Understanding Culture, Society, &

Politics
Lesson 9:
Social and Political Stratification
Axel Lustado & Cialene Policina 11- Onesta
 Society is composed of different individuals who
possess different characteristics and are born in
different circumstances. Thus, they have
different attributes, as well as different levels of
power, wealth, and prestige. These could have
adverse effects on the equality of members of a
society.
Introduction
Social and Political
Stratification
Patterns of unequal access to social
resources are commonly called social
inequality. Social inequality reflects
innate differences between individuals
Social Inequality: The Heart of
Sociology
For example, their varying abilities and
efforts. Someone may be endowed
with exceptional intelligence or talents
or may have worked very hard to
achieve their wealth and status.
 Any rational individual in a
human community will always
aspire for things that bestow
wealth, power, and prestige.
Unfortunately, the ability of
individuals to realized such
aspiration is severely
constrained by situations
where one is born into.

The Context of
Social Desirables
 Social Desirable: Availability and Accessibility

• Availability – refers to the presence, absence or scarcity of the social desirable.

• Accessibility – refers to the actual ways and means of availing the resources.

Karl Marx Max Weber

Economic Stature Power Wealth Prestige

Material prosperity, Political or social Material prosperity Widerspeard respect

ownership of the means authority or control, and admiration felt for
of production especially that which is someone due to his or
exercised by a her achievements or
goverment quality
 Three Forms of Capital
• Economic Capital in the form of
materials assets and income.
• Cultural Capital such as educational
Forms of qualification and status.
Capital and • Social Capital in form of networks of
contacts and social associations or
Inequalities specifically social knowledge and
connections that enable people
accomplis their goals and extend their
influence.
One of the important aspirations of
individuals in a society is to move
outside the confines of the conditions of
thier birth.
Social Mobility has been largely seen as
the ability of someone to go up the
social ladder or to break loosefrom
confnes of a marginalized group.

Social Mobility and Inequality

 Absolute social mobility
• People end up in a different layer of
satisfaction from that of their parents.
Relative social mobility
Types of Social • Difference in probability of attaining a
Mobility certain outcome.
Each is highly dependent on the overall
structure of social statuses and
occupation in a given society.
 Social capital
• Ability of a collective group to act
together as one and purse a common
goal in mind.
Political capital
Social • Trust, goodwill, and influence of a
Inequality politician that he/she possessed.
Symbolic capital
• The resources that ones own that can
give them access to different
opportunities in society.
 • Global Inequality happens between
states who are more wealthier,
powerful, and have an influence in the
global community leaving those who
have poorer and less powerful statues
to be influence by these states.
Global
• This could be in a form of economic and
Inequality military strength of a powerful state
that influence the weaker once.
• Another is through the operations of
transnational corporations and
organizations.
Thank you