Keyword Critique - Research Paper Example

? Stratification as a Key Concept in Sociology I. Introduction II. The Conceptualisation of Stratification III. Many Stratifications a) Functionalistapproach b) Stratification-Marxist approach c) Stratification – Weberian approach IV. Conclusion I. Introduction Stratification is one of the most important concepts in sociology. The concept is normally applied to study inequality in the society, which has been an outcome of social processes and social relationships. Social inequality is ubiquitous, through the hierarchy of individuals or groups or without it, it exists in all societies. In sociology, persons are normally classified into groups according to their socio-economic conditions. Social stratification tries to understand political, social, ideological, cultural, and economic dimensions of social inequality. However, stratification is not homogenous concepts. It is by definition has multiple meanings and the meanings changes when placed against different contexts and different actors. In sociology, the use of the term stratification has changed from time to time. It even substantially changes in terms of meaning and practice in different schools such as Marxism, functionalism and structuralism. II. The Conceptualization of Stratification When someone tries to find answer of poverty in any society the concept of stratification becomes important. If we try to locate reasons behind the backwardness of Black people or women vis-a-vis White people or we try to gauge chances of a child born into working class family to climb the social ladder, we will lend into ourselves into the study of social stratification. The methodological analysis of stratification seeks ‘to discover social gulfs- to find the gaps in people’s social relations and experience- which might explain the fissures in people’s perception of each other. The problems, however, is that there do not seem to be sharp breaks in the relations, lifestyles, or even in the social prospects of unequal groups’ (Bottero, 2005, p.14). Social stratification is at the heart of one of the important subdivision of sociology macrosociology. Macrosociology uses comparative perspective to study whole society. The branch tries to understand process of social change and social stability. Max Weber has tried to elaborate the concept of social stratification wherein he studies stratification in traditional societies or we could call them status-based societies and of modern societies. According to him in traditional societies, person’s social status was depended upon his ascribed status wherein a person possesses qualities, which are beyond his control like sex, class at birth ethnicity, race, caste, or religion. Whereas in modern society element of achievement or personal qualities defines persons social status. Max Weber has made distinction between social class, which is defined according to material wealth, and status class, which depends upon social honor, prestige and links to the religious institutions. Studies of social stratification try to understand at what extends class or status system affects modes of social action. It analyses class and status structures and its reproduction in the society. Social stratification tries to understand how inequality of condition and opportunities affects outcome and what are the methods used by groups to protect their class or status boundaries. In simple word, how people maintain their class privileges and how other sections try to get access to it, these are the issues which get importance in the study of social stratification. Social stratification investigates various ways through which class, status-groups are formed in the society, and through it sociologist understand the society. While fiercely criticising the empirical sociology dominated in the United States, Anderson and Massey points out that “as the status attainment model came to dominate American sociology, the study of stratification became progressively despatialized. Socio-economic outcomes were conceptualized as individual-level processes constrained only by family circumstances” (2001, p.5). Different strata exist in all societies. When people have chance to move from one stratum to another stratum is called social mobility. When people from working class get entry into middle class then it is called upward social mobility. A position in a stratification system has very big influence over the life of a human being. That position could enhance or reduce that person’s life chances. Stratification could occur in the lines of sexual preferences as well. The prevailing homophobia in the society leads to the exclusion of sexual minorities such as gays, lesbians and transgenders. According to Herek, “psychologist George Weinberg’ introduced the term homophobia and ‘neatly challenged the entrenched thinking about the “problem” of the homosexuality’ (2004, p.6). III. Many Stratifications a) Functionalist approach Functionalist approach believes that there are certain basic needs or certain functional requirements for survival of the society. In accordance to this belief, they consider social stratification as an importance mechanism through which functioning and well-being of a society take place. For functionalist relationship between social groups is always based upon cooperation and interdependence. This relationship gives birth to the social stratification. According to Talcott Parsons society’s order and stablility is based on general agreement among its members. Members of the society decide common values and social relations are based upon it. Therefore, stratification system derives from this common values system, and individuals will be evaluated on it. Parsons argues that stratification is ought to happen in all human societies. Parsons believes that because of social inequality only society is able to function. b) Stratification-Marxist approach Marxist approach harshly criticizes functionalist views