Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Important:
1. Every society stratifies its members; some societies have greater inequality than others,
but stratification is universal.
2. Gender is basis for stratification. On the basis of gender, people are either allowed or
denied access to the good things offered by their society.
Social stratification is a common characteristic of social structure
social statuses which are organized and patterned in a hierarchy of importance and/or
value
layering of the nations, and of groups of people within a nation
a system in which people are divided into layers according to their relative power,
property and prestige
a way of ranking large groups of people into a hierarchy according to their relative
privileges
the division of society into levels, steps, or positions (Tischler, 1999, p. 226)
Common stratification systems in modern societies are based on:
class
gender
2. In no society is gender the sole basis for stratifying people, but gender cuts
across all systems of social stratification whether slavery, caste, or class. In all these
systems, on the basis of their gender, people are sorted into categories and given different
access to the good things available in their society.
the positions and statuses available in a society are for the most part determined by social
structure
open society: broad latitude as to who fills social positions and how (i.e., achieved
status)
closed society: predetermined and fixed means for filling social positions (i.e., ascribed
status)
intragenerational mobility: change that occurs to a specific individual within his or her
own lifetime
Stratification Systems
CASTE SYSTEMS
ESTATE SYSTEMS
CLASS SYSTEMS
caste systems: a closed and rigid form of social stratification where people are assigned a status
based on ascribed characteristics such as skin color or family status.
(e.g., Indias caste
system)
estate systems: a closed system of social stratification where people inherit their position based
on custom, law, and family influence. (e.g., Medieval system of clergy, nobility, peasant; Chinese
estate system)
class systems: systems of social stratification that allow for varying degrees of achieved status
based on occupational income, wealth, power, prestige, and authority
allows for social mobility (various degrees/limitations)
less formal recognition/enforcement of ascribed statuses
Caste and Estate systems determine what positions are available, how many are available,
and who fill them.
Class systems give the impression of being open, but the positions open and how many are
available are still determined by social structure and not individual choice.
Max Weber: Property, Power and Prestige and the Determinants of Class
Main assumption: Social Class is made up of three components: property, power and prestige.
Property:some people do not own property but they control means of production such as
managers of corporations
income: material compensation received for employment or through investment
wealth: accumulated material goods and resources which can be passed from one
generation to another
When the workers realize that the capitalists are the source of their oppression, a bloody
revolution will ensue. However, they are held back by what Marx termed as false consciousness
workers mistakenly thinking of themselves as capitalists.
OPEN CLASS SOCITIES
-
Producers (Vaishyas)
-provide goods and services
-must have tools and services to produces food, clothing, and shelter
-this group would include farmers, merchants, craftsmen, and engineers
Brahmins
-are very wise and understand the world
-interpret world for others
-preferred to be left alone to meditate and
create art
-includes artist, philosophers, clergymen, and
teachers
No society can exist unless it is organized. Someone has to coordinate peoples actions
and ensure that societys work is done.
Leadership (in political organization) means inequalities of power. Some people lead,
others follow.
Human nature is self-centered people in power will use their position to seize greater
rewards for themselves.
Marxs Arguments:
The people in power are not there because they are superior that is simply an ideology
the elite use to justify their being at the top.
Modern Marxist View: Mills (1956), Collins (1999); Schellenberg (1996) stress that groups
within the same class compete for scarce resources. The conflict is not simply between union
and multinationals, but rather between men and women, young and old and racial and ethnic
groups.
Philippine Stratification System
Upper class people people tend to define class in terms of wealth and especially status
as it applies to the concept of prestige (e.g., people listed in social register)
Because of the difference between wealth and income, income alone is a very poor
indicator of social class
Effects of Stratification
Lower class people suffer from more frequent and more chronic illnesses.
Lower class people have higher infant mortality and poor to non-existent pre-natal care.
Lower class people have shorter life expectancies.
Lower class people have larger families and (by definition) experience more chronic
unemployment, underemployment, and poverty.
Lower class people are more likely to be involved with the criminal justice system.