Violence In A Us-Mexico Border Town Sociology

In the book Violence and Hope in a U.S.-Mexico Border Town discuss the division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative property in the town called “Esperanza.” Conflict Theory is the best sociological theory that can best describe the social stratification in the town. In Esperanza the class structure are based in property, power and prestige.

First, one of the classes mentioned in the book is the lower class. In Chapter One, Maria is the woman of a dealer and user of the drug. She reveals how her life with him was. Maria suffered from domestic violence, her man hit her almost to death. They lived in a low class neighborhood where they were drug dealers. Maria was in prison for couple times for drug possession and

She used to live in Esperanza as well, but who now lives in the HUD apartments. Mrs. Martinez lives from her security checks to cover her expenses.

Furthermore, class structure is related to different levels of poverty, power and prestige. “The very poor are often disconnected from market forces because they lack the requisite human capital” (125) – Jeffrey D Sachs. From the past until the present time they exist homeless people living in shelters or just in the streets. Homeless are part of the class structure. As well as the major and important drug dealers, because they have the power and prestige that they get from the money. The consequences of the class membership can include death, because people are often kill because they are mistaken by other person.

To conclude, conflict theory explains the social stratification in Esperanza because they are different groups trying to compete for scarce resources. For example, the drug dealers are fighting each other over the money. The luxury life style a person such as nice clothes, expensive cars and houses and they get all of that by selling the drugs. The less drug dealers exists, the more chances are to get more money, but in order for that to happen they kill their