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The history of social stratifications
The history of social stratifications
The history of social stratifications
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Social stratification is a general term used to describe the way a society organizes groups and ranks individuals based on factors such as economical status, biological characteristics, and heritage. Social stratification is “Organizing principles of social stratification are the ascribed and socially constructed categories that are used to establish social placement by a particular society” (Larkin, 2015). These organizing ideologies are specific for every society and each society has their own way of categorizing individuals. Three commonly known systems of stratification are class, slavery, and the caste system. The Unites States uses the class system whereby individuals are ranked by their economical status. Slavery has been abolished in certain countries but not all; this system arranges citizens by biological and locational factors. Lastly, the caste system is grounded on family heritage and is still used today in countries like South Asia. These three …show more content…
Class is defined and organized by “ large sets of people regarded by themselves or others as sharing similar status with regard to wealth, power and prestige” (Sociology Guide, 2015). Individuals within the class system categorize others in the society by the way each other dresses, location they live, the type of job they obtain, education level, and possession. These organizing principles have the ability to change therefore allowing the individuals to move into different classes within the system. This classification system is very flexible because all the categorizing properties can be obtained by anyone at anytime. The class social stratification is a fair system that allows everyone to be eligible for movement within as well as making equality available to
Long, Russ. "Social Class (Stratification)." Introductory Sociology. Del Mar College, 16 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
(p1) Broadly speaking, class is about economic and social inequality… (p6) We have a tendency for groups of advanced people to congregate together, and groups of disadvantaged people to congregate so that inequalities persist from generation to generation.
“This system in found in the traditional Hindu population of India” (Haviland 256). Although it is found in other parts of the world, In North America, it is not indicated as a caste system, but is classified as a social class or class system. In Sociology: The Essentials, social class or class is described as the social structural position groups hold relative to the economic, social, political, and cultural resources of society. With this characterization in mind, a persons “class determines the access different people have to these resources and puts groups in different positions of privilege and disadvantage” (Sociology 172). With this perception of class in mind, it shows that people do not have the same amount of resources or privileges as others.
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).
Class can be defined as a way society separates people into groups based on their socioeconomic
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,
Despite the typically imaged definition of socioeconomic class being based entirely on the wealth of the individual, there are many complex social factors at play as well. Not only does it stem from Max Weber’s concept of Socioeconomic class (wealth, status, and power), there is a mobility to it as well. Anyone can permanently or temporarily
According to Henslin social, 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 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. Social mobility occurs whenever people move across social class boundaries, from one level to another. Mobility can be up or down on the social class ladder but the American Dream is only upward mobility on the social class ladder. The people in the United States are broken down into classes the rich people on top the poor people in the bottom and the middle class in the
The United States has a long, brutal history of social inequality, including but not limited to: racism, sexism, and classism dating all the way back to the European colonizers. When we look at America’s past, we start to notice horrendous instances of injustice and the early formations of modern day social stratification. A way to describe social stratification is “the creation of layers of a population who possess an unequal share of scarce resources” (Loder 2015). Since the resources are not equally distributed, there are some people who have a copious amount of resources and others who barely have enough to survive. Thus rendering social stratification as problematic, because it allows little room for those who were assigned to a lower
Social stratification is seen everywhere within the United States and around the world. As discussed in lecture, there are two types of stratification systems, and both are prominent in the United States. The first type is achievement based, which depends on a person’s wealth and accomplishments (Wadsworth). In the film, “People Like Us,” this system is presented. A teenage boy is embarrassed of his mother and his family’s social status, so he hides is social class from his friends. The second system is ascription-based stratification which has to do with what an individual is born with. The school that was interviewed and observed in “People Like Us,” prove that the family you are born into plays a huge role in popularity, and the group of friends you choose to surround yourself with. Another example in this film was the WASP label. The man they interviewed, explained that you are
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
What is social class you ask? Social class is a system created to categorize people by education, wealth and heredity. What are the different class systems you ask? There are several class classifications and they’re Upper Class–Elite, Upper Middle Class, Lower Middle Class, Working Class and poor. In the united states and being a victim of “ social class categorizing” is an issue that must be addressed and people must be made aware, because it seems as if it’s not going anywhere anytime soon so the least we can do is try and make it fair as possible. Being defined unknowingly by a class system is one thing, but having no say so or fair opportunity at being placed in the best “class system” as those more fortunate than others needs to change because it’s not like we all came out of our mothers womb starting the race of life at the same starting and advantage point, and since we as Americans pride our-self on being the land of the free and equal opportunities I feel compelled to inform you of the unfairness of the issue and state ways to make it fair. In an article read while doing research this is how the author defined Social class “Classism is similar in many ways to racism, sexism, heterosexism and other forms of oppression. Classism appears individually through attitudes and behaviors, institutionally through policies and practices, and culturally through norms and values. Like other forms of oppression and prejudice, it is the tendency to make sweeping generalizations or stereotypes about people, such as “Poor people are lazy.”(Class Action) This essay will assess the determination of social classes in the United States and will seek to provide examples to demonstrate the inequalities and provide ways to improve them.
In today’s society people are viewed as being in different classes depending on how much money they bring in. The categorization of people is known as classism. Classism is simply the prejudice or in favor of people belonging to a particular social class. Classism is known as one of the largest social problems plaguing the world today. Classes are formed according to how the rules of the following institutions; government regulations and economic status. It is held in place by a system of beliefs and cultural attitudes that ranks people according to their; economic status, family lineage, job status, and level of education. There are three major classifications to which people are titled. They include upper or high class which includes the people with the most money. The middle class who includes the people that brings home the average income. Finally, the class titled the lower class that includes the people who have only one income coming in or none at all (“What Is Classism.”). In the classrooms these classes still remain and the students within each class have different ways in which they learn, and view schooling. We as educators have to look passed their ways and address each class the same.
The class system places the individual in the social system based on his achieved status. This status is earned or chosen. This includes educational level, careers, and spouses.
Haralambos, Holborn and Heard (2004:12-14) defined a class as a group of individuals who share a similar position in a market economy, and by virtue of that fact receive similar economic rewards. Class in a modern society is perceived based on achieved criteria as oppos...