Rank
Summary and Conclusions
4 Perceptions of Inequality
Do Americans Perceive a Class Structure in Their Communities?
Class Placement by Self and Others
Perceptions of Class Dissensus on Public Issues
Perceptions of Legitimate Success
Summary and Conclusions
Part II Consequences of Social Rank
5 Models of Rank Effects
Are Rank Effects Additive?
Are Rank Effects Linear?
Is a Unidimensional Model Adequate?
An Exploration of Multidimensional Models
Summary and Conclusions
6 Satisfaction: Balancing Aspirations and Success
The Measurement of General Satisfaction
Social Rank and General Satisfaction
Effects Due to City and to Control Variables
Summary and Conclusions
7 Informal Social Participation: Visiting and Friendship
Social Participation and Community Social Structure
Social Participation and Hierarchy
Rates of Visiting and Values about Visiting
Differential Association: A Basis for Class Cultures?
Summary and Conclusions
8 Formal Social Participation
Associations, the Communication Network, and Community Influence
Types of Formal Participation
Effects of Rank on Formal Social Participation
Rank, Formal Participation, and Political Activity
Summary and Conclusions
9 Political Ideology and Party Identification
Conservatism and Class Interests
Domestic Liberalism and Party Identification
Rank Effects on Political Orientations
Mediating Factors: Why Does Rank Affect Political Orientations?
Summary and Conclusions
10 Anomia
Anomia, Social Rank, and Community Integration
Measuring Anomia
Which Social Ranks Affect Anomia?
Why Are Men of Low Rank More Anomic?
Frustration and Perceptions of Opportunity and Legitimacy as Intervening Variables
Summary and Conclusions
Interpretations
11 Intolerance
Expectations from Theory
Four Varieties of Intolerance
Effects of Rank on Four Forms of Intolerance
Summary and Conclusions
12 Conclusions and Implications
The Effects of Social Rank
Do Systems of Inequality Differ across Communities?
References
Index