1. According to Max Weber, what are the various dimensions of social stratification? What are some examples of people who rank high on each of these dimensions? Other than the examples discussed in the chapter, can you identify individuals who are status-inconsistent? 

2. What is the difference between income and wealth? Which is more important for explaining the differences between the haves and the have-nots? Why? 

3. What has happened to the U.S. middle class in recent decades? What accounts for the change? 

4. What do we mean when we refer to the feminization of poverty? What factors help to explain the position of women in the system of social stratification? 

5. According to structural-functional theories, how is inequality beneficial to society? How can the income and wealth of celebrities and sports stars be used as a criticism of this model? 

6. Compare and contrast the different ways of classifying countries in the global stratification system. What does each classification system emphasize? 

7. How does access to the Internet and new technologies relate to the global system of stratification? How can the Internet be used to alter this system? 

8. How much health inequality exists in the world? Using the recent Ebola outbreak as an example, explain how differences in wealth affect health outcomes. 

9. What are global care chains? In what ways do they constitute a stratified system?

10. If you lived in a country that ranked low in the global stratification system, would you like to see it engage in a race to the bottom? What would be the gains and losses from “winning” that race?