Lesson 7 Social and Political Stratification

What is It
Social stratification is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a
hierarchy according to power, wealth, and prestige (Macionis 2012: 224). Power, wealth, and
prestige are referred to as social desirables, or rewards of social positions of statuses. Wealth
pertains to ownership or control of resource. Power is the ability to compel obedience or control
a number of people. Prestige refers to social recognition and deference. People in different
positions have different access to wealth, power, and prestige. These differences in society give
rise to social inequality.

Macionis (2012) points out that in certain societies, some people experience social
mobility or the change in position within the social hierarchy. Vertical mobility refers to the
change from one status to another that is higher or lower Individuals who rose from modest
beginnings to fame and fortune experience upward mobility. Some people move downward
because of business failures, unemployment, or illness. In contrast, horizontal mobility is the
change from one status to another that is roughly equivalent. This is the case when people
switch from one job to another at about the same social level.

There are two types of social stratification systems. Closed systems allow for little
change in social position, while open systems, permit much more social mobility. Closed
systems are called caste systems, and more open systems are called class systems. A caste
system is social stratification based on ascription, or birth. India’s caste system and apartheid, or
separation of the races in South Africa, are examples of a caste system. A class system, in
contrast, is social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement. The system is
common in industrial societies. In some societies such as the United Kingdom and Japan, social
stratification mixes caste and class.
 Social stratification is distinguished as three social classes:
1. The upper class- consists of the elite families who are the most prolific and successful in
their respective areas. These are the groups off people who are stockholders, investors
and who live in an exclusive neighborhood. They own houses, mingle with the same
class and value heritage most over wealth.
2. The middle class- these are mostly professional like lawyers, doctors, managers, owners
of small business etc. They live in spacious houses, situated in best suburbs. Their
income can afford them a comfortable lifestyle. They value education most since
education to them is the most important measure of social status.
3. The lower class- these are the office and clerical workers, skilled and unskilled
craftsman, farm employees, underemployed and indigent families. They live in smaller
houses. They are short of revenue, education, or trainings, acquaintances, and
communication. They depend on their paycheck.

And each class can be subdivided into strata, e.g. the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and
the lower stratum. Moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship or caste,
or both.
The categorization of people by social strata occurs in all societies, ranging from the
complex, state-based societies to tribal and feudal societies, which are based on socio-economic
relations among classes of nobility and classes of peasants. Historically, whether or not hunter-
gatherer societies can be defined as socially stratified or if social stratification began with
agriculture and common acts of social exchange, remains a debated matter in the social
sciences. Determining the structures of social inequalities of status among persons; therefore,
the degree of social inequality determines a person’s social stratum. Generally, the greater the
social complexity of a society, the more social strata exist, by way of social differentiation.

Social Inequality
One important dimension of social stratification is income inequality. Poverty is a state
in which resources, usually material but sometimes cultural, are lacking. Relative poverty is the
lack of resources of some people in relation to those who have more. Absolute poverty refers to
a lack of resources that is life threatening (Macionis 2012: 257).
Social ranking likewise involves gender and ethnicity. Minority refers to any category of
people distinguished by physical or cultural difference that a society sets apart and subordinates
(Macionis 2012: 303). In societies that give more power and other resources to men than to
women, gender is an important dimension of social stratification (Macionis 2012: 299). Gender
is the meaning a culture attaches to being female or male (see Chapter 3). Gender stratification
is the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and privilege between men and women. Often, as a
result, women increasingly join the ranks of the poor, giving rise to a phenomenon referred to
as the feminization of poverty.
Gender Inequality
Sex and gender-based prejudice and discrimination, called sexism, are major contributing
factors to social inequality. Almost al societies have some sexual division of labor. The
emphasis on gender inequality is born out of the deepening division in the roles assigned to men
and women, particularly in the economic, political and educational spheres. Women are
underrepresented in political activities and decision-making processes in almost every part of
the world.
Ethnicity
It is a shared cultural heritage based on common ancestry, language, or religion that
gives a group people a distinctive social identity (Macionis 2012: 320). People of a particular
ethnicity can be a target of prejudice, just like those of a particular social class, sex, sexual
orientation, age, political affiliation, or physical disability. Prejudice is a rigid and unfair
generalization about a category of people. A related concept, discrimination, is the unequal
treatment of various categories of people. Macionis (2012: 323–324) clarifies that prejudice
refers to attitudes while discrimination involves actions. Both prejudice and discrimination can
be either positive (favorable views, providing special advantages) or negative (unfavorable
views, creating obstacles). Also, these biases may be built into the operation of society’s
institutions such as schools, hospitals, the police, and the workplace. This is referred to as
institutional prejudice and discrimination.
 Lesson 8 Making Society Better

