Stratification

1. Stratification

2. Stratification and Inequality…. • Stratification encompasses the concept of inequality, or a condition in which groups of individuals have unequal access to things…. • Stratification refers to a hardening or institutionalizing of inequality, which includes a hierarchical ranking of groups of individuals based on such variables as class and social status. Historically, different forms of stratification have dominated the social relations of societies, such as slavery, caste, and estate; some of these forms continue to exist today, and even class inequality has evolved over time.

3. Social Classes in the United States…. • Most Americans claim to be middle class, even when their life experiences and backgrounds suggest otherwise…. • Also, many individuals display status inconsistency—people possess characteristics associated with more than one class….

4. Theoretically…. • A major form of stratification is class, understood as an achieved status, meaning that we have some control over our class position. • Class is also related in complex ways to ascribed status dimensions of stratification, such as race, ethnicity, and gender.

5. Theoretically…. • Class is also related in complex ways to ascribed status dimensions of stratification, such as race, ethnicity, and gender. These are attributes given (ascribed) to us at birth and over which we have little or no control, one’s sex for instance. • Status is often used in two different ways: to indicate a position within the social structure, such as student, mother, or child, with certain rights and duties attached to such positions, or to indicate a noneconomic position in a hierarchy. • Included in the understanding is reference to power. What is power? For Weber, power is the ability to accomplish one’s goals despite resistance from others.

6. Theoretically…. • When we talk about class stratification, we mean groups differentiated by income, wealth, and power. Class has been defined as group of individuals with similar political and economic interests who share similar life chances and possess similar materials resources (income and wealth). • Theoretically, social class encompasses socioeconomic status; and, socio-economic status affects life chances. The model for stratification based on social class includes the operation of political, economic, and social characteristics. • Recently, Pierre Bourdieu uses social reproduction to explain class differences. Accordingly, children inherit not only wealth but also cultural capital: the tastes, habits, expectations, and other cultural dispositions that help them to take on their parents’ class status.

7. Theoretically…. • Symbolic Interactionists examine the ways we notice status differences and categorize ourselves and others accordingly. As Erving Goffman pointed out, our clothing, speech, gestures, possessions, friends, and activities all provide information about our socio-economic status. • Belonging to a certain social class has profound consequences in all areas of life. Members of different social classes set and achieve different educational goals, work at different types of jobs, and receive different levels of quality in their life chances, which includes education, medical, and nutritional aspects. People tend to marry someone who’s social and cultural backgrounds are similar to their own, in part because they are more likely to encounter people like themselves.

8. Conclusion…. • Stratification functions as both a distributional and a legitimizing mechanism through which goods, services, and resources are dispersed and outcomes are justified. • Within any stratification system, people come to expect that individuals and groups with certain positions will be able to demand more influence and respect and accumulate a greater share of goods and services. • Inequality exists and it permeates society and the notion of the American Dream.