Understanding culture society and politics

1. QUARTER 2 – MODULE 3
UNDERSTANDING , CULTURE
SOCIETY AND POLITICS

2. STRATIFICATION
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL

3. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STRATIFICATION
• 1. Reciprocity this transaction between two socially equal
parties involves goods or services that are estimated to be of
equivalent values. More than economic, these transactions
signify social ties being created or strengthened by the
gesture of gift-giving. (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride,
2008)
PATTERNS OF DISTRIBUTION AND EXCHANGE OF
MATERIAL GOODS

4. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF
RECIPROCITY, AS FOLLOWS:
• Generalized Reciprocity – done by closely related people;
this is more of a gesture to express personal relationships
than an economic transaction (Kottak, 2000)
• Balanced Reciprocity – transaction occurs between two
distantly related people; the giver expects something in return,
although it does not have to be done immediately.

5. • Negative Reciprocity – this transaction is done with
people considered to be outsiders of the group;
having no personal relationship with the other party,
the transaction is based on distrust. This leads
people to try to get as much out of the transaction
and giving the least amount possible even if done
through deceitful means. (Kottak, 2000).

6. • 2. Redistribution all produce form the community is
sent to the center where they are stored, counted
and later on distributed back to the people. It is
usually the chief who is in-charge of this process.
Any surplus, he may keep for various purposes
(e.g. give to his children, or prepare a feast for a
visitor who is a potential partner in military
operations). (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and McBride,
2008).

7. • 3. Market Exchange the price of exchange of goods
and services are supposedly dictated by the rules of
supply and demand; however, personal loyalties and
moral values intervene in price determination most of
the time. (Haviland, Prins, Wairath, and McBride,
2008)

8. WHAT IS SOCIAL STRATIFICATION?
• In the early days, since the development of early
civilizations, social and political stratification shaped
and influenced the day to day operation of the
society. Hence, the make or break of the society is
also dictated to some extent by these categorizations
both in political and social aspects. (Santarita, Madrid
2016)

9. • Social stratification refers to the arrangement of groups of people
along a continuum of different categories that indicate differences in
unequal life rewards and chances. (Haviland, Prins, Walrath, and
McBride, 2008, Newman, 2012)
• It refers to the division of society into levels, steps or positions. It
contains strata that shares unequally on the distribution of societal
rewards. Social stratification tends to be transmitted from one
generation to another. The people are ranked based on hierarchy
that are significant in delimiting their access to the range of
resources and/or opportunities available to them. (Malate, 2016)

10. • A. Wealth - encompasses all a person’s
material assets, including income, land, and
other types of property. (Schaefer and Lamm,
1992 in Kottak, 2000:377)
• According to Max Weber, the person’s status, or
position within a stratified social system, is
determined by the following:

11. • B. Power - the capacity to influence or control
the behaviour of persons and institutions,
whether by persuasion, or coercion. (Magstadt,
2013:3)
• C. Prestige - esteem, respect, or approval for
culturally valued acts or qualities. (Kottak,
2000:360)

12. FUNCTIONALIST VIEW CONFLICT VIEW
1. Stratification is universal, necessary
and inevitable. 1. Stratification may be universal
without being necessary and inevitable.
2. Social organization (the social
system) shapes the stratification
system.
2. The stratification system shapes
social organization (social system).
3. Stratification arises from the societal
need for integration, coordination, and
cohesion.
3. Stratification arises from group
conquest, competition and conflict.
4. Stratification facilitates the optimal
functioning of society and the
individual.
4. Stratification impedes the optimal
functioning of society and the
individual.

13. 5. Stratification is an expression of
the commonly shared social values.
5. Stratification is an expression of
values of powerful groups.
6. Power is usually legitimately
distributed in society.
6. Power is usually illegitimately
distributed in society.
7. Tasks and rewards are equitably
allocated.
7. Tasks and rewards are inequitably
allocated.
8. The economic dimension is
paramount in society.
8. The economic dimension is
subordinate to other dimensions of
society.
9. Stratification systems often change
through evolutionary process.
9. Stratification systems generally
change through revolutionary process.

14. WHAT IS SOCIAL MOBILITY?
• Social mobility is one’s ability to move from one place to
another along the stratified positions of society. (Haviland,
Prins, Wairath, and McBride, 2008) The ease or difficulty by
which this shift or move from one place to another is highly
dependent on the type of society one lives in (Kottak, 2000)
open or closed.

15. • A. Open. The society is considered open when
the stratification is based on social classes,
where people’s position are determined by the
economic wealth and income. An open system is
such as this is able to facilitate social mobility
based on personal efforts and individual
achievements. (Kottak, 2000)

16. • B. Closed. The system is considered closed when the
change or shift in social positions or social mobility are
limited and perhaps prohibited in some societies. An
example of the closed system is the caste system,
where people are born into their social position
(inherited from their parents) and remain there for the
rest of their lives. It is very difficult to shift from one
social position to another as laws, both legal and
religious, prohibit any movement between the very
clearly established boundaries of caste. (Newman,
2012)