Social Stratification

Stratification:

It is the ranking of the groups of people in a society, which is related to the differences in access to resources & life chances in a society. Society can be seen as consisting of strata, in a hierarchy, with the more favored at the top & the less privileged nearer the bottom.

Characteristics of social stratification system:

All social stratification system have 3 characteristics

The rankings apply to social categories of people who share a common characteristic without necessarily interacting or identifying with one another. Peoples life experiences & opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is ranked. The ranks of different social categories tend to change very slowly overtime.

Types of stratification:

Slavery: it is an economic form of inequality in which some people are the property of others. Their lives are owned, controlled, coerced & restricted. As slaves are considered possessions, they are denied the rights & life chances that other people take for granted.

Caste system: caste is ascribed at birth, & cant be changed. It determines lifestyle, prestige & occupational choices. The different social levels are closed, so that all individuals must remain at the social level of their birth throughout life. In caste system, intimate contact with members of other castes is strongly discouraged.

According to Human Rights Watch (2001), over 250 million people worldwide continue to suffer severe caste discrimination. They are victims of exploitation & violence & face massive obstacles to their full attainment of civil, political, economic rights.

Class system: it is a large scale grouping of people, who share common economic resources, which strongly influence the type o lifestyle they are able to lead. It is an economic stratification system, as the ranks of people determine their access to higher education, high paying jobs. & premium health care. Therefore, ownership of wealth & occupation are chief basis of class difference.

Characteristic of class system:

Class system are fluid: Unlike the other type of strata, classes have no clear cut boundaries, or formal restrictions of interaction. Class position is in some part achieved Class is economically based: classes depend on economic differences between groups of individuals ( inequality in the possession of material resources).

Types of social classes:

Upper class: include owners of vast amount of property & other forms of wealth. Middle class: includes college educated managers, supervisors, executives, owners of small business. Working class: includes industrial & factory workers, clerks, farm & manual labors Underclass/Lower class: includes people working for minimum wages, or are chronically unemployed.

Perspectives on stratification:

Karl Marxs view of class differentiation: He viewed class differentiation as the crucial determinant of social, economic & political inequality. His main focus was on the effects of class on all aspects of the 19th century Europe.

His analysis centered on how the relationships between various groups were shaped by differential access to scarce resources. Using this type of analysis, he examined social relations within Capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system in which the means of production are largely in private hands. And the main incentive for economic production is the accumulation of profits.

He began to focus on the 2 classes that began to emerge, due to this economic system
Proletariat: working class Bourgeoisie/ capitalist: who own the means of production. The capitalist exploit the workers to maximize their profit. According to Marx this exploitation will inevitably lead to the destruction of the capitalist system.

Class consciousness & false consciousness:

According to Marx, people have false consciousness (an attitude that doesnt reflect its objective position). A worker with false consciousness may feel that he is being treated fairly by his boss. He felt that a revolution is possible only if people replace the false consciousness with class consciousness (a subjective awareness held by members of a class about the need for collective action to bring about social change).

For Marx, the development of class consciousness is part of a collective process whereby the proletariat come to identify the bourgeoisie as the source of its oppression. Through the guidance of revolutionary leaders, the workers will overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie. And eliminate the private ownership of means of production.

Criticism of Marxs theory:

His focus on society's economic structure & social class division has been seen as limiting by some critics. He gave little thought to how factors such as gender & race can be a source of inequality.

Max Webers view of stratification:

Max Weber insisted that no single characteristic (such as class) totally defines a persons position in the stratification system. He identified 3 components of stratification

Class: refers to people having similar level of wealth & income Status: refers to people having similar prestige or lifestyle. Power: ability to exercise ones will over others.

So, according to Weber, a persons position in a stratification system reflects some combination of his class, status, & degree of power.

Is stratification universal?

Social scientific research has revealed that inequality exists in all societies, even the simplest of cultures. Functionalist & conflict perspectives have offered contrasting explanations for the existence & necessity of social stratification.

Functionalist view:

According to Davis & Moore stratification is necessary so that people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions. Thus, it ensures that these positions are filled by people with appropriate talents & abilities.

Conflict view:

This theory is based on the work of Karl Marx. Dahrendorf has modified Marxs concept to apply it to modern capitalist societies. According to him social classes are groups of people sharing common interest resulting from authority. He not only included owners of means of production, but also the managers of industries, legislators, the judiciary, heads of the government departments etc.

Conflict theorists see stratification as a major source of societal tension & conflict. They dont agree with Davis & Moore that stratification is healthy & functional for the society & is a source of stability. Rather, they argue that stratification will ultimately lead to instability & social change.

Poverty:

It is a form of inequality, that can be viewed in 2 different ways:

Absolute poverty: refers to a minimum level of subsistence below which families should not be expected to exist. Relative poverty: is a floating standard of deprivation by which people at the bottom of the society are judged to be disadvantaged in comparison with the other groups.

A commonly used method to measure relative poverty is poverty line. Poverty line is a money income figure to reflect the consumption requirements of families based on their size & composition. The poverty line serves an official definition of which people are poor.

Stratification by gender:

One way of stratification through gender is the gender roles. These are the expectations regarding the proper behavior. Attitudes & activities of males & females. Margaret Meads research pointed out to the importance of cultural conditioning in defining the social roles of males & females.

Stratification by Age:

Age like gender, is an ascribed status & a basis of discrimination & social differentiation. People have negative stereotypes attached with the concept of aging, leading to prejudice against the old people. This has been termed as ageism.