Global and Social Stratification

Global Stratification

• Global stratification compares wealth, economic stability, status, and power across countries, highlighting worldwide social inequalities within nations.
• Sociologists studying this analyze economic comparisons between countries.
• Key factors used to calculate global stratification include income, purchasing power, and investment/ownership-based wealth.

Social Stratification

• Social stratification is a social science term describing the relative social position of people in a group, category, geographic region, or social unit.
• The term derives from the Latin word "stratum" (plural "strata"), meaning parallel horizontal layers, representing society's categorization of people into socioeconomic tiers.
• Raymond W. Murray describes it as the horizontal division of society into ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ social units.
• Gisbert defines social stratification as the division of society into permanent groups or categories connected by a relationship of superiority.
• A stratified society is characterized by inequality and differences in how people view each other's positions as "lower" or "higher."

Origin of Social Stratification

• Social stratification emerges from different societal structures:
  • Hunting and Gathering Societies
  • Horticultural, Pastoral, and Agricultural Societies
    • Division of labor and job specialization emerges
  • Industrialized Societies
    • Improvement of working conditions

Causes of Social Stratification

• Inequality
• Conflict
• Power
• Wealth
• Instability

Characteristics of Social Stratification

• Social stratification is universal and a social phenomenon.
• It’s an ancient concept.
• It takes diverse forms.
• It exists across various forms, such as:

Historical Context

• During the periods of Plato and Kautilya, societal, political, and economic inequalities were prominent.
• Ancient Romans were divided into Patricians and Plebeians.

Impacts of Stratification

• Stratification influences various aspects of life:
  • Health Sector (expensive facilities, VIP culture, unequal treatment, unequal distribution of resources)
  • Education (diverse systems, teaching methods, outdated syllabus, language conflicts, leading to job discrimination)
  • Individual Actions (limited opportunities, stereotyping, labialization, unwillingness to pursue opportunities)
  • Societal Laws (punishment amplification, traffic rules, bank policies, discrimination in journalism)

Forms of Stratification

• Slavery System: Extreme inequality, individuals owned as property, lack of political rights, and social disdain.
• Estate System: Stratification existing in Europe during the Middle Ages, with divisions like clergy, nobility, and commoners based on birth.
• Caste System: Social position determined by birth, maintained by endogamous marriages.
• Class System: Industrial society’s stratification based on achieved and ascribed statuses (education, property, business/work).

The Common Three Stratum Model

• Upper Class: Wealthy, well-born individuals holding significant political power.
• Middle Class: The most contested stratum, encompassing individuals in contemporary society positioned between lower and lower classes socioeconomically.
• Lower/Working Class: Wage- or hourly-earning workers, and sometimes an underclass of the long-term unemployed or homeless, often receiving welfare.

Discrimination

• It is the unequal treatment of people based on their group membership, causing and perpetuating societal stratification.
• Prejudice is an attitude. Discrimination is a behavior; the two can occur together or separately.

Global Stratification Theories

• Modernization Theory: A model explaining global inequality through technological and cultural differences.
  • Nations gain wealth through technology
  • Developed nations aid underdeveloped ones in controlling population, improving food production, and furthering industrialization
• Dependency Theory: Model explaining global inequality through historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones.
  • Colonialism influenced the economic differences between nations
  • Economic inequalities are complex problems, not easily solved with foreign aid alone

Conclusion

• Social stratification categorizes people based on economic, political, and social statuses.
• The outcome of this categorization is usually merit-based, creating a type of societal organization.

Explore the concepts of global and social stratification. This quiz examines the inequalities in wealth, status, and power among nations and within societies. Understand how these classifications impact individuals and groups in various socio-economic contexts.