Pàirt 7: Stratachadh Global

### Chapter 7: Global Stratification

• Global Stratification: A comparison of two families, one from Ethiopia and one from Springfield, Illinois, illustrates the vast differences in living standards globally.
• Ethiopian Family: Lives in a small, impoverished hut (320 square feet) with no electricity, gas, or running water. They rely on farming and have a low annual income ($130).
• Springfield Family: Lives in a large, well-equipped house (2,200 square feet) with modern amenities, including central heating, air conditioning, appliances, and high annual income ($50,890).
• Contrast: The stark differences highlight the unequal distribution of resources across the globe.

### An Overview of Social Stratification

• Social Stratification: A system of dividing people into layers based on their resources (power, property, and prestige). This system affects life chances, access to opportunities, and even life expectancy.
• Universal: Social stratification occurs in all societies, though the degree of inequality varies.
• