2 - Meritocracy maintains social order

• Durkheim


  Class stratification existed as it was beneficial to social order and characterised by a special occupational division of labour where people have differing functions, skills and abilities that puts people into social divisions.
• Common Value Consensus


  Society is happy as they believe in stratification's moral worth. There is a common agreement about society and it's institution's organisations as society accepts stratification is legitimate.
• Stratification from Durkheim's perspective

  It sets limits on competition and aspirations. It clearly links criteria, like skills and qualifications, to specific roles so people don't become overly ambitious.
• Stratification is fair and just because social order is the norm.
• Durkheim - Conflict


  He acknowledges some cause of conflict and possible breakdown in social order due to meritocracy. If people are unable to compete freely for jobs and roles, moral consensus and solidarity could break down. Sudden shifts in society could destabilise what people expect from the stratification system. For example, recession lead to rapid unemployment, deflation in wages or covid pandemic.
• Evaluation of Durkheim:

  • Social stratification is divisive, not intergrative, therefore the relationship between different groups is hostile, not cooperative.
  • An example is Civil Rights protest in the USA 1960s.
  • 1900s - Jim Crow laws - 'separate but equal' yet worse appliances, institutions and opportunities
  • Famously, Rosa Parks on transport separation
  • Martin Luther King Jr (1960s) - leader of the American civil rights movement (peaceful protests)
  • Malcolm X - Black Panther party (Marxist)
  • Little Rock Nine - prevented from entering previously racially segregated school - media attention