social stratification
(noun)
The hierarchical arrangement of social classes, or castes, within a society.
Examples of social stratification in the following topics:
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Power and Inequality
- In sociology, social stratification is a concept involving the classification of persons into groups based on shared socioeconomic conditions; it is a relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions.
- Theories of social stratification are based on four basic principles:
- Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences.
- In modern Western societies, stratification is broadly organized into three main layers: upper class, middle class, and lower class.
- Social stratification has been shown to cause many social problems.
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Marx's View of Class Differentiation
- In the Marxist perspective, social stratification is created by unequal property relations, or unequal access to the means of production.
- In Marx's view, social stratification is created by people's differing relationship to the means of production: either they own productive property or they labor for others.
- A temporary status quo could be achieved by employing various methods of social control—consciously or unconsciously—by the bourgeoisie in various aspects of social life.
- The means of production would be shared by all members of society, and social stratification would be abolished.
- " Marxism is associated with a view of stratification that pits the owners of means of production against the laborers.
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Social Status
- Pulling back into a larger perspective, these same factors accumulate into a system of social stratification.
- Social stratification is a conceptual social hierarchy in which individuals are ranked in terms of their perceived value to society.
- However, social stratification is not limited to economics; perceived moral value is also integrated into the stratification so that a poor member of the clergy is in a higher social rank than a rich criminal.
- These "three P's" combine to produce social stratification.
- Thus, social stratification is demonstrated by economic class and the cultural preferences that it engenders.
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Explaining Poverty: The Sociological Debate
- Sociologists take two opposing approaches to explaining economic stratification: structural-functionalism and conflict theory.
- A structural-functionalist would argue that Justices receive high pay and high esteem to motivate people to accept a job with a great deal of social responsibility and public scrutiny.
- A conflict theorist would say that passing court seats between members of the social elite insulates the judicial branch from the interests of the lower classes.
- Two classic sociological approaches to poverty and social stratification are structural-functionalism and conflict theory.
- The structural-functionalist approach to stratification asks the question: what function or purpose does stratification serve?
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Weber's View of Stratification
- Max Weber formed a three-component theory of stratification in which social difference is determined by class, status, and power.
- Working half a century later than Marx, Weber derived many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the social structure of Germany.
- Weber differs from Marx in that he did not see this as the supreme factor in stratification.
- Status refers to a person's prestige, social honor, or popularity in a society.
- Using Weber's theory of stratification, members of the U.S.
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Global Stratification and Inequality
- Stratification results in inequality when resources, opportunities, and privileges are distributed based on position in social hierarchy.
- Educational attainment is associated with increased wealth, health, and social status.
- Thus, a child's social class has longterm effects on their access to resources and opportunities.
- Stratification refers to the range of social classes that result from variations in socioeconomic status.
- Stratification is generally analyzed from three different perspectives: micro, meso, and macro.
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The Feminist Perspective
- Feminist theory analyzes gender stratification through the intersection of gender, race, and class.
- In sociology, social stratification occurs when differences lead to greater status, power, or privilege for some groups over others.
- Gender stratification occurs when gender differences give men greater privilege and power over women, transgender, and gender-non-conforming people.
- Intersectionality suggests that various biological, social and cultural categories, including gender, race, class and ethnicity, interact and contribute towards systematic social inequality.
- This 1919 German social democratic election poster advocates for the rights of women.
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Open vs. Closed Stratification Systems
- Social stratification describes the socioeconomic levels of a society as "layers," with the wealthiest and most powerful citizens being at the top.
- Sociologists who study stratification have identified open class systems and compared them to closed class systems.
- Individuals can move up or down in the social rankings; this is unlike closed systems, where individuals are set in one social position for life despite their achievements.
- The United States exhibits an open stratification system, where individuals can move between social statuses based on achievement.
- This fifteenth-century woodcutting illustrates the closed stratification system of the three estates of the French Ancien Régime.
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Stratification
- Global stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of individuals and groups in societies around the world.
- Sociologists speak of stratification in terms of socioeconomic status (SES).
- Inequality occurs when a person's position in the social hierarchy is tied to different access to resources.
- For example, within a given social class, women are less likely to receive job promotions than men.
- Analyze the three dominant theories that attempt to explain global stratification
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Introduction
- Stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of people in a society.
- This chapter focuses on economic stratification; meaning how people are differentiated based upon their wealth (and/or power).
- Sociology has a long history of studying stratification and teaching about various kinds of inequality, including economic inequality, racial/ethnic inequality, gender inequality, and other types of inequality.
- Before answering these complex questions, we will broadly define socioeconomic status and social class in America.
- The chapter then turns to dominant theories on stratification, and explores class, race, and gender inequality in more detail.