LESSON 3 SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

• According to FATHER LYNCH in Bicol, there were only 2 social class categories of people: (a) THE RICH and (b) THE POOR.
• The MIDDLE-CLASS was often regarded as either small or non-existent.
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION is a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy according to power, wealth, and prestige.
• SOCIAL DESIRABLES, or rewards of social positions of status are: (a) POWER, (b) WEALTH, and (c) PRESTIGE.
• POWER is the ability to compel obedience or control a number of people.
• WEALTH pertains to ownership or control of resources.
• PRESTIGE refers to social recognition and deference.
• SOCIAL INEQUALITY is the state of being unequal in social status or opportunities
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IS A TRAIT OF SOCIETY, NOT SIMPLY A REFLECTION OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCE


  Many of us think of social standing in terms of personal talent and effort, and as a result, we often exaggerate the extent to which we control our own fate. 
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION CARRIES OVER FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION


  We have only to look at how parents pass their social position on to their children to see that stratification is a trait of societies rather than individuals.
• SOCIAL MOBILITY is a change in position within the social hierarchy.
• VERTICAL MOBILITY may be upward or downward due to changes in social factors like education or career.
• HORIZONTAL MOBILITY is a shift from one social level to an equivalent level.
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION IS UNIVERSAL BUT VARIABLE


  Social stratification is found everywhere. Yet what is unequal and how unequal it is varies from one society to another. In some societies, INEQUALITY is mostly a matter of prestige; in others, wealth or power is the key element of difference.
• SOCIAL STRATIFICATION INVOLVES NOT JUST INEQUALITY BUT BELIEFS AS WELL


  Any system of inequality not only gives some people more than others but also defines these arrangements as fair. Just as the details of inequality vary, the explanations of why people should be unequal differ from society to society.
• There are 2 types of social stratification systems; (a) CLOSED SYSTEMS and (b) OPEN SYSTEMS.
• CLOSED SYSTEMS allow for little change in social position.
• OPEN SYSTEMS permit much more social mobility.
• Closed systems are called CASTE SYSTEMS.
• Open systems are called CLASS SYSTEMS.
• CLOSED SYSTEMS' social stratification is based on ascription, or birth.
• The INDIAN SYSTEM identifies 4 major castes; BRAHMAN, KSHATRIYA, VAISHYA, and SUDRA.
• Major castes, or VARNAS, comes from a Sanskrit word that means "COLOR."
• SOCIAL CLASS SYSTEM is not supported by any legal or religious sanctions.
• FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE


  According to the structural-functional approach, social inequality exists because it plays a vital part in the continued existence of society.
• KINGSLEY DAVIS and WILBERT MOORE (1945) argue that the more important a position is to society, the more rewards a society attaches to it.
• SOCIAL CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE


  (a) Marxist social-conflict perspective

  (b) Weberian social-conflict perspective
• Social conflict analysis draws on the ideas of KARL MARX and MAX WEBER.
• According to Marx, SOCIAL STRATIFICATION is created and maintained by one group to protect and enhance its economic interests.
• Max Weber claimed that social stratification involves 3 distinct dimensions of inequality: (a) CLASS, (b) SOCIAL STATUS OR PRESTIGE, and (c) POWER.
• Influenced by Weber's ideas, sociologists use the term SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS (SES) to refer to a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality, and not only on economic position or class as Marx argued.
• SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE


  The symbolic-interaction approach, a MICRO-LEVEL ANALYSIS influenced by the ideas of Weber, explains that we size up people by looking for clues to their social standing.
• THORSTEIN VEBLEN introduced the concept conspicuous consumption.
• CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION involves people buying expensive products not because they need them but to show off their wealth.