Understanding Culture, Society&Politics

Concept, Characteristics and

Forms of Stratification Systems
 Meaning and Nature of Social
Stratification
O It refers to what sociologists call it as “ institutionalized
inequality” of individual or “social injustice” due to
social categories (Ariola, 2012).

O  It is an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which

social categories are ranked on the basis of their access to
scarce resources Brinkerhoff & White, 1988) and it is the
way people are ranked and ordered in society (Cole,
2019).
O It is the hierarchical arrangement and establishment
of social categories that evolve into a social group
together with statuses and their corresponding roles.
(Panopio el al., 1994)
O It is the differentiation of a given population into
hierarchically superposed classes. It is manifested in
the existence of upper and lower social layers. Its
basis and very essence consist in an unequal
distribution of rights and privileges, duties and
responsibilities, social values and privations, social
power and influences among the members of a
society (Sorokin, 1927).
Social Stratification is Distinguished from
Social Differentiation
O Social stratification refers to the ranking of
people in a society. In closed stratification,
people cannot change their ranks while those
in open social stratification, people can change
their ranks. In short social stratification is the
separation of people into social categories and
these categories are ranked as higer or lower.
 Indicators of Social Stratification

O There are some people that are treated in another way

because of the social status, power, income, prestige
and among others that they hold in their society
(Arcinas, 2016).
O The individual’s position in the social structure is
called status. The higher or lower positions that come
about through social stratifications are called statuses.
Statuses are not the same. One may get different
statuses in different ways. They can be ascribed or
achived.
O Ascribed statuses are assigned or given by the society
or group on the basis of some fixed category, without
regard to a person’s abilities or performance. These
include sex, family background, race, and ethnic
heritage. You did nothing to earn these statuses; you
have no control over these characteristics and no
opportunity or chance to choose your family, your sex,
and your race. In the Philippines, the children of Ayala’s
and the Zobel’s have ascrived statuses. Whereas,
achieved statuses are earned by the individual because
of his or her talent, skills, occupation and persevernace.
 According to Max Weber, most societies would favor those with
power, prestige, status, wealth or class. According to Weber’s
Component Theory on Social Stratification, these three would
determine a person’s standindig in his/her community:

1. Power - refers to the ability to influence other people. It is getting what

they want despite the unwillingness of others to give in to their desires.
2. Prestige refers to the person’s position in the society. This refers to
having a certain status that enables someone to have resources or
opportunities.
3. Wealth refers to the amount of resources that a person has.
As mentioned by Ariola (2012) in his book, one may be viewed as
belonging to the upper social strata or lower social strata
depending on the following dimensions:

1. Sources of Income - There are different sources of income. These are the
inhereted wealth, earned wealth, profits, professional fees, salaries,
wages, private relief, among others. Wealth is everything that is owned
by a person. Inherited wealth is acquired since birth and without effort.

