Chapter 9 Social Stratifications

In every existing society there has been social inequality. Even if the social classes are divided in a different way, come will always be above others. Social classes can be divided by many factors such as income, education, occupation, lifestyle or even heritage.

The level of social inequality depends on the society’s stratification system.  There are two basic types of stratification systems which are caste systems and class systems. A caste system has scarce resources and social rewards are distributed according to ascribed statuses. A newborn’s status is determined by his/her lifelong status. The practice of exogamy to determine status when there is marriage between two different castes. This practice is marriage outside one’s social category. Most commonly however endogamy is practiced which is marriage within one’s own social category. Class systems on the other hand is composed by the distribution of scarce resources and rewards through achieved statuses. This means that one can climb the social ladder. The dimensions of social stratification are wealth, power and prestige. An individual’s wealth is made up of his or her assets (value of what the person owns) and income. Power is the ability to control the behavior of others with or without consent. People who have a substantial wealth usually hold some power. One can also be ranked by prestige which is the respect, honor, recognition or courtesy an individual receives from the members of society. There are two main theories for stratification. One of them is the functionalist theory which views stratification as necessary feature of social structure. They claim that without varying rewards, jobs wouldn’t be fulfilled and society wouldn’t run smoothly. The other is the conflict theory which states that the competition for scarce resources is the cause of social inequality.

Political Cartoon about the differences between the rich and the poor

There is social inequality in every class system. Theoretically, all Americans have equal access to the resources needed for social advances but there are many different social statuses in America. Sociologists do not agree in the number of class divisions in the United States. The most common is dividing it into five classes: upper class, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class and lower class. There are three basic methods to determining these divisions. The first is reputational and individuals in the community are asked to rank other community members based on lifestyle. The second is subjective in which individuals are asked to determine their own social rank. The third is objective and divisions are determined by income, occupation and education. The upper class makes up percent of the population and it controls a proportion of the countries’ wealth. Then there is the upper middle class who are high income business people and professionals. The lower middle class are usually people who hold white collar jobs and work doesn’t involve manual labor. The working class holds jobs that require manual labor. The working poor are the ones who have the lowest paying jobs and the underclass are families that have experienced poverty and unemployment for generations. Social mobility is the movement between or within between or within social classes.

Even in the most prosperous countries, there is always going to be poverty. Poverty is seen as the standard of living that is below the minimum level considered adequate by the society. the minimum income is called the poverty level. In America the largest percent of poverty in age group are children. According to gender 57 percent of the poor are women. Finally according to race and ethnicity African Americans and Hispanics have the highest poverty rates. Life chances are the likelihood of an individual sharing the benefits and opportunities of society. It has been shown that life chances vary by social class and that the lower the class the less life chances. Life expectancy is the average years a person will live. Poor children are 60 percent more likely to die in their first year. Behavior patterns also change according to social class. For example, divorce rates are higher in the lower class than any other social class. The government responds by trying to help those in need through programs such as Medicare.

Social classes can be very complex. Many sociologists even argue about how they should be divided. Whether it’s by caste system or social classes, there will always be inequality among society.