SOCIAL
STRATIFICATION
DOES THE
SYSTEM WORK
FOR YOU, OR
ARE YOU
WORKING FOR
THE SYSTEM?
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
A SYSTEM BY WHICH A SOCIETY RANKS CATEGORIES
OF PEOPLE IN A SOCIAL HIERARCHY.
• IT IS A TRAIT OF SOCIETY
– DOES NOT REFLECT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES,
BUT SOCIETY’S STRUCTURE
• IT PERSISTS OVER GENERATIONS
– SOCIAL MOBILITY HAPPENS SLOWLY
• IT IS UNIVERSAL
– WHILE UNIVERSAL, IT VARIES IN TYPE
• IT INVOLVES INEQUALITY IN BELIEF
SYSTEM
– IDEOLOGIES JUSTIFY EXISTENCE OF
STRATIFICATION
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION BASED
ON ASCRIPTION
• BIRTH DETERMINES
SOCIAL POSITION IN
FOUR DISTINCT WAYS
– OCCUPATIONS
– ENDOGAMY IS
PRACTICED
– SOCIAL LIFE IS
RESTRICTED
– BELIEF SYSTEMS ARE
OFTEN TIED TO
RELIGIOUS DOGMA
• LACK OF MOBILITY
• HIGH STATUS
CONSISTENCY
HOW DO I LIKE MY
WORK? WELL, HOW
WOULD YOU LIKE TO
HAVE TO DO THIS
EVERY DAY OF YOUR
LIFE?
THE AMERICAN CLASS
SYSTEM OF STRATIFICATION
A SYSTEM BASED ON INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT, NOT ASCRIPTION
THE MOST “OPEN SYSTEM” IN THE WORLD
• INEQUALITY AS IN CASTE
SYSTEM, BUT SOCIAL MOBILITY
IS POSSIBLE
• EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO
– EDUCATION
– JOB OPPORTUNITIES
– AN “EVEN PLAYING FIELD”
• SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE
IDEALS OF “MERITOCRACY”
– YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE
• LOWER STATUS CONSISTENCY
I DON’T THINK YOU
ALWAYS GET WHAT
YOU DESERVE!
THE DAVIS-MOORE PERSPECTIVE
• THESIS
– STRATIFICATION HAS BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES (IT’S
FUNCTIONAL) FOR THE OPERATION OF THE U.S..
• KEY POINTS
– MEMBERS OF SOCIETY HAVE NEEDS
– SOME STATUSES IN SOCIETY ARE MORE IMPORTANT
THAN OTHERS WHEN IT COMES TO SEEING TO NEEDS
– TO ATTRACT THE BEST QUALIFIED AND TO GIVE OF
THEIR TIME, EFFORT, AND ENERGIES, REWARDS MUST BE
SUFFICIENT IN NATURE (INCOME, PRESTIGE, POWER)
• KEY CONCEPT
– MERITOCRACY AND GETTING WHAT YOU “DESERVE”
– DOES EVERYONE IN AMERICA GET WHAT THEY
DESERVE?
WHAT ABOUT THE IDEA OF MERITOCRACY?
ASSUMPTIONS:
• EVERYONE HAS FAIR CHANCE
• NOT EVERYONE HAS THE SAME ABILITIES
OR POTENTIALS
• YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE
ARE SOCIAL REWARDS ALWAYS BASED UPON
THE IDEALS FOUND IN MERITOCRACY?
-MELVIN TUMIN SAYS NO!
-Some jobs are not more intrinsically more
important than others
-Social stratification creates conflict
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE
KARL MARX BELIEVED THAT CAPITALIST SYSTEMS OF
STRATIFICATION WOULD ALWAYS BENEFIT A FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MANY
• ONE’S PLIGHT IN LIFE IS TIED TO
A PERSON’S RELATIONSHIP TO
THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION
– A PERSON EITHER CONTROLS
MONEY AND EQUIPMENT, OR WORKS
FOR THOSE WHO DO
• THROUGH INHERITENCE LAWS,
SOCIAL CLASSES THEN
REPRODUCE THEMSELVES OVER
GENERATIONS
• EVENTUALLY, YEARS OF CLASS
OPPRESSION WOULD LEAD TO
CAPITALISM’S DEMISE
– SOCIALISM REPLACES CAPTIALISM
• FRAGMENTATION OF THE
CAPITALIST CLASS
– WE CAN ALL HAVE A PIECE
OF THE PIE THESE DAYS
• WHITE-COLLAR JOBS AND
A GENERAL RISING OF
THE STANDARD OF LIVING
– MORE PRESTIGE
• INCREASE IN UNIONS
– BETTER WAGES AND
BENEFITS
• ACCESS TO LEGAL
PROTECTION
– COURTS ARE SUPPORTING
WORKERS’ CLAIMS
• HOWEVER, MAJOR CLASS
DIFFERENCES REMAIN
• WEALTH STILL REMAINS HIGHLY CONCENTRATED
IN THE UPPER CLASS
– A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION STILL
CONTROLS OVER HALF OF THE CORPORATE STOCK
• WHITE-COLLAR JOBS OFFER LITTLE TO WORKERS
– JOB SECURITY IS NO LONGER OFFERED TO WHITE-COLLAR
WORKERS, AND WORKERS CAN EVEN EXPLOITED MORE
• PROGRESS REQUIRES STRUGGLE
– CONFLICT AND DISTRUST STILL REMAIN AS OBSTACLES
BETWEEN MANAGEMENT AND WORKERS
– LITTLE HAS BEEN WON RECENTLY
• THE LAW STILL FAVORS THE RICH
– ACCESS TO LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR THE POOR HAS
BEEN SEVERED
– THE “AVERAGE” AMERICAN STILL CANNOT USE THE LEGAL
SYSTEM TO THE SAME AS EXTENT AS THE RICH
MAX WEBER’S SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (S.E.S.)
