Social Class and Poverty - Essay Example

The caste system is also a form of social stratification built on ascription (Bei McDonald’s 190-194). The ancient phycology of the people influenced in creating the division based on sex, age and wealth. The stratification in the society is based on the caste system. The caste defines largely the occupation of the people, the color of the skin and the cultural belief. The caste system divided the society into many groups. The societies stratify their members based on the class system as well.

The division is done based on the achievements of the individuals. The class system is possible depending on the mobility of the individuals. The past ideologies of the people regarding the culture cause stratification in the members of a society. Meritocracy depends on the merit of the individual related to the job along with task which divides the society into groups causing inequality (Leon-Guerrero 30-50). The stratification systems in the society are of various types. The stratification of the society depends on different factors such as slavery, estate and caste (Leon-Guerrero 30-50).

Slavery is the initial form of social stratification. The situation of slaves remained variable in places such as Athens where slaves were important but had little respect. The society was divided into slave and citizen, where citizen had the social conscience but the slaves did not (Leon-Guerrero 30-50). . It was predominantly present in India. The society was stratified into various groups on the basis of the culture, lifestyle, wealth and power of the people (Bei McDonald’s 190-194). QUESTION b The stratification in the United States is described by socioeconomic status of the people.

The society is divided into several classes based on the economic factor of the individual. Upper classes are the people who generally have vast inherited wealth. This class of people has the family name such as ‘Rockefeller’ (Purdue University, “Basic Concepts on Social Stratification”). ‘New Money’ is the term used for the people who had wealth for nearly two generations. These people have earned their money (Purdue University, “Basic Concepts on Social Stratification”). Middle class are the people who obtain their money by working and doing professional jobs.

These people generally do the white collar jobs and are the managers and doctors (Purdue University, “Basic Concepts on Social Stratification”). The working class is the people who do the blue collar job and generally do a variety of jobs such as the carpenters and workers. The difference in the class of the people can be done by their standard of living (Leon-Guerrero 79-335). The working poor are the people who have less education, are not a skilled worker and have minimum wage. Poverty level entails the people who are unable to meet their basic needs on a daily basis.

In this regard, the facet of absolute poverty signifies the complete dearth of resources in order to sustain life. Whereas, relative poverty signifies insufficient lack of income in comparison with average standard of living. Moreover, with regard to the notion of poverty,