Eliseo Mata

@00972153
Assignment 2.2
September 3, 2016
The Weberian Tradition
Max Webers breakdown of social stratification consisted of three forms of
inequality in society which were economic, status, and power. The economic group
was based on market situation. Three different types for that matter. There is the
labor market which creates a division between employers and employees, the
money market which separates the creditors from the debtors, and the commodity
market which parts the buyers from the sellers. Classes are the groups of people
who shared a common market situation. The higher the position in that class, the
higher the rewards and the more opportunities that were presented, and vice versa.
The second of these groups was based on status. Although the status might
be based on what you own, how much you make, or the type of education you have
acquired; what symbolizes your status is the lifestyle in which you live. In an effort
to maintain their position in the social status hierarchy, an individual will share
interests with others in the same position. They will try to only associate with others
as high on the hierarchy as themselves and anyone with a lower social status shall
not participate. In order for a particular interest to maintain its high status value, it
should only be able to be done by the group higher on the social status ladder. For
example, wealthy people indulge in buying high priced vehicles. This is a symbol of
their status because an individual that has not acquired the same amount of wealth
would not be able to participate in purchasing the same type of vehicle. Thus,
showing how one individual lands higher on the social status hierarchy than the
other. Rappers do this all the time by showing off expensive cars and jewelry in their

Eliseo Mata
@00972153
Assignment 2.2
September 3, 2016
music videos. This is a manner in which they show their lifestyle is of someone in a
higher status.
The third of these groups was based on power. These are the groups that are
in pursuit of power. An example of this would be a political party striving to gain
power. Political parties are a group of individuals with common interest in search of
gaining power to make changes in which they may benefit from. The divisions of
these groups would be determined by the amount of power to have an impact on
certain situations.
Rothman, R.A., (2002). Theoretical Approaches to Social Stratification. In Rothman,
R.A.,
Inequality and Stratification: Race, Class, and Gender (Fifth Ed) (pg.26-42).
New York, NY and Oxon, OX: Routledge