Customer Reviews

Categorically Unequal: The American Stratification System

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As a textbook I was required to purchase for an upper-division Sociology class, this was an eye-opening peek into the processes of social stratification and racial/gender inequality. The premise is that inequality in the United States is currently at its greatest level in the past 100 years, and how it got there. I thoroughly recommend.

Although this is not a textbook (strictly speaking), it reads like one, which is what I think the author intended. It is a concise and inexpensive introduction to the history of social inequality in the United States. Massey is one of the premier sociologists of stratification, so much of the literature he reviews, summarizes, and describes here is his own, or that of the many people he has trained and/or collaborated with over the years. No one knows the research better than he does, and it shows. Not only that, but he writes in a style that is accessible to the uninitiated reader.

Massey is a sociologist, but he approaches the topic of stratification from the perspective of cognitive psychology. He discusses how humans tend to lump people into categorical groups based on social characteristics. In the U.S. the most salient characteristics have been race, gender, and social class. He describes how our response to people in the preferred categories ('in-group'), as well as those in other categories ('out-groups') is to some extent 'hard-wired' in our brains and thus operates at a subconscious level. These primal prejudices have resulted in institutional practices and individual behaviors that have disadvantaged the poor, women, and people of color. Even some of the more progressive social welfare policies of the 20th century were intentionally crafted to exclude these 'undesirable' groups.

This book is a real eye-opener, but it is bound to frustrate some readers because Massey debunks the popular myth that America is a land of equal opportunity, in which any individual can succeed by dint of hard work and talent, irrespective of social characteristics. He does concede that there has been some recent improvement for certain disadvantaged groups, but he also demonstrates how past inequality persists - and can even compound its effect - into the present. Although I found his lapses into conventional liberal rhetoric annoying, his arguments were persuasive because of the overwhelming evidence he presents. If you're looking for an entry point into the sociological research on stratification, you can't do any better than this.

Purchased for a Sociology course in the fall and I believe this book will offer very interesting views for discussions.

I am very pleased with the order. It arrived as promised in good shape and without surprises. Thank you.