Social Stratification

Social stratification, a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, is based on four important principles

1) Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences

2) Social stratification carries over from generation to generation

3) Social stratification is universal but variable4) Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as

well A caste system is social stratification based on ascription, or

birth. Caste may be vanished but it now exists as “class”

Meritocracy refers to social stratification based on personal merit

Stratification is based not just on the accident of birth but also on merit, which includes a person's knowledge, abilities, and effort

A major reason that social hierarchies endure is ideology, cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality

Boris Johnsonhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10479466/Boris-Johnson-some-people-are-too-stupid-to-get-on-in-life.html

Max Weber on Social Stratification

Max Weber agreed with Marx that social stratification causes social conflict, but he viewed Marx's economics-based model as simplistic. Instead, he claimed that social stratification involves three-dimensions of inequality

1) economic inequality, which Weber termed class position2) status3) power Weber, then, portrays social stratification in industrial

societies as a multidimensional ranking rather than a hierarchy or clearly defined classes

Pyramid of Capitalist System

Social-conflict analysis argues that rather than benefiting society as a whole, social stratification benefits some people and disadvantages others

Marx explained that capitalist society reproduces the class structure in each new generation. But oppresion and misery would eventually drive the working majority to come together to overthrow capitalism in favour of a socialist revolution

Social Stratification: Comparing Marx and Weber

Marx thought societies could eliminate social stratification by abolishing the private ownership of productive property that is the basis of capitalism. Marx argued that social stratification springs from injustice and greed

Weber doubted that overthrowing capitalism would significantly lessen social stratification. It might reduce economic differences, he reasoned, but socialism would increase inequality by expanding government and concentrating power in the hands of a political elite

Question: Identify the ways in which social stratification is evident in the everyday lives of students on your campus. In each case, explain exactly what is unequal and what difference it makes