What is social stratification?
Stratification comes from strata, which means layers, like layers of rock. In a society, groups of people are ranked in layers. Higher layers get more of the good things: money, power and respect.
- It is social: people made it, nature did not.
- It lasts across generations: children often stay in their parents' layer.
- It is found in every society, but in different forms.
- It comes with beliefs that make it look fair.
Stratification is not the same as simple difference. Being tall or short is a difference. Being rich or poor, and being treated better or worse because of it, is inequality.
Four systems: slavery, estate, caste, class
Closed systems
In a closed system, your birth fixes your place. Status given by birth is called ascribed status.
- Slavery: some people are owned by others as property. It is now banned everywhere.
- Estate: in medieval Europe, society had nobles, clergy and peasants, each with its own rights.
- Caste: a group you are born into, with old rules about work, food and marriage. In India, the Constitution bans untouchability and caste discrimination.
Open system: class
A class is a group with a similar economic position. You can move between classes by education and work. Status you earn is called achieved status.
Socio-economic class: what decides it?
Researchers place people in a socio-economic class by looking at:
- Income: money earned every month or year.
- Wealth: things owned, such as a house, land or savings.
- Occupation: the kind of job and how respected it is.
- Education: years of schooling and degrees.
A common simple model has an upper class, middle class and working class, with some people in poverty. Karl Marx saw two main classes: owners of factories and land, and workers who sell their labour. Max Weber said three things matter: class (money), status (honour and respect) and power (ability to make others act, often through parties).
Theories: functionalist and conflict
Functionalist theory (Davis and Moore, 1945)
Some jobs are more important and need long training, like a surgeon. To attract talented people, society gives these jobs higher pay and respect. So inequality helps society run well.
Criticism
- Some well-paid jobs are not very important, and some vital jobs (nurses, cleaners) are poorly paid.
- Rich children get better schools, so the race is not fair from the start.
- Talented poor children may never get a chance, so talent is wasted.
Conflict theory (Marx and later thinkers)
The top layer owns most resources and uses them to keep its place, for example by passing on wealth and good schooling. Inequality is not needed; it is kept.
Social mobility
Social mobility means moving from one layer to another.
- Upward: moving to a higher layer. Downward: moving to a lower layer.
- Horizontal: a new job at the same level.
- Intragenerational: change within one person's life.
- Intergenerational: change between parents and children.
Education, new jobs in cities, laws against discrimination and reservation or affirmative action can increase mobility. Poverty, poor schools and prejudice reduce it.
Try it
In free play, choose the closed system and move the effort slider to 4. Predict: will the person climb? Check. Now choose the open system. At home, ask an elder what their parents did for work. Compare it with their own job. Was there upward, downward or no mobility?
Key formulas and definitions
- Stratification = ranking of groups in layers (strata)
- Closed systems: slavery, estate, caste → ascribed status
- Open system: class → achieved status
- Class markers: income · wealth · occupation · education
- Weber: class (money) · status (respect) · power
- Mobility: upward / downward / horizontal; intra- / intergenerational
Worked examples
1. A shopkeeper's son becomes a software engineer. Name the type of mobility.
Upward (he is higher than his father) and intergenerational (it is between two generations).
2. A teacher leaves one school and joins another school at the same pay. What mobility is this?
Horizontal mobility: the job changes but the layer stays the same.
3. Explain with one example how the functionalist view explains a surgeon's high pay, and give one criticism.
Surgery is important and needs about 10 years of training, so high pay attracts talent (functionalist). Criticism: nurses are also vital but paid much less, and many talented poor students cannot afford medical training.
4. Why is caste called a closed system but class an open system?
In caste, the group is fixed by birth (ascribed). In class, your place depends on income, job and education, which you can change (achieved).
Common mistakes
- Thinking stratification means any difference. It means ranked layers with unequal rewards.
- Mixing income and wealth. Income is what you earn; wealth is what you own.
- Calling class completely open. Money and schooling of parents still give some children a head start.
- Saying functionalists and conflict thinkers disagree about whether inequality exists. Both agree it exists; they disagree about why and whether it is needed.