Chapter 7

Stratification: Rich and Famous—or Rags and Famine?

Soc 100 Dr. Santos
The Importance of Stratification

• Social stratification refers to how

individuals and groups are layered or
ranked in society according o how many
valued resources they possess
– An ongoing sorting process
– Legitimated by cultural beliefs
Three main assumptions underlie
the concept of stratification
• People are divided into ranked categories
• There is an unequal distribution of desired
resources
• The criteria societies uses to rank others
depends on:
– The society’s history
– Its geographic location
– Level of development
– The society’s political philosophy
– The decisions of those in power
Micro-level factors:
Prestige and Influence
• Cultural capital – knowledge and access
to important information in society
• Social capital – networks with others
who have influence
• Individual qualities also influence cultural
and social capital
Meso-level factors:
Access to resources
• The family reinforces status though the
socialization process
• Educational organizations treat children
differently according to their social status
• Religious affiliation reflects one’s social status
• Political systems reinforce the stratification
system through laws, courts, and policing
• Access to healthcare depends on one’s
position in the stratification system
Macro-level factors influencing
stratification
• The economic system
• The geographic location of nations
• Resources
– Strong educational system
– Well-paying jobs
– Productive land
– Ample supply of water
– Access to technology
Theoretical Explanations of
Stratification
• Symbolic Interaction
– Individuals learn their social position through
socialization
– Cultural capital influences children’s school and
home environments
– Symbols also often represent social positions
• Conspicuous consumption is displaying goods in a way
that others will notice and that will presumably earn the
owner respect
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Structural Functionalism
– Stratification within societies is an
inevitable—and probably necessary—part
of the social world
– The stratification system provides each
individual a position in the social world
– The stratification system motivates
individuals to carry out their roles
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Structural Functionalism
– Davis and Moore
• Some positions are more highly valued because
people feel they are very important to society
• Societies must motivate talented individuals to
occupy the most important positions
• Differential rewards must be offered to attract
the most qualified individuals into the most
valued positions
– As a result, stratification is inevitable
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Conflict Theory
– How do societies produce necessities?
– How are relationships between rich and
poor people shaped by this process?
– How do many people become alienated in
their routine, dull jobs in which they have
little involvement and no investment in the
end product?
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Marxism
– Marx saw four possible ways to distribute
wealth:
• According to each person’s needs
• According to what each person wants
• According to what each person earns
• According to what each person can take
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Marxism
• Marx thought there were two economically-
based social classes
– The bourgeoisie are the capitalist class; the haves
• Control the means of production, or the necessary
resources to create capital
• Control the norms and values of society
• Use their power to make the distribution of resources
seem “fair” and justified
• Use social control to maintain their control in society
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Marxism
• Marx thought there were two economically-
based social classes
– The proletariats are the working class; the have-nots
• The proletariats will remain exploited as long as they do not
develop a class consciousness, or a shared awareness of
their poor status in relation to the means of production
• Intellectuals in society could help the proletariat develop a
class consciousness and to mobilize to overthrow the
bourgeoisie to create a classless society where all wealth is
shared
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Recent conflict stratification theorists
argue that there are 5 social classes:
– Capitalists
– Managers
– Petty bourgeoisie
– Workers
– Underclass
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Evolutionary Theory, a synthesis
– The basic assumptions of evolutionary theory are:
• To survive people must cooperate
• Conflicts of interest occur over important decisions that
benefit one over another
• Valued items are always in demand and in short supply
• There is likely to be a struggle over these scarce goods
• Customs and traditions determine the distribution of
scarce resources
Meso- and Macro-level Theories of
Stratification
• Evolutionary Theory, a synthesis
– Structural functionalism
• Talented individuals need to be motivated
– Conflict theory
• Individuals will attempt to control as much wealth, power,