What is It

The final lesson focuses on cultural, social, and political change, or the transformations
of cultural, social and political institutions over time. There are many causes of social change—
when something is discovered, created, and diffused, during times of conflict caused by
inequalities and differences in ideas, when characteristics of population alter, and when
modernization is experienced by society. What is Social Change?
Social change is the ―transformation of culture and social institutions over time‖
(Macionis 2012: 565).
Characteristics of Social Change
The process of social change has four major characteristics:
1. Social change happens all the time. Everything in our social world are subject to
change, although some societies change faster than others. As Macionis points out, hunting and
gathering societies change quite slowly, whereas members of today’s high-income societies
experience significant change within a single lifetime. Some elements of culture also change
faster than others. Macionis thus cites William Ogburn’s theory of cultural lag, which states that
material culture (things) usually changes faster than nonmaterial culture (ideas and attitudes).
For instance, advances in genetic technology have developed more rapidly than ethical
standards on the use of the technology.
2. Social change is sometimes intentional but is often unplanned. Today’s high-
income societies generate many kinds of change. Yet, it would be impossible to envision all the
consequences of the changes that are set in motion. For example, telephones (invented in 1876)
have taken on different forms and uses over time.
3. Social change is controversial. Social change brings both good and bad
consequences, and thus could be welcomed by some and opposed by others. Karl Marx and
Max Weber have chronicled the transformations brought about by the Industrial Revolution.
The capitalists welcomed the Industrial Revolution because new technology meant increased
productivity and profits. However, workers opposed it as they suffered alienation and the
dehumanization brought about by newer techniques and social relations of production.
4. Some changes matter more than others. Some changes such as fashion fads only
have passing significance, while others such as major medical discoveries and inventions may
change the world.
Causes of social change
Social change has many causes;
A. Culture and change
There are three important sources of cultural change (Macionis 2012: 565– 566). First is
invention, or the creation of something new by usually by putting things together. Inventions
can range from the seemingly complex technological objects such as the spacecraft or even the
lightbulb to the seemingly simple such as kitchen gadgets (like can openers).
Second is discovery, or finding something that has existed but previously not known.
Chapter 2 provides various examples of the discovery of material and fossil remains of
prehistoric societies that changed our understanding of biophysical and cultural evolution.
Third is diffusion, or the spread of cultural attributes from one culture to another through
contact between different cultural groups. Change happens as products, people, and information
spread from one society to another. An example of cultural change is the wide variety of cuisine
from other lands that is made available to us. Fast-food courts and restaurants in major
Philippine cities offer food from around the country and the world that is usually not part of a
person’s everyday meal. Filipino overseas workers have also been known to introduce balut and
other Filipino foods to their host societies. Another example is the evolving ideals of beauty as
people come in greater contact with others
B. Conflict and change
Inequality and conflict in a society also produce change. Karl Marx foresaw that ―social
conflict arising from inequality (involving not just class but also race and gender) would force
changes in every society to improve the lives of working people‖ (Macionis 2012: 566). In the
Philippines, the rising inequalities and human rights violations during the Martial Law period
caused mass uprisings that culminated in the 198 People Power Revolt. The Philippines was
considered to be the first in the world to have challenged authoritarian rule through a non-
violent process.
 C. Ideas and change
Weber, like Marx, also saw that conflict could bring about change. However, he traced the
roots of most social change to ideas (Macionis 2012: 566). For example, charismatic people
such as Mahatma Gandhi or Jose Rizal had political ideas that change society.

D. Demographic change
Population patterns such as population growth, shifts in the composition of a population,
or migration also play a part in social change (Macionis 2012: 566). An increasing
population may encourage the development of new products and services, but it can also
have ecological and social implications such the conversion of more agricultural land to
residential subdivisions. In other societies, lower fertility rates (women are having fewer
children), an aging population, and the influx of migrants from other societies are changing
many aspects of social life.
Modernity
A central point in the study of social change is modernity. It refers to social patterns
resulting from industrialization.
For Emile Durkheim, modernization is defined by an increasing division of labor. The
division of labor refers to the degree to which tasks or responsibilities are specialized.
Durkheim defines a society according to type of solidarity. Mechanical solidarity is based on
shared activities and beliefs while organic solidarity is characterized by specialization makes
people interdependent. As societies become industrialized, mechanical solidarity is gradually
replaced by organic solidarity. (Macionis 2012: 569).
New challenges to human adaptation and social change
1. Global warming and climate change
2. . 2. Transnational migration and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)