2. Occupation. What people do for a living determines, to a large extent,

the social position of the person. Occupation may be classified into
professionals, non-professionals (clerks, drivers, etc) proprietors of small
business, skilled workers, semi skilled workers, and unskilled workers.
3. Education - Educational attainment of a person may be categorized as
masteral or doctoral degree holder, college graduate, high school graduate,
elemetary school drop-out, among others. Possession of the person of any of
these educational backgrounds may characterize the person’s status in the
community.
4. Types of house dwellings. Dwellings can be categorized as permanent
house ,semi-permanent house ,temporary house, and poorly constructed
house.
5. Location of residence. Power, prestige and wealth are also attached to the
location of residence. There is disparity of social status when one residence
is located in Forbes Park, White Plains, squatter area, mountainous-rugged
area, in subdivision and non-subdivision area.
6. Kinship or family. In the Philippines, when a person belongs to the Ayala’s,
Soriano’s, Zobel’s, Villar’s, that person is regarded as belonging to the upper
class (rich) status. Children of sultans and datus are hgihly regarded as rich.
If a person is from a family whose house is situated in the squatter’s area,
that person is regarded as poor or belonging to lower class status.
Types of Social Stratification and
their Characteristics
O Generally, there are three (3) known types of
social stratification: open systems, closed
systems and ethnic systems
O Sociologists distinguish between two types of
systems of stratification – open system and
closed system. For the anthropologists, they
include ethnic system as another type of social
stratification.
A. Open System
 General Characteristics
O The class structure is an open system. It encourages
people to strive and achieve something. People
belonging to one social class have similar opportunities,
similar lyfestyles, attitudes, behavior and possibly
similar socio-economic positions. It is based on
aachievement, allow movement and interaction between
layers and classes. One person can move up or down to
class through intermarriages, opportunities, or
achievement. People have equal chance to succeed.
Whether people do something to improve their lives or
not this greatly depends on them.
Categories
1. Upper Class – The people in this class have great wealth
and sources of income. They constitute the elite wealthy
group in the society. They have high reputation in terms of
power and prestige. They live in exclusive residential area,
belong to exclusive private clubs, and may have strong
political influence in the system of government. They own
several cars and properties and their children may study in
exclusive schools.
2. Middle Class – The people in this class may belong to the
upper-middle class which is often made up of highly
educated business and professional people with high
incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and CEOs
or to the lower-middle class often made up of people with
lower incomes, such as managers, small business owners,
teachers, and secretaries. Aside from generally command of
high income, people belonging to the upper-middle class
often have college education, live in comfortable homes,
own properties, have some money savings, and active in
community activities. People in the lower-middle class have
not achieved the same lifestyle of the upper –middle class
but somehow have modest income and live in simple life.
3. Lower Class –The lower class is typified by poverty,
homelessness, and unemployment. The people in this
class belong to the bottom of socio-economic ladder.
They may be categorized into two: upper-lower class and
lower-lower class. In the upper-lower class, people are
considered as the working class or laborers. They have
acquired little education, little time to be involved in civic
and community activities. Some of them are
underemployed, have many socioeconomic problems,
with lttle or no luxuries at all. The people in the lower-
lower class are unemployed, or no source of income
except by begging or dependent from private and
government relief.
B. Closed Systems
 General Characteristics
O Closed system accommodates little change in
social position. They do not allow people to
shift levels and do not permit social
relationships between levels.
Categories
1. Caste System – It is regarded as closed stratification
system in which people can do little or nothing to change
their social standing. Social contact is rigid and clearly
defined. People are born and die in their caste. Contact
between and among the caste is minimal and governed
by a set of rules – especially those who belong to the
lower degree, as this will tend to bring them down. We
do not practice caste sytem in the Philippines. It existed
for centuries in India and this includes the Brahmans
who are associated with the priesthood, the Kahatryias
(the warriors), the Vaishyus (the businessmen and
traders), and the Shudrus (the servants).
2. Estate System – It is somewhat a closed
system in which the person’s social standing is
based on ownership of land, birth, or military
strength. Individuals who were born into one of
the estates remained there throughout life but in
extreme cases there is social mobility, that is
people could change their status. In the middle
ages there are three major estates in Europe –
nobility, clergy, and the peasants.
C. Ethnic System
 General Characteristics
O This type of social stratification is based on national
origin, laguage and religion. Ethinicity sets segments of
society apart and each group has a sense of identity.
People interact more freely with those people belonging to
the same ethnic category. During the Spanish and
American colonial systems in the Philippines, the
colonizers perceived themselves to be occupying the upper
social class than the Filipinos or the natives whom they
called as Indios. Immigrants usually belong to a lower
status than the inhabitants. The Gaddangs, Itawis,
Ituweraw, Ilonngots, and other ethnic minority groups are
considered inferior than the others.
 Social Stratification and Social
Mobility
O Social mobility refers to the movement within the
social structure, from one social position to another. It
means a change in social status. All societies provide
some opportunity for social mobility. But the societies
differ from each other to extent in which individuals
can move from one class or status level to another.
 Kinds of Social Mobility
O In a democratic state like the Philippines, a person can
improve his social status but the degree of mobility
varies. In an open system, every individual is provided
equal opportunities to compete for the role and status
derived regardless of gender, race, religion, family
background and political inclination. There are three
types of social mobility: social mobility, geographical
mobility, and role mobility.
1. Social Mobility refers to the movement upward or
downward among the social positions in any given social
stratification. It may be upward (vertical) mobility and
downward (horizontal) mobility. Vertical mobility refers to
the movement of people of groups from one status to
another. It involves change in class, occupation or power.
For example, the movement of people from the poor class
to the middle class. Horizontal mobility is a change in
position without the change in status. It indicates a change
in position, within the rage of the status. A change in status
may come about through one’s occupation, marrying into a
certain family and others. For example, an engineer
working in a factory may resign from his job and join
another factory.
2. Geographical Mobility is otherwise known as physical mobility.
It may be a vluntary movement of people from one geographical
area to another due to change in residence, communiting fro home
to office, making business trips, and voluntary migration from
one country to another. It may be also a forced migration which
include forced relocation or residence, eviction, dispossession of
unwanted people, and transportation of slaves.

3. Role Mobility is the individual’s shifting from role to role.

Every member of a society has roles to play. Different situations
call for enactment of various roles. For example, the father is the
bread earner of the family but may be a teacher in school, or the
leader at home or a follower in the school or office. A daughter
may be submissive at home but very active and active as a campus
student leader. A teacher may have varied roles such as being a
mother, a wife, a guidance counselor, a community leader and
many more (Ariola, 2012).
Theoritical Perspective and
Analysis of Social Stratification

O Social stratification can be examined

from different sociological perspectives
—structural-functionalism, conflict
theory, and symbolicinteractionism.
Theoritical Perspective and Analysis of
Social Stratification
O Social stratification can be examined from different
sociological perspectives—structural-functionalism,
conflict theory, and symbolicinteractionism. In
sociology, the functionalist perspective examines how
society’s parts operate. It is a macroanalytical view
that focuses on the way that all aspects of society are
integral to the continued health and viability of the
whole. StructuralFunctionalism recognizes that all
societies maintain some form of social stratification,
and therefore, social stratification must have
important functional consequences.
O REFERENCES
O Arcinas, Myla M. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics. The Padayon
Series. Quezon City, Philippines: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
O Ariola, Mariano M. (2012). Sociology and Anthropology with Family Planning. Manila,
Philippines: Purely Books Trading and Publishing Corp.
O Baleña, Ederlinda D. et.al. (2016). Understanding Culture, Society and Politics for
Senior High School. Quezon City, Philippines: Educational Resource Corporation
O Brinkerhoff, David B. and White, Lyn K. (1988). Sociology. St. Paul: West Publishing.
O Cole, Nicki L. (2019). What Is Social Stratification, and Why Does It Matter?? retrieved
on October 18, 2020 (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-socialstratification-3026643)
O Davis, Kingsley, and Moore, Wilbert E. (1945). “Some Principles of Stratification.”
American Sociological Review 10(2):242–249. Retrieved October 16, 2020 (
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2085643)
O Glick, Leonard and Hebding, D. E. (1980). Introduction To Social Problems, Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley
O Davis, Kingsley, and Moore, Wilbert E. (1945). “Some Principles of Stratification.”
American Sociological Review 10(2):242–249. Retrieved October 16, 2020
(http://www.jstor.org/stable/2085643)
O Cole, Nicki L. (2019). What Is Social Stratification, and Why Does It Matter?? retrieved
on October 18, 2020 (https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-socialstratification-3026643)