Sociology Notes: Social Stratification

Social Stratification

Key Concepts

  • Material Deprivation: Lack of essential resources (e.g., food, housing, clothing) needed for a reasonable standard of living.
  • Absolute Poverty: A condition where individuals lack the basic necessities to survive (e.g., insufficient food, shelter).
  • Relative Poverty: A condition where individuals' resources are significantly lower than the average standard of living in their society. They can afford basic necessities but cannot participate fully in the normal activities of their society.
  • Cycle of Deprivation: A self-perpetuating cycle where poverty and disadvantage are transmitted from one generation to the next.
  • Social Exclusion: The process by which individuals or groups are pushed to the margins of society, preventing them from fully participating in economic, social, and political life.
  • Formal Power: Power that is officially recognized and legitimized, often through laws, regulations, or institutions.
  • Informal Power: Power that is not officially recognized but is exercised through social influence, relationships, or personal characteristics.
  • Social Control: Mechanisms and processes by which society maintains order and enforces norms, including both formal (e.g., laws, police) and informal (e.g., social pressure, customs) means.

Equality and Inequality

  • Inequalities exist across various social dimensions:
    • Education
    • Crime
    • Income/Wealth
    • Health
    • Family
    • Work
    • Media

Life Chances

  • Life Chances: Opportunities and resources available to individuals based on their social position.
    • Social class: e.g., access to private schools for affluent individuals.
    • Gender: Sexism, glass-ceiling effect (invisible barrier preventing women from rising to higher positions), patriarchy (Walby).
    • Crisis of Masculinity
    • Ethnicity: Racism, institutional racism.
    • Disability
    • Age: Ageism.
    • Sexuality: Homophobia
    • Religion

Sociological Perspectives

  • Functionalism:
    • Davis and Moore: Role allocation and meritocracy. Stratification is necessary to ensure that the most talented individuals fill the most important roles.
  • Marxism:
    • Socio-economic class: emphasizing the conflict between the bourgeoisie (owners of capital) and the proletariat (workers).
    • False class consciousness: The idea that the proletariat are unaware of their exploitation and do not recognize their true class interests.
  • Weber:
    • Three types of authority: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.
  • Townsend:
    • Poverty: Focused on relative deprivation and the social exclusion experienced by those living in poverty.
  • Feminism:
    • Poverty: Highlights how women are disproportionately affected by poverty due to factors such as the gender pay gap and caregiving responsibilities.
  • Murray (New Right):
    • Underclass: Argues that a dependency culture exists among those reliant on welfare, leading to a cycle of poverty and social problems.