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8/13/2019 02.Social Stratification Lecture
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8/13/2019 02.Social Stratification Lecture
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Defined as:
A system by which a society ranks and
categories of people in a hierarchy
Soc ial strat i f icat ion exists in al l societ ies.
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STRATIFICATION
(f) TWO STATUSES DEFINED
(i) ASCRIBED
(ii) ACHIEVED
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Sociologists distinguish between
Closed Systems Caste Systems
Allow little change in social position Open Systems Class Systems
Permit much more social mobility
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Social Mobility
Horizontal Mobility: Changing jobs at the same class
level
Vertical Mobility: movement from one position to
another of a different rank
Movement can be upward or downward
VERTICAL MOBILITY STUDIES
(i) INTRAGENERATIONAL MOBILITY
(ii) INTERGENERATIONAL MOBILITY
(iii) STRUCTURALl MOBILITY
.
Types of Social Mobility
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Understanding Stratification
Slavery Most extreme form of legalized social inequality; Enslaved individuals are
ownedby other people
Castes Hereditary systems of rank, usually religiously dictated, that tend to be
fixed and immobile
Social stratification based on ascription, or birth
Little or no social mobility
AN ILLUSTRATION: INDIA
Four major casts or Varna
Brahmin ((Scholars and priests)
Kshatriya(Nobles and warriors)
Vaishy, (Merchants and traders)
Sudra (Working class, peasants)
Caste position determines life from birth
Estates Estate System:Feudalism; required peasants to work land leased to them by nobles.
Historical Systems of Stratification
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Understanding Stratification
Systems of Stratification
SocialClasses
Rossides (1997) uses five-class model to describe U.S.
class system: Upper class
Upper-middle class
Lower-middle class
Working class
Lower class
.
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The Class System
Greater mobility Open class system
Social stratification based on both birth (Ascribed)and individual achievement (Achieved)
Schooling and skills lead to social mobility Work is no longer fixed at birth but involves some personal
choice
Income is a crucial factor
MERITOCRACY A concept that refers to social stratification based on
personal merit
Includes knowledge, abilities, and effort
Pure meritocracy has never existed
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STATUS CONSISTENCY The degree of consistency in a persons social
standing across various dimensions of social
inequality
Low status consistency means that classesare
harder to define than castes
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STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL APPROACH
Social stratification plays a vital part in the operation
of society
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The Davis-Moore Thesis
Social stratification has beneficial consequencesfor the operation of society
The greater the functional importance of a position,the more rewards a society attaches to it
Any society can be egalitarian, but only to the extentthat people are willing to let anyone perform any job
Positions a society considers crucial must offer
enough rewards to draw talented people away fromless important work
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Social-conflict Analysis
Argues stratification provides some people with
advantages over others
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Understanding Stratification
Karl Marxs View of Class
Differentiation
Social relations depend on who controls
the primary mode of production
.
Perspectives on Stratification
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Understanding Stratification
Perspectives on Stratification
Karl Marxs View of Class Differentiation
.
Capitalism:economic system in which the means of
production are held largely in private hands and
the main incentive for economic activity is the
accumulation of profits
Bourgeoisie:
capitalist class; owns the means of production
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Understanding Stratification
Class Consciousness: subjective awareness of common vested
interests and the need for collective political action to bring
about change
False Consciousness: attitude held by members of class thatdoes not accurately reflect their objective position
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Perspectives on StratificationKarl Marxs View of Class
Differentiation Proletariat: working class
Alienat ion
The experience of isolation and misery resulting
from powerlessness
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CRITICAL REVIEW
Ignores that a system of unequal rewards is
needed to place people in the right jobs and to
motivate people to hard work
The revolutionary change Marx predicted failedto happen, at least in advanced capitalist
societies
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Understanding Stratification
Perspectives on Stratification
Max Webers View of Stratification
No single characteristic totally defines a persons
position with the stratification system. Threedimensions of stratifications are:
PowerWealth Prestige
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Max Weber
According to Max Weber, Wealth & income
differences produce classes, prestige
differences produce status group and political
power difference produce what he termed
political power or parties.
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CRITICAL REVIEW
Industrial and postindustrial nations still show
patterns of social inequality
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POVERTY
Relative Poverty
The deprivation of some people in relation to
those who have more Absolute Poverty
A deprivation of resources that is life-threatening
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Explaining Poverty
Two opposing explanations
One View: Blame the Poor
The poor are primarily responsible for their own poverty
Culture of Poverty
A lower-class subculture that can destroy peoples ambition t improvetheir lives
Another View: Blame Society
Society is primarily responsible for poverty
Primary cause is loss of jobs in inner cities
Government should fund jobs and provide affordable child
care for low-income mothers and fathers