Week 8

Social Stratification
Outline
 Social Stratification
 Social stratification systems
 Theoretical understanding of social stratification
 Social Stratification in Bangladesh
 Social Stratification
What Is Social Stratification?
 A system by which a society ranks categories of people in a
hierarchy
Why is social stratification a sociological issue?
 Because of the four underlying principles of social stratification:
1. A trait of society, not just individual differences
2. Persists over generations
3. Is universal, but variable regarding amount and type of inequality
4. Involves inequality and beliefs of fairness
Social stratification systems

How do societies vary in terms of social stratification systems?

a) Closed systems: systems that allow little change in social position
b) Open system: systems that permit much more social mobility
* Social mobility refers to a change in position within the social hierarchy.
Examples of closed and open systems:
a) Closed systems:
 The caste system: Stratification based on ascription or birth (Hindu Caste
System in India; pp. 238)
 determines direction of personal life
 determines family formation
 Determines social company
 Based on belief on moral duty (however, apartheid was imposed)
b) Open systems:
 Class system: stratification based on birth and individual achievement
 Meritorcracy: stratification based on personal merit (talent and effort)
Theoretical understanding of social stratification

The Functionalist Perspective: Davis-Moore thesis

 Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the
operation of a society.
 Social inequality results from rewarding the latent :the greater
the importance or talent required of a position, the more
rewards a society attaches to it.
 Differential rewarding is necessary to attract talent and
motivate the people to work hard.
 Egalitarian societies offer little incentive for people to try their
best.
 Unequal rewarding supports productivity and efficiency, thus
benefits the society as whole.
Theoretical understanding of social
stratification (cont.)
Mulvin Tumin’s criticisms to Davis-Moore Thesis
a) How to determine the importance of a particular
occupation is unsettled.
b) Davis-Moore thesis fails to account for the caste element
in social stratification (The privileged can prevent
development of the gifted poor.)
c) Society tends to ignore or underestimate the value of
works that are not oriented to making money.
d) Inequality creates conflict
 Theoretical understanding of social
stratification (cont.)
The Social Conflict Perspective:
Karl Marx: Inequality represents class conflict
 Social stratification is rooted in peoples’ relationship to the means
of production
 Economic system: the arrangement of producing things in a society.
 Class: one’s position in the society in relation to the means of
production
 Two classes in the capitalist society: capitalist class (bourgeoisie)
and working class (proletariat)
 Class conflict: conflicting interests between the classes
 Relation of production: exploitative, oppressive, and alienating
Theoretical understanding of social stratification
(cont.)
Max Weber: Multidimensionality of social inequality
Class, Status, and Power
Dimensions differ by type of society:
 Status in agrarian societies
 Financial inequality with capitalism in industrial societies
 Power with large government and bureaucracies in socialist
societies
*Socioeconomic status (SES): Composite ranking based on several
dimensions of social inequality
Social Stratification in Bangladesh

Income and Wealth inequality in Bangladesh

a) Income: earning from work and investment
 Top 10% received 46.2 percent of all income
 Bottom 40% receive13.4 percent of all income

b) Wealth: the total value to money and other assets (homes, cars,
investments, insurances, bonds, furniture, retirement pensions etc.), minus
outstanding debts (i.e. home mortgage, car loans, other debts).
(example taken from Canada)
 The richest 20% of families hold 67.4% (two-third) of national wealth in Canada
 The richest 10% of families own 47.9% of all national wealth
 The poorest 20% of families have negative wealth (value of asset minus the
value of home mortgage and car loans)
*Small proportion of families controls most of the country’s wealth
Social Stratification (example taken from Canada)
Social Class in Canada (income-based class distribution in the
Canadian society)
Class Category Proportion of Minimum Occupation type/earning
Population Annual Income sources
The Upper Class Top 5% $125000 Top executives
- Upper-upper Top 1% $191100 “Old money”
-Lower-upper 4% (below the $125000 “Working rich”
upper-upper)
The Middle Class 40-45 in the $38500-$12500
middle
- Upper-middle $88000-$125000 High prestige occupation
-Average middle $62000-$88000 Less prestige white-collar job
-Lower-middle $38500-$62000 Blue-collar job
(working class)
The Lower Class 20% at the bottom -$38000 Working poor (low
paying/prestige jobs) or
unemployed
Dimensions of Social Mobility
• Upward mobility: Upward change within the social hierarchy
(With university degree or higher-paying job)
• Downward mobility : Downward movement within the social
hierarchy (Often caused by Drop out of school, losing a job,
or divorce)
• Structural social mobility: Movement with changes in society
or national economic trends
• Intra-generational mobility: Change in social position during
one person’s lifetime
• Intergenerational mobility: Upward or downward movement
that takes place across generations within a family
Poverty
Poverty
Relative Poverty: The lack of resources of some people in
relation to those who have more
Absolute Poverty: The lack of resources that is life threatening
*Every nation has its own national poverty line.
In 2016, 24.3% people lived below the poverty line and
12.9% people live below the extreme poverty line (World
Bank, 2017)
Who are identified as poor in Bangladesh?
Individuals who live on less than US$2 a day is a poor.
Individuals who live on less than US$1 a day is an extreme poor.
Poverty in Bangladesh
Who are more vulnerable to poverty?
a) The elderly
b) Children
c) Indigenous communities
d) Single women headed families
Social Stratification in Canada (cont.)
Explaining Poverty: Why are the poor poor?
Two Contending views:
a) Blame the Poor (Oscar Lewis): Poor are mostly responsible for their
own poverty.
 The poor are less able or willing to work due to lack of skills, schooling,
or motivation despite there are plenty of opportunities in the society
 Culture of poverty: a lower-class subculture destroys peoples’ ambition
to improve their conditions
 Children socialized in low income families become resigned to their
situations, perpetuating poverty.
b) Blame Society (William Julius Wilson): Society is primarily
responsibility for poverty
 Lack of jobs and opportunities are the primary reasons for poverty.
List of Key Concepts
• Social stratification
• Closed system
• Open system
• The caste system
• The class system
• Social Mobility
• Upward and downward social mobility
• Structural social mobility
• Intra-generational social mobility
• Intergenerational social mobility
• Davis-Moore Thesis
• Capitalist class
• Proletariat
• Class conflict
• Alienation
• Blue-collar occupation
• While-collar occupation
• Status consistency
• Income
• Wealth
• Relative poverty
• Absolute Poverty