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- 2. Social stratificat ion Inequality where individuals or groups are ranked according to a criteria: Race Class Gender
- 3. Social Stratification A particular form of social inequality which refers to the presence of social groups which are ranked one above the other usually in terms of the amount of power, prestige, and wealth the members possess.
- 4. An individual’s position in the stratification system has important effects on all areas of life. It may enhance or reduce the person’s life chances
- 5. Life Chances This term is usually associated with Weber Life chances include everything the chance to stay alive during the first year of life Keeping healthy access to education
- 6. Those who belong to the same strata will have some awareness of common interests and a common identity They will share a similar lifestyle
- 7. Aspects of stratification systems Social mobility Implies movement in the social hierarchy
- 8. Social mobility Closed stratification Little to no social mobility Ascribed status: a social position that is assigned to a person by society without regard for the person’s unique talents or characteristics Open stratification Social mobility is allowed Achieved status A social position that a person attains largely through his or her own efforts
- 9. Power (1) The degree to which individuals or groups can impose their will on others without their consent
- 10. Power (2) The chance of a man or woman or a number of men and women to realise their own will even against the resistance of others.
- 11. Power (3) The ability to secure one’s ends in life, even against opposition.
- 12. 2 main forms of power Authority: which is seen as legitimate, right and just Coercion Power which is not seen as legitimate
- 13. Systems of Inequalities Caste system Castes are hereditary ranks . In a caste system there is : No social mobility between ranks Caste membership is an ascribed status Endogamous – members are expected to marry within the caste
- 14. Social Class Social classes are economic groups but not exclusively so The boundaries of social class are not clear-cut
- 15. Social Class a class system is a social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility. The boundaries between classes are not well-defined and people can sometimes move between classes.
- 16. Race One of the most complex concepts in sociology There is a contradiction between its scientific basis and its everyday usage People believe that humans can be separated into biologically different races. This was based on scientific theories of race that arose in the late 18th and 19th centuries But these theories were used to justify the social order
- 17. The Faces of ‘race’
- 18. Various views Race is nothing more than an ideological construct that people have attached meaning to (Miles 1993) Some say it’s a social construct: it is what we make it Historically we have attached meaning to it…to use for various means
- 19. After World war 2, ‘race science’ has been discredited There are no clear-cut races: only a range of physical variations in human beings.
- 20. Anthony Giddens ( 20021) “ Race can be understood as a set of social relationships which allow individuals and groups to be located, and various attributes or competencies assigned, on the basis of biologically grounded features. “
- 21. Giddens (continued) “ racial distinctions are more than ways of describing human differences They are also important factors in the reproduction of patterns of power and inequality within the society”
- 23. Theories on Stratification Structural Functionalism Examines how stratification contributes to the maintenance and well-being of the society. Stratification is a device through which society ensures that specific positions are filled by specific people on the basis of certain characteristics
- 24. Structural Functionalism: Social Stratification Order and stability are based on value consensus Stratification systems derive from common values Power is legitimate authority based on collective goals
- 25. Structural Functionalist Perspective on Stratification Davis and Moore- in an attempt to understand stratification, one must consider the requirements faced by any society The most able people are matched with the functionally most important position. It is done by attaching high rewards to those positions e.g. consider why professionals are evaluated and perceived as being in a ‘higher’ rank than blue collar workers
- 27. Structural Functionalist Perspective on Stratification Inequality is necessary to motivate people to compete for positions Stratification systems originate from common values whereby individuals are evaluated and placed in a ranked order
- 28. Criticisms of Functionalist perspective on stratification Assumes that the most important positions are unambiguously defined independently of the influence of status, and family name etc Inequality can hinder rather than aid
- 29. Marxist Perspective on Stratification Stratification is seen as divisive rather than integrative It is a mechanism whereby some exploit others. Power plays a major role in stratification processes
- 30. Weber Stratification has 3 dimensions: Social Economic Political
- 31. Weber – Social Class Class – a group of people who have a similar level of wealth and income.
- 32. Max Weber He saw social class in economic terms Classes develop in market economies in which individuals compete for economic gain A class: a group of people who share a similar position in a market economy
- 33. Weber- status Status group People who have the same prestige or lifestyle. An individual gains status through membership in a desirable group Status not the same as economic class
- 34. status Groups form because their members share a similar status situation The unequal distribution of social honour
- 35. Privilege Peggy Mcintosh (2000): “privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they have done or failed to do”
- 36. types of privilege- Mcintosh “unearned entitlements” Things of value that people SHOULD have, such as feeling safe in public spaces or working in a place where they feel they belong. When unearned entitlement is restricted to certain groups, it becomes a form of privilege that is “unearned advantage.”
- 37. Unearned advantage gives dominant groups a competitive edge they are reluctant to acknowledge
- 38. Conferred dominance- another type of privilege is when one group is given power over another. This one is more difficult to see because it is not about giving something to one group verse another, conferred dominance deals with feelings of superiority over other people. An example of conferred dominance could be seen in a man telling his wife what to do around the house, but not listening when she asks him to do something. The notion of telling a wife what do is felt to be okay by a husband because they see themselves as superior since they are the man. https://sydneyruhala.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/privilege/
- 39. What is the nature of inequality in the Caribbean?
- 40. Stratification in the Caribbean Was based on a race/class hierarchy Was a caste system where race determined class Colour was seen as an indicator of status
- 41. In contemporary times Social class as an indicator of power and prestige seems to be the dominant type of inequality
- 42. Stratification in contemporary times What characterizes stratification in the Caribbean today? Have the changes in the stratification systems been great or small? Or are these changes cosmetic and superficial? What is the function of social mobility on stratification patterns in the Caribbean?