Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Social Stratification
 For many years, humans lived in
hunting and gathering
communities.
 Over time, societies began to
elevate people to higher social
positions, giving them more
wealth, power and prestige.
 Social Stratification - a system by
which a society ranks categories
of people in a hierarchy.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Discussion Questions
 Does a hierarchy
exist at Central?
 Who is at the top?
Bottom?
 Do you think a
hierarchy is more
noticeable in smaller
schools or larger
schools?
Basic Principles
 Social Stratification is based on
four basic principles:
1. A trait of society
 Does not reflect individual
differences.
 Social standing is the result of the
way society offers opportunity &
reward.

Ex. Rich  healthier children
2. Persists over generations
 Social mobility happens slowly.
3. Universal but variable
 While universal, it varies in type.
4. Involves not just inequality but
beliefs
 The explanation of why people
should be unequal differs from
society to society.
Social Mobility
 Social mobility – a change in position within
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social hierarchy.
 Upward or downward.
Horizontal social mobility – switching from
one job to another at about the same social
level.
Most people have the same social standing
throughout life.
Structural Social Mobility – change in social
position due to changes in society itself.
Social stratification may involve differences
in:
 What is unequal
 How unequal people are
 Why people are unequal
Discussion Question
 Conforming to the norm, “Women and children
first,” 80% of the Titanic casualties were men.
Perhaps times have changed: In a 1992
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette survey, 65% of men
said they would not give up their lifeboat for a
woman or child.
 Do you think this is a true reflection of what
most men think?
 Why?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Caste and Class Systems
The Caste System
 Social stratification based on
ascription (birth).
 Closed system – little change in
social position.
 In India, birth determines social
position in four distinct ways:
 Occupation (one type of work)
 Marriage within caste
(endogamous)
 Social life is restricted to “own
kind” to prevent being
“polluted”.
 Caste systems are often tied to
religious dogma.
Caste System
 Caste system is illegal, but elements survive.
 Typically caste systems are found in agrarian
societies.
India Caste System
 Brahman/Brahmin
 Kshatriya
 Vaishya
 Shudra
 Harijans
Apartheid
 Separation of races
 South Africa
 1948-1994
 Little improvement for
millions poor, black people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVw9UjHPEt8
Class Systems
 Social stratification based on both birth
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and individual achievement.
 How talented and hardworking people
are.
Open system
Social mobility for people with education
and skills.
All people gain equal standing before the
law.
Work and marriage involves personal
choice.
Replacement of caste systems with class
systems replaces one kind of inequality
with another.
Meritocracy
 Meritocracy: based on personal
merit
 Knowledge, abilities and effort
 Unequal rewards based on
individual performance.
 Pure meritocracy –
 Constant social mobility
 Blurred social categories
 Elimination of families and other
social loyalties that tie a society
together.

No inheritance
Status Consistency
 The degree of consistency in a
person’s social standing
across various dimensions of
social inequality.
 The degree of status
consistency is greater in caste
systems than class systems.
 Ex: Most college professors
have an advanced degree but
average salaries = low status
consistency.
 Classes are harder to define
than castes.
Stratification Changes Caste
to Meritocracy
The United Kingdom
 The three estates:
 The First Estate - Clergy
(church officials)
 The Second Estate Nobility (hereditary,
wealthy, no occupation,
held a title)

