Sociology
Question: Define social stratification. What are the characteristics of the class system of social stratification.
Stratification can be defined as the classification of the society. Most societies are organized so that their institutions systematically distribute benefits and burdens unequally among different categories of people. Society does not consist of a homogeneous group of people. Social arrangements are not neutral but serve and promote the goals and interests of some people more than they do those of other people. Vander Zanden (1990:154) thus described stratification as ‘the structured ranking of individuals and groups, their grading into horizontal layers of strata.’ Gidens (1989:206) defines stratification as ‘structured inequalities between different groups of people.’ He says society can be seen as consisting of strata in a hierarchy, with the most favored at the top and the less privileged nearer to the bottom. According to Brinkerhoff and White (1991:199) stratification is ‘the social categories within which a society are ranked according to the amount of scarce resources they receive.’
Stratification can thus be said to be the division of society in to different types of classes because of the lack of uniformity in society. It can be said to be a hierarchy of positions with regards to socio-economic power. Macionis (1997:236) views stratification as ‘a system by which a society ranks different categories of people in a hierarchy.’ Stratification forms the basis of the divisions of society and categorizations of people.
The most prominent and influential theories of stratification are those developed by Karl Marx and Max Weber. Marx’s explanation of social stratification emerged out of his analysis of the 19th century capitalist societies. Marx (1848) says ‘the there is only one important dimension of stratification which is class.’ According to Giddens (1989), Marx defined class as a group of people who stand in a common relationship
Stratification can be defined as the classification of the society. Most societies are organized so that their institutions systematically distribute benefits and burdens unequally among different categories of people. Society does not consist of a homogeneous group of people. Social arrangements are not neutral but serve and promote the goals and interests of some people more than they do those of other people. Vander Zanden (1990:154) thus described stratification as ‘the structured ranking of individuals and groups, their grading into horizontal layers of strata.’ Gidens (1989:206) defines stratification as ‘structured inequalities between different groups of people.’ He says society can be seen as consisting of strata in a hierarchy, with the most favored at the top and the less privileged nearer to the bottom. According to Brinkerhoff and White (1991:199) stratification is ‘the social categories within which a society are ranked according to the amount of scarce resources they receive.’
Stratification can thus be said to be the division of society in to different types of classes because of the lack of uniformity in society. It can be said to be a hierarchy of positions with regards to socio-economic power. Macionis (1997:236) views stratification as ‘a system by which a society ranks different categories of people in a hierarchy.’ Stratification forms the basis of the divisions of society and categorizations of people.
The most prominent and influential theories of stratification are those developed by Karl Marx and Max Weber. Marx’s explanation of social stratification emerged out of his analysis of the 19th century capitalist societies. Marx (1848) says ‘the there is only one important dimension of stratification which is class.’ According to Giddens (1989), Marx defined class as a group of people who stand in a common relationship
References: Brinkerhoff, D. and White, L. (1991) Sociology, Nebraska: West Publishing Company Giddens, A. (1989) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press Macionis, J. (1997) Sociology, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Morie, N. (2009) ‘Sociology Theory 101-Social Stratification’ Available at http://www.suite101.com (Accessed on 5 August 2012) Schaefer, R. (2004) Sociology:A Brief Introduction, New York:McGraw-Hill Companies Spark Notes (2012) ‘Social Stratification and Inequality’ available at http://www.sparknotes.com (Accessed on 6 August 2012) Vander Zanden, J.W. (1990) Sociology:The Core, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies