Social Stratification

Inequalities exist in all types of human society. Even in the simplest cultures where variations in wealth or property are non-existent, there are inequalities between individuals, men and women, the young and the old. A person may have a higher status than others because of a particular prowness at hunting, for instance, or because he or she is believed to have special access to the ancestral spirits. To describe inequalities, sociologists speak of Social Stratification. Social Stratification lies at the core of society and of the discipline of sociology. Social inequality is a fundamental aspect of virtually all-social processes and a person's position in the stratification system is the most consistent predictor of his/her behaviour, attitudes, and life chances. "Social Stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences." Social Stratification persists over generations. Social Stratification is universal but not variable. It involves not only inequality but also beliefs. 'It is useful to think of stratification as rather like the geological layering of rock in the earth's surface,' Societies can be seen as consisting of 'strata' in a hierarchy, with the more favoured at the top and the less privileged at the bottom." If we look back at the year 1912, when the Titanic sank, we can make a connection with social inequality for the way people lived back then. When we watched the blockbuster hit in 1997, we were shown how much of an impact that social inequality had on the lower class passengers. Women and children had the highest survival rate. Those who held a first class ticket, more than 60% of those survived because their cabins were on the upper decks. Only 1/3 of the third class passengers survived making 24% of the survival rate. When looking at the tragic events of Titanic, class was the only means of survival. It turned out to be a matter between life and death in the end. Therefore, it is not the cognitive psychology of how much individuals recognise each other, but the sociological problem of how groups of people are distinguished from each other. Therefore, the problem is one of inequality and the many forms of stratification are all perceptible differences because people are socially formed. Though they may originate in fixed characteristics at birth. In society today, there are unequal social relations of three kinds: power, property and prestige. It is these terms that help make every society a functional one.

Power relations exist everywhere in our society. "People differ in all sorts of ways. There are differences between adults and children, men and women, employee and employer, the highly educated and uneducated, the light-skinned and dark-skinned and so forth." The perceptible differences that exist between people are socially formed: meaning that 'within each society a certain significance and certain expectation will be attached to them, and these will help determine the impact.' (2001,de Swaan, 34) When speaking in terms of stratification we can bring in the Thomas rule: if something is expected to happen, these expectations affect what already happens. Power relations are dependence relations with a minus sign. If A is dependent on B to achieve something, this creates a relationship of dependence between them. When we stop, look and examine the world around us today, some of us may wander how societies persist without distributing their resources more equally. A has power = A has power over B, C, D, and E, i.e.; a relationship of dependence, which rests on a balance of power. The balance of power exists within a network; certain individuals are dependent on someone, who in turn is dependent on them. Power is a characteristic of a position within a network of people of dependence relations.

"People are 'in power' for as long as they stay there. Yet to stay

there, they are dependent on all those who are dependent on

them." (2001,de Swaan, 36)

One must ask themselves, that when looking at de Swaans quote, we begin to wonder who exactly has the power? This question, though interesting, must remain unanswered. "The most influential theoretical approaches are those developed by Karl Marx and Max Weber; most subsequent theories of stratification have been heavily indebted to their ideas." The ideas of Marx and Weber have influenced many other areas on the discipline too. Most of Marx's works were concerned with stratification and, above all with social class, "yet he failed to provide a systematic analysis of the concept of class. Marx's concept of class thus has to be reconstructed from the body of his writings as a whole." (1997,Giddens, 244) Marx took capitalist societies to task for channelling wealth and power into the hands of a few, all the while defining the practice as simply 'a law of the market place.' (1997, Macionis and Plummer, 247) Functionalists have a particular way of looking at the world. Everyone has a role in keeping laws in order and peace in society. Our roles as students are functional to the educational system; without student universities, function would not exist.

"In modern societies, governments often control their armed

forces from separating them: army, navy, and air force

compete for funding from the budget, which stops them

forming a united front against the government."(2001, de Swaan, 39)

When we look at all of these examples, the person or persons that occupy the position of power, has a direct link to the others in the network, 'who are not directly linked to each other,' corresponds to the pattern of what is known as a hierarchical network. When people hold a position of power they can take advantage of this position to strengthen it. "Class systems celebrate individualism and achievement, so that social standing serves as a measure of personal worthiness." (de Swaan.p.40)

"Inequality is not always injustice; on the contrary all

societies endorse some dimensions of inequality as

fair while condemning others as wrong. Justifications

for social stratification then, from place to place."

(1998, Macionis and Plummer, 249)

The inequalities of power are based on shared values. Power is legitimate authority in that members of society as

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