Primogeniture –
passing of property
onto the first born male.
 The Third Estate -
Commoners (Majority of
people)
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Stratification Changes Caste to
Meritocracy
 Japan
 For more than 2,000 years, Japanese
society operated with a caste system.
 Nobility, samurai, commoners,
burakumin (outcasts)
 Today, lines between classes are
unclear.
 When sizing up people socially, family
background is never far from the
surface, though it may not be
discussed openly.
 Former Soviet Union
 Russian revolution eliminated the
feudal estate system and left Russia
with a “classless society”.
 The 1917 Russian Revolution
transformed an agrarian society,
placing productive property under the
control of the state.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Discussion Question
 Consider why most US adults claim inequality
based on race is wrong while claiming that
economic inequality is mostly right because
some people have more talent and training and
put forth more of an effort than others.
 What do you think about racial inequality versus
economic inequality?
 Are they different? Are they based on the same
principle?
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Ideology
 Cultural beliefs that justify
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
stratification, including inequality.
 Ex. Rich people are smart and
poor people are lazy.
Plato
 Every culture considers some
type of inequality “fair”.
Marx
 Capitalist societies keep wealth
and power for a few (the elite).
Spencer
 “survival of the fittest”
A common ideology of a class
system states that success is
typically an indication of sheer luck.
The Functions of
Social Stratification
The Davis-Moore Thesis
 Social stratification has
beneficial consequences for
the operation of a society.
 The greater the importance
of a position, the more
rewards a society attaches
to it.
 Egalitarian societies offer
little incentive for people to
try their best.
 The only way an egalitarian
society could exist is if
people are willing to allow
anyone to perform any job.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Davis & Moore
 A system of unequal
rewards increases
productivity by:
 Encouraging people to
gain the schooling and
skills needed to perform
more important jobs.
 Encouraging people to
perform more important
jobs.
 Motivating people to work
longer, harder or better.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Stratification & Conflict
Karl Marx: Class and Conflict
 Most people have one of two
relationships with the means
of production.
 Own productive property
(capitalist class) “bourgeoisie”
 Work for others “proletariat”
 Capitalism creates great
inequality in power and wealth
which leads to class conflict.
 This oppression would drive
the working majority to
organize and overthrow the
capitalism. Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Why No Marxist Revolution?
 Fragmentation of the
capitalist class
 Higher standard of living
 Blue-collar work – lower
prestige jobs that involve
manual labor.
 White-collar - higher prestige
jobs that involve mostly mental
activity.
 More worker organizations
 More extensive legal
protections
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Was Marx Right?
 Wealth still remains highly
concentrated.
 40% of privately owned
property is owned by 1% of
population.
 Many of today’s white collar
jobs offer no more income,
security or satisfaction than
factory work did a century
ago.
 Workers benefits came from
struggle.
 Conflict and distrust still
remain as obstacles between
management and workers.
 Law still protects private
property of rich.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Max Weber: Class, Status, and Power
 Three distinct
dimensions of
inequality

Class position (economic)

Viewed “classes” as a
continuum from high to low.
Status (prestige)
 Power

 Socioeconomic status
(SES)
 Composite ranking based
on various dimensions of
social inequality.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Weber: Inequality in History
 Weber’s three dimensions of
inequality stands out at
different points in the
evolution of human societies.
 Agrarian – emphasize status
(social prestige) taking the
form of honor.
 Industrial – eliminate
traditional rankings but
create financial inequality.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Weber v. Marx: Socialism
 Marx said that social stratification would end
with the creation of a socialist economy.
 Weber thought socialism would reduce
economic differences but also create a political
elite increasing differences in power.
Stratification and Interaction
Stratification and Interaction
 Sociologists typically
think of social
stratification as a
macro-level issue.
 It’s important to
analyze SS as a
micro-level issue
because people’s
social standing
affects their
everyday
interactions.
 People tend to
socialize with
others of the
same social
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
position.
Stratification and Interaction
 Conspicuous
consumption - buying
and using products
because of the
“statement” they make
about social positions.
 Ex. Wearing name
brand products to
impress your friends.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Applying Theory (Re-teaching)
 Structural Functional – Macro
level
 Definition – a framework for
building theory that sees society
as a complex systems whose
parts work together to promote
solidarity and stability.
 Key Terms – Solidarity, stability,
benefits, needed for operation of
society
 Key People – Comte, Durkheim,
Spencer, Robert Merton
 Social inequality benefits society.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition
Applying Theory (Re-teaching)
 Social-Conflict – Macro Level
 Definition – a framework for building theory that
sees society as an arena of inequality that
generates conflict and change.
 Key Terms – Conflict, change, inequality, divide
 Key People – Karl Marx, W.E.B. Du Bois
 Social inequality is harmful and divides society
Applying Theory (Re-teaching)
 Symbolic Interaction – Micro Level
 Definition – a framework for building theory that
sees society as the product of the everyday
interactions of individuals.
 Key Terms – everyday interaction, individuals
 Key People – Max Weber
 Social inequality guides people’s interaction in
everyday life.
Stratification and Technology:
A Global Perspective
Stratification and Technology:
a Global Perspective
 Hunting and gathering
societies
 Closest to being egalitarian
 Horticultural, pastoral, and
agrarian societies
 According to Kuznets, social
stratification is greatest in
agrarian societies
 Industrial societies
 As postindustrial societies
develop, inequality increases.
Sociology, Eleventh Edition