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Social stratification is prevalent in every society and displays diversity in its organizing principles across the world. Social stratification is defined as “the way in which a society organizes itself so that individuals know their place or rank, also called their social position, in society”(Our social world: An introduction to sociology, 2015) There are several broad categories of stratification systems prevalent in our world today; slavery, caste, and the class system are three of them. Each have different degrees of mobility and varying amount of ease to move up or down into different social positions. An open mobility system would permit achieved status or personal accomplishments to influence position while a closed system would only allow individuals to remain in the position they were born into. …show more content…
Slavery is an example of the most closed mobility stratification system. Slaves are designated by others as slaves and have no freedom over their placement in the system. Usually there is nothing they can do to get out of it once they are placed there. This system although not as common today, was most prevalent in America in 1776 when it was socially acceptable to own and control another human
Long, Russ. "Social Class (Stratification)." Introductory Sociology. Del Mar College, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Social stratification as defined by Brinkerhoff et al. is “an institutionalized pattern of inequality in which social statuses are ranked on the basis of their access to scarce resources” (Brinkerhoff et al. 152). By scarce resources, many people have to deal with poverty and having a lack of money to buy the things they need in their lives. Social class is defined as “a category of people who share roughly the same class, status, and power and who have a sense of identification with each other” (Brinkerhoff et al. 155). Your social class has to do with your socioeconomic status along with the power and connections you have. Social mobility on the other hand is “the process of changing one’s social class” (Brinkerhoff et al. 153).
Stratification systems, categorized people by class, gender, ethnicity, wealth/income. When people are categorized, start looking at different systems within the social system or social mobility. “The four main systems of stratification have been slavery, caste, estate, and class. Each of these systems allows greater or less flexibility in terms of social mobility. Social mobility is the ability to move up or down within a social stratification hierarchy” (Larkin, 2015). Slavery is a social status began with social norms allowing people to own others. The slaves had no wealth or power while under this social status. Caste systems are all aspects of social status are assigned at births and held forever,
Structural-functionalist Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore concluded that stratification of society is inevitable because: for society to function its positions must be filled, some positions are more important than others, the more important positions must be filled by the more qualified people, and to motivate the more qualified people to fill these positions they must offer greater rewards. (2012:228) Example of Davis and Moore conclusion is if someone apply for a job as a teacher, they need to be highly qualify in area such as education and experience. For that person to be interest in the job, employer need to offer benefit like retirement plan, vacation time, health insurance, etc… Unlike the position as a teacher, if someone is applying
What is inequality, social structure and social stratification? According to Study.com social inequality is, “the existence of unequal opportunities and rewards for different social positions or statuses within a group or society.” Sociology.about.com says, “Social structure is the organized pattern of social relationships and social institutions that together compose society.” Wikipedia says Social stratification, is “a society 's categorization of people into socioeconomic strata, based upon their occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power”.
According to Henslin, mobility is the movement of individuals, families and groups from one social position to another (Henslin, 2015, p. 237-239). It can be viewed in terms of distribution of resources and power among the different social stratification and its effect on the people involved. Stratification is a ranking system for groups of people that continue to receive unequal rewards and life chances in society. Through stratification, society categorizes people and distributes valued resources based upon these categories (Henslin, 2015, p190). The social status of a person is determined by his or her work, how much money they have earned, and how they move their way up the social class.
There are many similarities and differences between the upper-class, middle-class, working-class, mixed income and low-income urban neighborhoods. There are many different social distinctions within each class and each class has their own way of living. Here are some of the difference and similarities between each class:
“Social Stratification is the hierarchal organization of social statuses.” Where certain people will have more power over themselves and sometimes others. This power can come from different social statuses, which is the position in a social network or relationship. With these statuses come certain behavior expectancy and role. Class is one of the social statuses that one can obtain, whether that class be upper class, middle class, working class, or the poverty level. Depending on which class you are in, can have a great influence on how you are treated within the criminal justice system.
Social stratification refers to a system which society categorises people into a hierarchy. In some countries it is more apparent that some groups experience larger amounts of power wealth and income, and it is these distinct differences that led to social stratification. Social inequalities are man made meaning they are constructed socially , for example ; the ownership of land and property and the difference between income and power and accessibility of resources. There have been various theories arguing how class stratification should be
First, the chapters cover stratification. According to study.com “Social stratification refers to a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. In the United States, it is perfectly clear that some groups have greater status, power, and wealth than other groups.” According to the textbook “Stratification is unequal distribution of valued
In societies, there are two different kinds of social systems. There is the caste system and there is the class system. Even though they’re two social systems, class system and caste system are two different systems. A caste system is a form of stratification in which your social and economic status is based on your birth. If you were born in a rich family, you were rich as well. If you were born in a poor family, you were poor as well. The caste system is intergenerational and reproductive form of stratification. It is a continuous trend that determines the status of many individuals. It is nearly impossible to escape social groups through a caste system. A class system is a form of stratification in which your social and economic status depends on individual achievement. Their achievements are usually obtained due to exceptional and hard work. The status is also based upon the status of the family. However, individuals can ascend and descend classes through a class system. The United States is known for being a nation that posses a social system. However, Michelle Alexander questions the social system of the United States. In her book, “The New Jim Crow”, Michelle Alexander believes the social system that exists in the United States is a caste system. In order for us to understand the social system that exists in the United States,
There are three main social structures in our society today. There is the upper class, the rich and affluent, who have endless amount of money in order to be comfortable and survive. We have the middle class, the normal people, who work on the daily in order to keep their family together and have a work under their roof. Finally, we have the lower class, who have a hard time surviving, but the government does not want people living in the states so they help this class the most. They receive financial aid, money aid, food stamps, and health aid. So, for college, usually it is easier for the lower class to go because they receive money aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (FASFA) Also, the upper class, do not have any problem sending their children to college because they have the money to send them without taking loans because they are comfortable. However, the middle class is the sandwich. They are not comfortable in order to pay their child’s tuition price and do not receive money from the government unless they are loans.
Several studies support and show that ‘working class’ people from western societies have higher morbidity and mortality rates in contrast to people from other classes. According to Halleröd and Gustafsson (2011), the concept of ‘class’ is defined as “an individual’s position on the labour market… which determine their ability to consume goods and services such as health care”. In order from the highest class to the lowest, the common four classes within western societies include the upper class, middle class, working class and the lower class. According to Lantz et al. (2010), an individual’s socioeconomic class is described as “social and economic factors that influence the positions/roles individuals hold within the structure of society, and as measured by education, income, occupational status, and/or wealth”. Underlying factors that influence occupational status such as income and educational attainment make it possible to distinguish people between socioeconomic classes within contemporary western societies.
According to Black?s definition, stratification is ?the vertical aspect of social life?, ?any uneven distribution of the material conditions of existence? (Black 11), in other words the discrimination of wealth. Stratification can be measured in quantity, delineated in style and viewed from two perspectives, as a ?magnitude of difference in wealth? (Black 11) and as the level to which the setting is stratified. Moreover, stratification explains not only law, its quantity and style, but also other aspects of social life. The relationship Black is mostly interested in is the positive correlation between stratification and law, meaning the more law, the more stratified the setting is. When utilizing this proposition by inserting other variables of social ...
Social Mobility according to Richard T. Schaefer is defined as “movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society 's stratification system to another.” Many people believe that the social group they are born into is the one they will spend their whole lives, Thats simply not the case. Millions of people have been born into poverty and have spent their whole life working their way out of the lower class rank and into the middle class or even high class rank. At the same time there are people that have been born into high or middle class groups but as a result of loosing their jobs or failing to find a job they fall to the lower class.