Social Stratification

• Stratification

  The layering of society into a hierarchy or ranking system
• Functionalist view of stratification


  • Society is stratified according to how hard people work
  • Everyone has an equal chance of success through social mobility
  • Higher pay and status rewards those who work harder
• Marxist view of stratification


  • Society is split into two main classes - the rich bourgeoisie and the poor proletariat
  • Stratification is unfair as it is based on ownership of private property rather than hard work
  • The bourgeoisie exploit the proletariat through capitalism
• Feminist view of stratification


  • Society is stratified along gender lines, with men having more power and control than women
  • Stratification is due to patriarchy and gender inequality
• Weber's views on stratification could also be relevant, in addition to the functionalist and Marxist perspectives
• Society is seen as meritocratic, where everyone gets an equal chance of success and hard work will help your chances of success
• Society has been stratified according to work, hard work and effort, where if you work hard and put effort in you will achieve and be able to get higher up the ladder through social mobility
• Inequality is seen as fair because it's those people who haven't worked as hard that ride the bottom of society, and poverty can be a motivating factor
• Role allocation


  Everybody gets sorted and sifted into a different job according to their achievements, efforts and merits
• The harder you work


  The more likely you are to get up the structure or stratification in society to get higher status and rewards
• The Marxist view sees society in conflict between two social groups - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
• Marxists argue that meritocracy is a myth, and that no matter how hard we work, we won't get to the point that some people are at, due to the capitalist system exploiting the working class
• Weber's theory of stratification includes class, status and party, going beyond just class as in Marxism
• Weber says status is how you are seen in society, which is not always directly related to your class or pay
• Discrimination


  Treating someone unequally or unfairly on the basis of who they are
• Life chances


  The chances of success that someone will have in life according to their social group identity
• Inequalities can be seen in representation and portrayal of different social groups in the media
• There are inequalities related to the 'old boys network' where people from certain backgrounds dominate high positions
• There are issues of patriarchy and the oppression of women, as well as a 'crisis of masculinity' where men's traditional roles have changed
• Ethnic minorities can face institutional racism, where the processes and procedures of organisations are racist
• Institutional racism


  Not just one or two people being racist, but the processes and procedures of an organization, like the police, that are racist
• Power


  The ability to control others
• Life chances


  The opportunities you have in life to succeed, e.g. education, family background
• Formal agents of social control


  • Police
  • Courts
• Informal agents of social control


  • School
• Formal sources of power


  • Power of arrest
• Informal sources of power


  • Teacher glaring
  • Detention
• Positive sanctions


  • Certificate
  • House points
• Negative sanctions


  • Fine
  • Detention
• Authority

  The power to give orders or make decisions
• Types of authority (Weber)


  • Traditional authority
  • Charismatic authority
  • Rational-legal authority
• Traditional authority is based on ascribed status, not achievement
• Charismatic authority is based on the ability to gain a large following through charm and persuasion
• Rational-legal authority is based on achievement and being seen as the best person for a role
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Social groups affected by power and life chances

  • Upper classes
  • Middle classes
  • Working classes
  • Underclass
• Functionalists view power balances as natural, while conflict theorists see them as due to inequality
• Consumers act rationally by


  Maximising their utility
• Absolute poverty


  Lacking the money and resources to meet basic needs like food, clothing, shelter
• Relative poverty


  Lacking money and resources compared to the average person in the UK