Systems of Stratification

Social stratification is how society categorizes society The ways society can be categorized can vary depending on things like race, age, physical appearance, gender. Other factors may be included in social stratification but these are just a few Social stratification can lead to social inequality-which is the unequal sharing of scarce resources and social rewards The level of inequality varies between societies

The level also is dependent on whether or not the society is open or closed. Closed systems simply mean that there is no opportunity for movement between status levels. This would be similar to India Open systems mean that there is opportunity for movement between status levels. An example would be a poor person in the United States being able to become a billionaire

Today, there are two basic types of stratification systems: caste and class Caste: a person’s status is assigned at birth. Example: you are born into a rich family and are rich your whole life. You cannot marry someone from another caste. Example: a rich person may not marry a poor person Since a person’s caste is inherited at birth, this brings up many problems. What caste would the baby fall under? Poor or rich?

Caste System Marrying outside of one’s caste is so forbidden it is called: exogamy Marriage within the same caste is called: endogamy The case system has been around for over 3000 years in India In 1950, it was declared that all Indians were equal However, this equality appears more in urban areas. Rural areas still follow the caste system pretty rigidly

Class System In a class system, people have more say over their place, compared to a caste system People are able to move up. But they can also move down as well This goes back to Karl Marx’s conflict theory

The Dimensions Of Social Stratification Wealth Power Prestige

Wealth Made up of a person’s assets-the value of everything they own Also made up of their income-how much money they earn In the United States, wealth is limited to a small minority, the 1% The income in America is unequally distributed as well. The top 1% earn 21% of the total national income Executives make 300 times more than the average worker

Power Wealth and power typically go hand in hand Power is defined as: the ability to control the behavior of others, with or without their consent Power can be based on force, the possession of a special skill or type of knowledge, a particular social status, personal characteristics or custom and tradition

Prestige Prestige is respect, honor, recognition a person receives Can be based on any characteristic a society considers important These could be things like occupation, education, family background and area of residence Generally, the U.S. tends to rank occupation pretty high up for prestige The more education a job requires, the higher the prestige

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