Reece Simpson
February 13, 2020
SOC 1101
Section 203
Memo #4
Intuitively, the proposition that social inequality and stratification is needed to create an
efficient society seem valid. In theory, by promoting higher quality rewards for appropriate roles/
occupations, a society can thrive on the principle that the most qualified people are in the most
important positions (Davis and Moore, 1945: 243). Ideally, in this social structure, members of
society are also motivated to work harder, since they understand that rewards await them as they
get more qualified in their trade/profession. Yet, if social stratification can be such an economic
and societal benefit, why do studies show a direct negative relationship between societal health
and economic inequality (Kraus and Tan, 2015: 1)?
The United States is the quintessential counterexample to the arguments of Davis and
Moore, and thus provide support for the perspectives of Tumin. Tumin’s conflict perspective
argued that the only way social stratification can work without any issues in a society with
unlimited resources, which is impossible (Tumin, 1953: 389). As a result, the competitive
acquisition of these scarce resources will be inherently flawed, due to the systems of society
bending to people of power and their coercion.
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