Social Stratification

What is social stratification? Creation of layers of people who possess unequal shares of scarce resources –The “haves” and the “have nots” Bases of stratification: –Wealth –Power –prestige

Wealth Karl Marx divided industrial societies into 2 major classes: –Bourgeoisie (capitalists) Own the means of production and hire others to work Petite bourgeoisie- small capitalists –Own means but do work themselves –Proletariat (workers) Forced to work for capitalists

Marx Exploitation of the proletariat characterizes the relationship between the 2 classes Eventually workers will rise in revolt and establish a classless society Failed to foresee that the exploitation of workers would ease and that a large class of white collar workers would emerge (like in US)

Distribution of Wealth in US The richest 20% of the population earn nearly 48% of the nation’s total income The poorest 20% have only 4.2% of the national income

Power The ability to control the behaviors of others, even against their will –Associated with wealth More wealth tends to = more power –Explains to domination of top govt positions by the wealthy Poorer people are more likely to feel powerless and are therefore more indifferent to politics

Distribution of power Power cant be identified and measures as easily as wealth Marxists and elite theorists argue that a very small group holds most of the power in the US –Capitalists or top business leaders –This explains why large corporations through heavy political campaign contributions and lobbying are able to hold down their taxes and avoid regulations

Power elite According the C. Wright Mills, the power elite- a small group of top leaders not just from business but fed govt and military- hold most of the power Members have similar backgrounds, values, and interests and together have a lot of power to make decisions for the nation

Plural theorists Argue that power is not tightly concentrated but widely dispersed Power of big business is balanced by that of big labor and gov’t actions are determined by competition and compromise –Ordinary citizens have the power to vote anyone into or out of office

Prestige Status system- a system in which people are stratified according to their social prestige Prestige is subjective- depends on how the individual is perceived by others –Someone can be rich and powerful but if seen as unworthy of respect they have low prestige Organized crime boss for example

Prestige and occupation People have varying ideas about the prestige of various occupations –Occupations that require more education and offer higher income are more prestigious

A person’s status Based on age, race, gender and occupation (among others) May create status inconsistency- same individual is given 2 conflicting status rankings –Example: high in occupation but low in ethnicity or gender –People plagued with this may experience considerable stress and resentment –Likely to support liberal and radical movements designed to change the status quo