Social Stratification Social Stratification Social Stratification Social Stratification Social Stratification SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Essay Social Stratification

1. Social Stratification
Social Stratification: Impacting Positions in Society Social stratification is vertical hierarchical
arrangement which differentiate people as superior or inferior. Societies are stratified in three
ways which are,1) Social Class; 2) Racial and Ethnic stratification; and 3) Gender. 1) Social Class:
According to Karl Marx, Class society is based around a primary line of division between two
antagonistic classes, those who owns the means of production and those who do not own. Comer
added to it in 1978 "Social Class implies having or not having the following: individual rights,
privileges, power, rights over others, authority, life style choices, etc."(Comer, 1978) 2) Racial and
Ethnic Stratification: Hierarchy based upon race,...show more content...
Victims of Classism, Racism and Sexism know the consequences of social stratification, but on
the other hand privileged ones were unaware of any social stratification. Stratification and
Conflict: Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison in her Nobel Prize lecture said, "Tell us what it is to be
a women so that we may know what it is to be a man. What moves at the margin? What it is to
have no homes in this place? To be set adrift from the one you knew. What it is to live at the edge
of towns that cannot bear your company?" (Morrison, Karen, 1993). This potrays tragic conditions of
Colored Americans in racist America. African–American primary obstacle is racism and gender bias
adds upon to it. In understanding Conflict Theory, Social Classes division and competition plays an
vital role.Here are few primary assumptions of Modern Conflict Theory: 1. Competition: Competion
over limited resources is primary to all social relationships. Competition rather than consensus
charecterises human relationships. 2. Structural Inequality: All Social Structures have inequality in
rewards and power. 3. Revolution or Reforms: Conflict between classes results in changes more
often than adaptations. Conflict Theory was further elaborated after Industrial Revolution in Europe
by Karl Marx, Max Weber and various other Sociologists. Karl Marx – Class and Conflict : Karl
Marx was the direct product of the legacy of the Renaissance and the
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2. Social Stratification
Ireland
The social stratification in Ireland today is undefined. During the Celtic Tiger it was perceived
that Ireland as a whole was very wealthy and many people were classed as 'wealthy' or 'upper
class'. However since the recession hit the social status regarding the wealth of the country has
deteriorated. It appears now that a larger number of the population are working or middle class and
only a minority group remain in the upper classes of society. The growing unemployment rate has
forced many people, including well educated individuals to rely on state benefits. This has been a
huge factor in the rapid decrease in the social status of the country. Social mobility in Ireland
appears to be going in the wrong direction.
Not only is...show more content...
Without this support it becomes very difficult for the schools to make an impact. Many children
from a lower socio–economic background leave school without a leaving certificate, and as a result
end up relying on state benefits. This reality has urged community members to intervene. Many
communities have set up youth clubs and after school homework clubs to provide a comfortable and
positive study environment for students who lack the encouragement at home. These clubs help
young people to take the steps needed towards a higher socio–economic group.
Promoting social mobility is key to bettering the country as a whole. In order for people to improve
their social status in relation to wealth the country not only needs to promote academic excellence in
schools but provide employment opportunities for graduates. Promoting employment or businesses
helps promotes wealth and therefore increases social mobility. With the help of the government
encouraging new businesses into the country; thus providing new job opportunities; social mobility
will be possible. In 2010 it was announced that the well–known EA Games entertainment company
were opening a customer service centre in Galway. This investment was being supported by the
Irish government through IDA Ireland and was said to create two hundred new jobs to start off. The
new location is up and
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3. Social Stratification
Social stratification defines any structure of inequality that persists in a society across generations.
Social strata are groups of people – who belong to the same social class or have the same social
level. Social strata are organised in a vertical hierarchy. In the early societies people shared a
common social standing. In the hunting and gathering societies there was little stratification: men
hunted for meat while women gathered edible plants. The general welfare of the society depended
on the mutual sharing of goods between all members and no group emerged as better off than the
others.
Social inequality began with the emergence of horticulture and pastoral societies. For the first time
people had reliable sources of food and the...show more content...
Queenstown (Cobh) its last port of call – is just a few kilometres from my home town. The Titanic
was dubbed "unsinkable" and was so confident in its invincibility that its lifeboat capacity could
accommodate less than half of the individuals onboard. While this means that most of the
individuals didn't make it, it does not mean that everyone on board had an equal chance of survival.
In fact, it was quite the opposite. The Titanic represents a very clear cut example ofsocial class
divisions providing different opportunities (in this case, opportunities to get on a lifeboat and
survive) to individuals occupying different classes. Your odds of survival were greatly shaped by
your structural location aboard the ship i.e. your social class, gender and age.
The Sad Story.
Under the command of Edward Smith, the ship left Southampton with 2224 passengers on board
for Cherbourg and then on to Cobh. Titanic anchored off Roches Point on April 11th 1912 at
12noon and remained in the harbour for almost two hours taking on supplies, mail and additional
passengers. They were taken to board Titanic from the old pier in Queenstown as it was then
known, in tenders called America and Ireland. The Titanic then sailed with 2347 passengers aboard,
including some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of poor emigrants from
Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship had advanced safety
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4. Social Stratification
Contents 1. Social stratification 2. Characteristics of social stratification 3. Origins of social
stratification 4. Social stratification in Bangladesh 5. Religious stratification In Bangladesh 6. Caste
systems among Hindus 7. Caste systems among Muslims
All societies arrange their members in terms of superiority, inferiority and equality. The vertical
scale of evaluation, this placing of people in strata, or layers is called stratification. Social
stratification is a natural and voluntary separation according to race, religion, social and economic
status. In sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of social classes, castes and
strata within a society. Anthony Giddens has defined social...show more content...
