Chapter 3: Stratification, Class, and Inequality Flashcards
Social stratification
Social stratification refers to the ranking of members of a society in groups on the basis of their status.
This ranking may be on the basis of occupation, power, economic resources, prestige, caste, education.
Determinants of Social stratification
a) Power
b) Economic resources
c) Prestige
d) Occupation
e) Caste
f) Education
Systems of Stratification
Three basic types of systems of social stratification.
Slavery
Caste
Class
Social Classes in Pakistan
1.Upper social class
a) Upper Upper Class
b) Upper Middle Class
c) Upper Lower Class
2.Middle social class
a) Middle Upper Class
b) Middle Middle Class
c) Middle Lower Class
3.Working social class
a) Lower Upper Class
b) Lower Middle Class
c) Lower Lower Class
Social class
Social class: A social class is a homogeneous group of people in a society formed on the combined basis of:
- Education
- Occupation
- Income
- Place of residence
Upper social class
i. They have high level of income and belong to the most high paying profession.
ii. They live in cleanest places of the country
iii. Their size is2%of the total society.
Middle social class
i. Social mobility is found highest in this class.
ii. They live comfortably than poor class, but are financially lower than upper class.
iii. Their norms are likely to be similar to that of poor class.
iv. This class is the best example of DEFERRED GRATIFICATION PATTERN.
v. Their population is 28% out of the total population.
Working social class
i. Social mobility is the lowest in them.
ii. Rate of deviance is high in them.
iii. They lack long term planning.
iv. Their size is 70% out of the total population of Pakistan.
Type of social status
- Ascribed Status - The social class position allocated to an individual by society as a result of factors over which the individual has no control.
- Achieved Status - The social class position which an individual acquires as a result of his/her own activities.
Social Mobility
Social mobility is the movement of people up or down the stratification system.
It can also be defined as the act of moving from one social class to another.
Class systems allow for more movement than slavery or caste systems.
It is quite difficult to achieve upward social mobility.
Types of Social Mobility
1) Territorial Mobility - It is the change of residence from one place to another.
2) Vertical Mobility - Refers to a major movement up or down in social class position.
3) Horizontal Mobility - Refers to movement within a social class. In general, there is no overall change in the social class status of an individual involved.
Weber: Class and status
For Max Weber, position in a stratification system was not based on economics alone.
Weber’s had a three-fold approach.
Marx and class conflict
Karl Marx was very interested in class relations in capitalist societies.
Class was determined solely by one’s relation to the means of production.
-Proletariat and bourgeoisie
-Group membership utterly determined life chances.
Ultimately the proletariat would overthrow the bourgeoisie, ending the reign of capitalism.
Functionalist Approaches
Functionalist theorists attempt to understand what role inequality plays in keeping society at equilibrium.
Davis and Moore (1945) argued that stratification benefited society by ensuring that the most important roles would be filled by the most talented and worthy people.
Gender and poverty.
Feminization of poverty.
Because of social changes, including divorce and the increasing normalization of single-parenting, there are more female-headed households.
Why are the poor poor?
Poverty is not simply the result of not working hard.
Explanations for poverty are diverse.
What we know is that low earnings make it very hard to “get ahead.”
Poverty
Sociologists discuss two general types of poverty:
Absolute poverty
Relative poverty
Explanations for poverty
Sociologists have many empirical explanations for poverty, but by and large they all fall under one of two themes:
Blaming the victim
Blaming the system
