Social Stratification: "Is It Universal"

- ANANYA MISHRA

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

“IS IT UNIVERSAL”

1. INTRODUCTION 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3. OBJECTIVES 4. METHODOLOGY 5. FINDINGS 6. DISCUSSIONS BASED ON FINDINGS 7. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION:
In sociology and other social sciences, social stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of individuals into divisions of power and wealth within a society. The concept of stratification came into existence in 1940’s.the term stratification was borrowed from the earth science .i.e the science of geology. Social stratification is the root cause which results in inequalities. The criteria for social stratification are income , privileges, ethnicity, disability, education ,access to benefits and sex. Stratification is a characteristic of society and not just individual differences. In other words it results from the social structure and it affects everyone.Stratification is universal, but extremely variable in form.Stratification persists over generations.it is still prevalent in our society. Four basic forms of stratification are class,caste,estate and slavery.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE: Historical context:- In the American 19th and 20th century class stratification systems The structural functional paradigm argues that stratification systems are functional for society.
The Davis-Moore Thesis argues that industrial societies are most productive under a system of meritocracy. Under this type of inequality, the stratification system rewards good performers (with high wages) and punishes poor performers (with low wages). Davis-Moore argue that some jobs need to pay more than others – they are important jobs – so their high pay will attract the best performers. These top performers will be more innovative and this is functional for society.Functionalists also argue that stratification promotes in-group solidarity. Members of similar social classes tend to identify with each other operated, depending on the category of people affected.
Conflict theorists disagree with the Davis-Moore thesis promoted by functionalists. They argue that people do not need more money to do good work, because what makes people do good work is pride and character, not money. Karl Marx argued that stratification is harmful to society, not functional. It promotes social conflicts by giving some people advantages over others, creating an unfair system of rewards. To Marx, the capitalist owners exploited the workers with low wages and terrible working conditions. This created the conflicts between the haves and the have-nots. Max Weber argued that there are other dimensions to social stratification:
1. Social class –saw class in economic dimensions. Having wealth means having power. People according to there skills determine livelihood from the income they get.
2. Status- status situation is determined by a negative or positive social estimation of honour.it is distinguished from other with respect to the way its members live.
3. Party – group of people who work together .they have common background, aims or interest. they have power and influence peoples life.

OBJECTIVES: * the concept and central ideas of stratification * Kinds of stratification systems * Universality of stratification
METHODOLOGY:
Content analysis is a methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. The present paper is an attempt to formulate and illustrate a generalized approach to the theory of social stratification.. The emergence of a highly generalized conceptual scheme in social theory which has elsewhere been traced by the author suggests the possibility of a more thorough theoretical approach than has hitherto been possible. Social stratification, here regarded as the differential ranking of the human individuals who compose a given social system and their treatment as relatively superior or inferior, may be analyzed in terms of power,authority,possessions. FINDINGS: 1. Concept and ideas of stratification.
The concept of social stratification came into existence in 1940’s.The term stratification was borrowed from the earth science, the science of geology.As the earth scientists say that the earth is made up of layers, similarly sociologists also think that human society is divided into layers.In human society there is an unequal distribution of privileges across the strata. In other words the layers of society are ranked. People occupying higher positions are more privileged than those occupying lower positions.Social stratification deals with the inequalities of power, wealth and prestige mainly. Those who belong to a stratum usually share a set of common interests and lifestyles which distinguishes them from members located in other social layers. 1. Kinds of stratification systems:
Systems of stratification range from closed systems—ascribed status, with rigid boundaries—to open systems—achieved status, with less rigid boundaries .
CLOSED SYSTEM – caste, estate and power are ascribed. Individuals are born into a specific stratum and therefore one’s position is determined by family affiliation (caste system in India).
ESTATE SYSTEM – resembles the caste system in which social positions is defined by law based ownership, occupation and hereditary status. Each strata in estate system has it own established rights. * SLAVERY- ownership of people by others . * It is a kind of closed system in which people were deprived of all rights. In the present situation it has almost eradicated from the world. * OPEN SYSTEM – is frequently found in industrial societies where people have several options to improve their socio-economic status. e.g.:- CLASS. (it is an open group which is achieved. there is element of stability,prestige,and definite lifestyle, an economic group). 2. Universality of stratification:- social stratification is found in the form of social inequality. It is universal but not to the same extent and same sense. In some societies, inequality is mostly a matter of prestige; in others, wealth or power is the key dimension of difference. More importantly some societies display more inequality than others. . Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs.
DISCUSSIONS BASED ON FINDINGS: * Social stratification is structured inequalities between different groupings of societies. Social inequality is thus an unconsciously evolved device by which societies ensure that the most important positions are conscientiously filled by the most qualified persons. Hence, every society, no matter how simple or complex, differentiates persons in terms of both prestige and esteem, and must therefore possess a certain amount of institutionalized inequality.

CONCLUSION: * Inequality is universal and it is inevitable for the society to be stratified. Stratification is potentially harmful to society because it allows those with the most power, prestige, and wealth to dominate and exploit the less advantage and maintain a condition of unequal opportunity. society cannot exist without organization, therefore, leadership needed. leadership leads to inequality. Humans are self centered.