Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics

Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600

Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section: Grade 11/12
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 8 – UCSP Subject Teacher: Kimberson P. Alacyang

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND RIGHTS

1. Social Stratification
2. Classification of Rights
3. Bill of Rights
4. Human Rights

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Through discussion and the module, the learners are able to:
A. know the classifications of Rights;
B. define Stratification;
C. understand the importance of Rights in maintaining a functional society; and
D. appreciate the importance of upholding human rights

KEY TERMS
A. STRATIFICATION refers to society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic
tiers (levels).
B. RIGHTS are entitlements to perform and not to perform certain actions, or to be or not to be in
certain states.
C. BILL OF RIGHTS refers to the declaration and enumeration of a person’s rights and privileges
which the Constitution is designed to protect against violations by the government, or by an
individual or groups of individuals.
D. HUMAN RIGHTS refers to rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality,
ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.

DISCUSSION

A. STRATIFICATION
✓ Members of society are arranged in hierarchy based on their access to or control over
basic economic resources.
✓ Gives rise to inequality

Figure 1 An image of 3- class

stratification (Google, 2020)

1. SOCIOLGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON STRATIFICATION

a. Structural Functionalist
✓ MAIN IDEA: Davis and Moore thesis states that stratification (inequality) is
functional and it is necessary for maintaining a society's state of equilibrium
(stability)
o Certain tasks in society are more valued than others, and those who
perform highly valued work are rewarded with greater income,
prestige and power.
o Certain positions in any society are more functionally important than
others and require special skills for their performance

b. Social Conflict
✓ REMEMBER: Social Conflict refers to the class struggle between the haves
and have- nots
 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section: Grade 11/12
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 8 – UCSP Subject Teacher: Kimberson P. Alacyang

✓ MAIN POINT: social stratification benefits the rich and powerful at the
expense of the poor hence stratification is HARMFUL
o Stratification promotes poverty.
✓ Inequality causes workers to experience alienation, isolation, and great
misery due to powerless status. This leads to class conflict.
c. Symbolic Interactionist
✓ MAIN IDEA: micro-interactions maintain structural inequality
o Attempts to explain how people’s social standing affects their
everyday interactions
o Stratification becomes a system that GROUPS people (interests,
background, way of life)
o People’s appearance reflects their perceived social standing
2. SYSTEMS
IMPORTANT POINT: DEGREE OF VERTICAL MOBILITY refers to the ability or progress of an
individual to go up and down the strata (see fig. 1)
a. Closed System
✓ MAIN IDEA: little or no opportunity to advance from one social class to
another.
o Social status is hereditary, based on a group characteristic. impose
rigid boundaries between social groups
o Limited interactions between members who belong to different social
groups or occupy different levels in social hierarchy. • Resistant to
change in social roles
✓ Example: India’s Thousand-Year-Old Caste System
✓ Vertical Mobility: not present
b. Open System
✓ MAIN IDEA: there is an opportunity to move from one social class to another
o Mainly based on achievement, allowing more flexibility in social roles,
increased social mobility, and better interaction
o REMEMBER: “started from the bottom, now we’re here” idea or the
typical rags to riches story
✓ Example: The Philippines’ Class System
✓ Vertical Mobility: present
B. RIGHTS
1. CLASSIFICATION OF RIGHTS
a. Natural rights
✓ are inherent rights given to an individual at the moment of birth. (e.g. right to
live, right to love)
b. Constitutional rights
✓ those rights which are conferred and protected by the Constitution.
c. Statutory rights
✓ those rights which are promulgated by the law-making body and
consequently may abolished by the same body.
d. Civil rights
✓ They are rights enjoyed by an individual by virtue of his citizenship in a state or
community.
e. Social, Cultural and Economic Rights
✓ Rights to property, whether personal, real or intellectual.
✓ the right to work in just and favorable conditions;
✓ the right to social protection, to an adequate standard of living and to the
highest attainable standards of physical and mental well-being;
✓ the right to education and the enjoyment of benefits of cultural freedom and
scientific progress.
f. Political Rights
 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section: Grade 11/12
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 8 – UCSP Subject Teacher: Kimberson P. Alacyang

✓ These are rights of an individual enjoys as a consequence of being a member

of a body politic (people of a particular country).
2. BILL OF RIGHTS
✓ A declaration and enumeration of a person’s rights and privileges which the
Constitution is designed to protect against violations by the government, or by an
individual or groups of individuals.
✓ provide specific freedoms to citizens
✓ limit the power of the government.
3. HUMAN RIGHTS
✓ “Ensure that a human being will be able to fully develop and use human qualities
such as intelligence, talent, and conscience and satisfy his or her spiritual and other”
✓ include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of
opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.
✓ Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination
a. IMPORTANCE OF HUMAN RIGHT
1) Human rights reflect the minimum standards necessary for people to live with
dignity.
2) Human rights give people the freedom to choose how they live, how they
express themselves, and what kind of government they want to support,
among.
3) Human rights guarantee people the means necessary to satisfy their basic
needs, such as food, housing, and education.
4) Human rights protect people against abuse by those who are more powerful.
b. THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR)
1) a milestone document in the history of human rights.
2) Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from
all regions of the world.
3) the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in
Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A)

ACTIVITY #8:
1. Through drawing, describe a community without Rights. Place your artwork on a short bond
paper. No explanations are needed, therefore, make sure that your drawings can stand on its
own. 15 points.
Criteria for scoring:
Clarity of the drawing
(even without an explanation, the message is understandable) (10)(8)(5)
Creativity - (5)(3)

2. List five (5) solutions that you can suggest the government should do to mitigate the unequal
distribution of wealth. Provide an explanation for each proposed solution. 10 points.
Criteria for scoring:
Content - (7)(5)(3)
Technicalities - (3)(2)

REFERENCES:

• Veliz, P. (2017). Functional Theory of Stratification. The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social

Theory, 1–3. doi:10.1002/9781118430873.est0654
• UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION.
https://uh.edu/~nestor/lecturenotes/unit3lecture4.html
• UN. OHCHR. “International Human Rights Law.”
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/InternationalLaw.aspx.
• UN. OHCHR. “What are Human Rights?”
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx.
 Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics
Governor Pack Road, Baguio City, Philippines 2600
Tel. Nos.: (+6374) 442-3316, 442-8220; 444-2786;
442-2564; 442-8219; 442-8256; Fax No.: 442-6268 Grade Level/Section: Grade 11/12
Email: email@uc-bcf.edu.ph; Website: www.uc-bcf.edu.ph

MODULE 8 – UCSP Subject Teacher: Kimberson P. Alacyang

• UN. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/