and prestige as possible, resulting in potential conflict
• The importance of exploitation in creating inequality
• It results in only some amount of inequality
may be useful in highly complex societies
Individual Life Chances and
Lifestyles
• Life chances refer to one’s opportunities, depending n
their achieved and ascribed status in society
• Important institutions that impact life chances are:
– Education
– Health, social conditions, and life expectancy
– Family life and child rearing patterns
– Lifestyles
– Attitudes toward Achievement
– Religious membership
– Political behavior
Social Mobility: The Micro-Meso
Connection
• Social mobility refers to the extent and
direction of individual movement in the
social stratification system
• Three issues affect mobility:
– Variations in times of social mobility
– Factors that affect social mobility
– Whether there is a “land of opportunity”
Types of Mobility
• Intergenerational mobility refers to change in
status compared to your parents’ status,
usually resulting from education and
occupational attainment
• Intragenerational mobility refers to the change
in position in a single individual’s life
• Vertical mobility refers to movement up or
down in the hierarchy, which sometimes
involves changing social classes
Factors Affecting Mobility
• Mobility depends on micro-level factors
– Socialization
– Education
• Mobility depends on macro-level factors
– Occupational structure
– Economic status of the society
– Population changes
– Importance of ascribed status
– The global economic situation
Major Stratification Systems:
Macro-Level Analysis
• In ascribed stratification systems
characteristics individuals are born with
determines ones position in society
• In achieved stratification systems
individuals are allowed to earn positions
through their ability and effort
Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate
Systems
• Caste systems are the most rigid
ascribed systems and are maintained by
cultural norms and social control
mechanisms that are deeply imbedded
in religious, political, and economic
institutions
– Importance of socialization
– Stability maintained by ideology
Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate
Systems
• Castes predetermine:
– Occupational positions, marriage partners,
residences, social associations, and prestige
levels
• Castes are recognized though:
– Clothing, speech patterns, family name and
identity, skin color, r other distinguishing
characteristics
Ascribed Status: Caste and Estate
Systems
• Estate systems are ascribed pre-industrial
systems characterized by the concentration of
economic and political power in the hands of a
small minority of political-military elite, with the
peasantry tied to the land
– Peasants receive protection and enough food to
survive from the nobility
– Estate systems are based on:
• Ownership of land
• Position one is born into
• Military strength
Achieved Status: Social Class
Systems
• Social class systems of stratification are
based on achieved status
– Members of the same social class have similar
income, wealth, and economic position
– They share comparable styles of living, levels of
education, cultural similarities, and patterns of
social interaction
• Social class position is based on three main
factors: property, power, and prestige
Achieved Status: Social Class
Systems
• Property, or wealth, refers to owning or
controlling the means of production
• Power is the ability to control or influence
others
– Power elite
– Pluralism
• Prestige involves the esteem and recognition
one receives, based on wealth, position, or
accomplishment
Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants
and Policy
• Absolute poverty, or not having resources to
meet basic needs, means no prestige, no
access to power, no accumulated wealth, and
insufficient means to survive
• Relative poverty refers to those whose income
falls below the poverty line, resulting in an
inadequate standard of living relative to others
in a given country
Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants
and Policy
• Social costs of poverty
• Loss of talent and abilities
• Financial cost of addressing needs of and
regulating the poor
• Cultural contradiction of values
Poverty: Multi-Level Determinants
and Policy
• The “functions” of poverty
– Convenient scapegoat for societal problems
– Creates jobs for those who are not poor
– Provide an easily available, exploitable
group of laborers
– Reinforce and legitimate our lives and
institutions
– Constantly reaffirm the values of the affluent
Eliminating Poverty: Some Policy
Considerations
• “Women, Infants, and Children Program”
or WIC
• Head Start
• Workfare
– Are there jobs available at a “living wage”?
– Cutting taxes reduces our ability to help
– Prisons absorb public funds
Macro-Level Stratification: National
and Global Digital Divide
• The global social world is increasingly based
on producing and transmitting information
through digital technology
• Individuals with insufficient access to
computers and lack of technical skills face
barriers to many professions and opportunities
• Computer and Internet use is largely stratified
in the world