Caste systems among Hindus:
Hindus in Bangladesh in the late 1980s were almost evenly distributed in all regions, with
concentrations in Khulna, Jessore, Dinajpur, Faridpur and Barisal. Hindus generally accept the
caste system as the structure of society. For Virtually all Hindus, even those in revolt against
some aspects of the system, caste is taken for granted as the way of life. To be considered Hindu, a
group must identify itself in some way as a unit in the caste hierarchy. One cannot join a caste; one
is born into it and lives, marries, and dies in it.
Although Hindu society is formally stratified into caste categories, the widely known four–fold
classification Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra did not figure prominently in the Bangladeshi
Hindu community. About 75 percent of the Hindus in Bangladesh belonged to the lower castes.
Some members of higher castes belonged to the middle or professional class. With the increasing
participation of the Hindus in nontraditional professional mobility, the castes were able to interact in
wider political and socioeconomic arenas, which caused some erosion of caste consciousness.
Although there is no mobility between Hindu castes, caste distinctions did not play as important a
role in Bangladesh as in they did in the Hindu–dominated Indian state of West Bengal. Bangladeshi
Hindus seemed to have
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5. Social Stratification
Q1A. The question of the inevitability of social stratification is one of the fundamental bases of
the theories of Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. Davis and Moore (1945) argue that as long as
there is division of labor in the society, and that there are variability in the roles with varying
degrees of importance, stratification will occur. There is a significant difference in the wages of
CEO's and a minimum wage earner because according to the theory, there is a functional necessity
of providing different rewards for different positions in the society in accordance to an individual's
abilities. Because not everyone is qualified for specific positions or roles set by the society, there is
a need to fill them by making sure that the right...show more content...
The main function of inequality is due to the very fact that not all roles in the society have the
same extent of difficulty. Because there is a societal notion that the responsibility assigned to men
and women are not the same, social stratification according to gender exists, hence the difference in
wage rates. Q2A Melvin Tulmin made a response to the theory created by Davis and Moore. He
claims that there are several loopholes that the functional theories of Davis and Moore were not able
to address, such defining the term "functionally important". The situation involving the wage gap
between the CEO and the minimum wage earner can be explained by Tulmin's criticism to the
theories of the previous sociologists. For Tulmin, the system of social stratification does not function
as the motivating force to attract the right people to the right positions but to force the acceptance of
ideologies that govern the society. The increasing gap between the earnings of the CEO and the
minimum wage earners can be explained by the fact that there is indeed an existing barrier between
the two types of people mentioned above. This would lead the society to accept the ideology that the
former is indeed superior as compared to the latter. Social stratification systems functions to maintain
the status quo in the society. Because of the existing social stratification, a large segment of the
society are not even given the opportunity to undergo
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6. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION Essay
Social stratification is a concept involving the classification of people into groups based on shared
socio–economic conditions. Giddens (2009:1133) defines social stratification as "the existence of
structured inequalities between groups in society, in terms of their access to material or symbolic
rewards". This context explains in detail the three agents of social stratification and expresses
personal views about the categories of social class in the Zambian society it further goes on to
explain whether or not social class is responsible for students educational attainment. The three main
agents of social stratification are the family ,mass media and educational institution this is in line
with Agumba (2009:45) who...show more content...
Often when poor people are featured the depiction is either unflattering or pitying, such portrayals
are often negative or stereotypical Research has shown that social inequality continues to be
produced in educational institutions one latent function of education is for one to achieve and
attain the capacity or ability to live a fulfilling life. According to Jean (2009: ) "students who get
the best education are likely to be selected for preferred jobs in society". Agumba (2009:45) adds
on saying that "schools or institutions promote social stratification through streaming ,this is
grouping of learners with the same ability together", the impact of this is that streaming has a
negative effect on self image and ultimately on performance. Weber also saw class as an economic
category but he stressed its interaction with social status and the affinities of party. In recent time`s
social scientists have used occupation as an indicator of class. Zambia is a developing nation and
social class in the Zambian context is composed of the three main categories which are the lower
class, the working class and the middle class the top upper class is yet to emerge in the Zambian
society. The lower class is the least informed people in the Zambian society this class is generally
characterized by "low aspirations, poor education,
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7. Social Stratification
DISCUSS TO ASSESS THE APPLICABILITY OF THE CONFLICT THEORY IN EXPLAINING
STRATIFICATION.
'Stratification' is a term used to characterize a structure of inequality where individuals occupy
differentiated structural positions and the positions are situated in layers (or strata) that are ranked
hierarchically according to broadly recognized standards .( Durlauf 1999)
The conflict theory in relation to social stratification argues that stratification,"reflects the
distribution of power in society and is therefore a major source of disorder and coercion."(Stanley
1998 : 227). The conflict theory is an acceptable way of understanding and explaining social
stratification however on its own it does not adequately answer all the questions about...show more
content...
They usually even move to certain residential areas which can only be afforded by people of their
calibre. Likewise those who are getting less rewards probably for doing a less recognised task
will begin to segregate themselves from the above described group. They will associated with
others with whom they share the same economic overview and challenges with. Already we can see
that there is a development of clearly defined classes, which is a major characteristic of social
stratification.
Furthermore those who are in the privileged economic tend to use their power and influence through
media and publicity, educational institutions as well as religious institutions such as churches to
instil an attitude and mindset to their inferiors in which the latter begin to accept their low positions
and status as natural. Karl Marx called this "False Consciousness". (Sonnet and Cobb 1973) The
conflict theory attempts to explain social stratification economically. Conflict theorists disregard
issues of gender, race and ethnicity and they only focus on the role played by the economy in
bringing about social stratification. They reason that stratification is defined by relations concerning
possession of the means of production as well as work and labour .The conflict theorists' beliefs'
include that those at the top of hierarchies are there at the expense of those that at the
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