• THREE DISTINCT DIMENSIONS
– CLASS (ECONOMIC INEQUALITY)
• PROPERTY
– STATUS (SOCIAL PRESTIGE)
• PRESTIGE
– POWER (ABILITY TO CONTROL)
• POWER
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVES OF
STRATIFICATION:
• GAETANO MOSCA
– SOCIETY MUST BE ORGANIZED
– PRECURSOR TO CONFLICT THEORY
• LATER CONFLICT THEORISTS
– CONFLICT WITHIN CLASSES
• Examples?
LIFE-CHANCES AND S.E.S.
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HEALTH AND MEDICINE
ACCESS TO CULTURE
SOCIALIZATION
POLITICAL ORIENTATION
DATING/MARRIAGE
CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
STATUSES AND ROLES
CHILD REARING
NUTRITION
SERVING IN ARMED FORCES
RESIDENTIAL LOCATION
HOW DOES YOUR
POSITION IN THE
SOCIAL HIERARCHY
IMPACT YOUR LIFE
IN THESE AREAS?
ARE SOME OF THE
DIFFERENCES YOU
NOTED IMPORTANT
ENOUGH AS TO
INFLUENCE LIFE AND
DEATH CHANCES?
The American Class System
• SUPPORT FOR EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW
– EQUAL RIGHTS ARE ACCORDED TO ALL
• WE CELEBRATE INDIVIDUALITY
– PEOPLE FORGE THEIR OWN LIVES
• SIMILARITYAND ATTRACTION
– BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH “OTHERS”
• THE U.S. IS AN AFFLUENT SOCIETY
– BELIEF THAT EVERYONE IS FINANCIALLY COMFORTABLE
• THUS, IT REMAINS A TOPIC THAT MOST PEOPLE DO
NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND, OR THEY ARE TAUGHT
THAT IT IS NOT AN APPROPRIATE TOPIC FOR
CONVERSATION
DIMENSIONS OF CLASS
• INCOME
– OCCUPATIONAL WAGES AND EARNINGS FROM
INVESTMENTS
• WEALTH
– THE TOTAL VALUE OF MONEY AND OTHER
ASSETS, MINUS ANY DEBT
• SOCIAL POWER
– THE ABILITY TO CONTROL, EVEN IN THE FACE
OF RESISTENCE
• OCCUPATIONAL PRESTIGE
– JOB-RELATED STATUS
• EDUCATION
– KEY TO BETTER CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
• ANCESTRY
– BORN TO PRIVILEGE OR POVERTY
MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE
• RACE AND ETHNICITY
– SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES STILL
EXIST WHEN COMPARING MAJORITY
AND MINORITY GROUPS ON SOCIAL
AND FINANCIAL VARIABLES
• GENDER
– IT IS STILL A MAN’S WORLD IN
AMERICA
• RELIGION
– PROTESTANT RELIGIONS ARE STILL
IDENTIFIED AS CHURCHES WHOSE
MEMBERSHIP ARE MOST AFFLUENT
IN AMERICA
WAYS IN WHICH CLASS
MATTERS TO YOU
• HEALTH
– AMOUNT AND TYPE OF HEALTH CARE
• CULTURAL VALUES
– TOLERANCE AND GRATIFICATION
• POLITICS
– DEGREE OF INVOLVEMENT AND OUTLOOKS
• FAMILY AND GENDER
– TYPE OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT AND
SOCIALIZATION PRACTICES
• EARNINGS HAVE
STALLED FOR MANY
WORKERS
• MANY PERSONS NEED
TO HOLD MORE THAN
ONE JOB
• MORE JOBS OFFER
LITTLE INCOME
• YOUNG PEOPLE ARE
REMAINING AT (AND
RETURNING TO) HOME
FOR MANY PEOPLE,
THE AMERICAN DREAM
HAS EVOLVED INTO AN
AMERICAN NIGHTMARE!