of the social stratification. Marxists believe that social stratification divides society and creates a system which enable some people to exploit other sections. Marxists views give more importance for the class. Class is a social group whose members shares equal relationship to the forces of production. According to Karl Marx, in modern societies there are two classes: a ruling class and ruled class. The ruling class owns the means of productions and through it they get their power. Whereas, ruled has nothing but labor to sell. Through ownership of means of production ruling class exploits and oppresses large section of the society which is proletarian. In according to Marxist view social stratification is an outcome of ownership patterns of means of production. Cultural capital too has become central category in analyzing the social stratification, especially by theorists such as Bourdieu. Educational institutions are considered to be playing a vital role in reproducing social inequalities. Education, in other words, is a means of social stratification. Dumains is of the view that ‘although schools require that students have the ability, they do not provide it for them; rather, the acquisition of cultural capital and consequent access to academic rewards depend on the cultural capital passed down by the familty, which, in turn, is largely dependent on social class’ (2002, p. 44). c) Stratification – Weberian approach Max Weber’s work is very important in stratification theory. Weber looks at class in accordance with the economic condition. He concede Marxian view that class division in society is based on ownership of forces of production; a class who own forces of production gets economic benefits and lives better life. However, he differs from Marx on many points. He believes that in capitalist society there are many classes in society and propertyless people can get different economic rewards according to their skills. That itself creates new classes in the society. Weber argues that with the development of capitalism always increases number of white middle class people’s number. He has made distinction between class and status groups. Classes are formed on economic basis whereas social status is an outcome of inequality in distribution of social respect. One of the famous British sociologist, Anthony Giddens has classifies modern society into three classes. According to him in advanced industrialist society we can find an upper class who owns means of production, a middle class consisted of people of having educational and technical education, and a working class of manual laborers. According to functionalists, a manager is highly paid than a laborer because of greater importance of his work. Manager’s important position determines his pay. However, there is another perspective on differential in pay, according to which power rather than functional importance determines rewards. Managers get higher salary than worker because they have more power. Some people argue that dominant class creates its own value system and people who accept it are allowed to enter into the ladder of social upward mobility. Stratification connotes inequality between different groups. Social inequality is part and parcel of human life. Social stratification could be categorized into four systems like: 1. Slavery 2. Caste 3. Estate 4. Class However, in modern societies above three categories have almost withered away except some countries like India where caste based stratification still dominates social interactions and social outcomes. In most of the developed countries social stratification take place on class basis. Even though in most of the Western countries social inequality, as compare to earlier societies, have reduced but economic and social inequality and class struggles have really increased. In United States, inequality between rich people and poor people has increased drastically in recent years. Education and occupation really matters in stratification. Bottero suggests that ‘all accounts of hierarchy contains ‘images of inequality’, social pictures which classify, categorise and grade the members of society: making statements about similarity or difference, generating distinctions of social worth, establishing our own social position relative to others’ (2005, p.15). If you have access to quality education, which very costly, then you have chances to get good job. Nevertheless, basic requirement of education can only fulfill well to do strata of the society. So it is inevitable that only rich people get jobs and increases their social status. In the United States educational qualification really matters when it comes about income or getting a good job. IV. Conclusion Stratification is heterogeneous concept. It evokes contradictory meanings in contradictory situations. For instance, if we enquire stratification along the lines of social class, we get an entirely different picture from an enquiry done along the lines of gender or racial stratification. There is no single way of defining stratification in sociology. Different schools such as Marxism, functionalism and postmodernism look at stratification in radically different ways and make the use of the concept in radically different ways. Stratification is essentially variegated both as a theoretical concept and as social reality and both have undergone tremendous changes overtime. References Anderson, E. and Massey, D. S. (Eds.). (2001). Problem of the century: Racial stratification in the United States. New York. Russell Stage Foundation. Bottero, W. (2005). Stratification: Social division and inequality. Oxon: Routledge. Dumains, S. A. (2002). Cultural capital, gender, and school success: The role of habitus”. Sociology of Education. Vol. 75. pp. 44-68. Herek, G. M. (2004). Beyond “homophobia”: Thinking about sexual prejudice and stigma in the twenty-first century. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Vol. 1, No.2, pp. 6-24. Read More