power, class, and status
. These three terms were also called three components of stratification in which people belonging to same class enjoys the same lifestyle and are provided with the same amount of opportunities for growth.
Social stratification refers to the unequal distribution around the world of the three Ps:
property, power, and prestige
. This stratification forms the basis of the divisions of society and categorizations of people.
Concrete forms of social stratification are different and numerous. However, sociologists have grouped majority of these into four basic systems of stratification:
slavery, estates, caste and class
.
Max Weber identified three distinct dimensions of social stratification:
economic class, social status, or prestige, and power
. Conflict exists between people at various positions on a multidimensional hierarchy of Socioeconomic Status (SES).
- Inequality or Higher-lower positions: …
- Social Stratification is a Source of Competition: …
- Every Status has a Particular Prestige Associated with it: …
- Stratification Involves a Stable, Enduring and Hierarchical Division of Society:
For example, in some cultures,
wisdom and charisma are valued
, and people who have them are revered more than those who don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural beliefs often reinforce the inequalities of stratification.
Stratification leads to more productive society.
Social Stratification
provides motivation for different positions
, particularly those which carry higher statuses and rewards. By distributing resources unequally, society motivates people to work harder and better in order to achieve a higher status.
Social stratification refers to
a ranking of people or groups of people within a society
. But the term was defined by the earliest sociologists as something more than the almost universal inequalities that exist in all but the least complex of societies.
The functional theory of stratification provided by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore suggests
that social inequalities are functional for society
because they provide an incentive for the most talented individuals to occupy jobs that are essential to the orderly maintenance of a society.
Which of the following is a primary dimension of stratification?
On that basis, he introduces three primary dimensions of stratification:
class (economic position), party (power) and status (prestige)
.
Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like
wealth, income, race, education, ethnicity, gender, occupation, social status
, or derived power (social and political).
The forms of stratification is not uniform in all the societies. In the modern world class,
caste and estate
are the general forms of stratification. In India a special type of stratification in the form of caste is found. The ancient Aryas were divided into four varnas: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras.
What is the example of stratification?
Stratification means to sort data/people/objects into distinct groups or layers. For example, you might sort
“All people in the USA” into ethnic groups, income level groups, or geographic groups
.
- Upper class.
- New money.
- Middle class.
- Working class.
- Working poor.
- Poverty level.
The division of society into classes forming a hierarchy of prestige and power is a universal feature of social systems. Sociologist have distinguished four main types of social stratification namely,
Slavery, estates, caste and social class and status
.
Functionalist theory says that
stratification is necessary and inevitable
because of the need to induce people with the needed knowledge and skills to decide to pursue the careers that are most important to society.
