Social stratification represents the structured inequality characterized by groups fo people with differential access to the rewards of society because of their relative position in the social hierarchy.
The inevitable result of stratification is a social hierarchy of ranked statuses in which people function.
Social class refers to any group of people who share a similar econimic position in society based on their wealth and income. Socioeconomic status refers to the prestige, honor, respect, an dlifestyle associated with different positions or groups in society.
Social mobility is the movement of people or groups from one level to another.
The Functionalist View of Stratification
The answer lies in a society's inevitable need for order. In-eqaulity must somehow be necessary for societies to run smoothly, since it is found in all societies. The Davis-Moore theory states that we reward positions with better pay and prestige because those positions are more difficult to attain. A garbage collector is an important job, however it is a position that is easily filled. The one main criticism is that only a few have the skills to fill certain positions. There are probably a number of people with talent to become doctors. What they lack are the resources to become doctors.
Another conflict theorist, Ralf Dahrendorf argues that stratification is based on different levels of authority. What is important is whether one has the ability to exercise authority over others. Stratification is not an exclusively economic phenomenon. Instead, it derives from the social relations between people who poseess different degrees of power.
Max Weber studied class structure, which is defined by power, prestige and wealth. He coined the term status situation, which consists of every aspect of a person's situation in life. Class is a statement about self-worth and the quality of one's life.
Modern Conflict Theory
Karl Marx believed inequalities of wealth, power, and prestige are due to the economic structure of the classes. Stratification virtually gaurantees that the haves will always be competing with the have nots, with those at the top being successful.
Capitalists (or bourgeoisie) are the owners of wealth and purchase the labor of others, known as the workers (or prole-tariat). Marx and Engels added a third tier, the petite bourgeoisie, which is a sort of transitional class of people who own the means of production, but don't purchase the labor power of others.
Social Mobility- refers to the ability of a given individual or group to move through the social strata. Nothing is more typical than the expect-ation that children, once grown and in careers of their own, would eventually surpass their parents quality of life. Look for the lecture in class I like to call "The Fall of the Middle Class."
Systems of stratification also include: race and ethnicity, gender, age, and sexual orientation.
Class consciousness is one's awareness of their class identity. People in the U.S traditionally have been reluctant to recognize class differences and to identify themselves in terms of class, because it would, in itself, be an open recognition of class inequalities, which American society is not supposed to have.
False consciousness is the primary means by which the powerful classes in society prevent protest and revolution. As long as the poor believe that wealth and success are the sole product of hard work and effort rather that structured inequalities, resentment will minimize and inequalities will be perceived as fair and deserved.