Social Stratification Summary

Social Stratification: Origins, Systems & Theories

Social Stratification

• Social stratification is a system of inequality ranking people in a hierarchy based on factors like race, class, gender, etc.
• Stratified societies are not equitable.
• Origins:
  • Hunter-gatherers (10,000 years ago): little stratification.
  • Horticultural & pastoral societies (~7,000 years ago): stratification emerges.
  • Industrial Age (1760s-1840s): increasing stratification, middle class emerges.
  • Post-Industrial era: changes to the middle class, need more education.

Systems

• Closed systems: rigid boundaries, ascribed status (e.g., caste system in India, slavery).
• Open systems: flexible, achieved status, social mobility (inter- or intra-generational) (e.g., class system in Canada).

Slavery

• Originated with agriculture.
• Based on debt, punishment, war, birth, or trade.
• Atlantic slave trade: Africans to the Americas.
• Racial basis: Black people subservient to whites.
• Exists today as human trafficking.

Caste System

• Closed system based on birth.
• Affects work, marriage, social life, and beliefs.
• Exists(ed) in India and South Africa (Apartheid).
• Marriage within caste is generally required.
• Segregation based on caste.

Class System

• Based on ownership/control of resources and type of work.
• More vaguely defined boundaries.
• Mobility possible based on education, skills, achievements.
  • Horizontal mobility: promotion/demotion without changing class.
  • Vertical mobility: moving up/down the class structure.

Class System in Canada

• Upper Class (3-5%): inherited wealth, private schools.
  • Upper-Upper: "old money" (1%).
  • Lower-Upper: earnings (2-4%).
• Middle Class (40-50%): influential, diverse.
  • Upper Middle: managerial/professional fields.
  • Average Middle: less prestigious white-collar, skilled blue-collar.
• Working Class (30%): lower incomes, blue-collar or manual labor.
• Lower Class (15-20%): welfare, "working poor."

Social Inequality Theories

• Marx & Weber: Conflict Theory.
• Functionalist Perspective.
• Symbolic Interactionist Perspective.

Marx & Weber: Conflict Theory

• Inequality is avoidable and unnecessary.
• Struggle for resources causes conflict.
• Marx: Capitalism favors the rich, who exploit the poor.
• Weber: Class (money), status (prestige/lifestyle), and power create inequalities.

Functionalist Theory

• Inequality is inevitable, necessary, and positive.
• Positions are filled by the most qualified.
• Talented individuals are rewarded.
• Important to reward people appropriately to ensure society functions smoothly.

Symbolic Interactionist Theory

• Micro theory: focuses on the individual.
• People interpret meanings based on experiences and interactions.
• Socialization leads people to accept a stratified society.
• People understand their role and expectations within the system.

Charles Horton Cooley

• "I am not who I think I am, I am who I think you think I am."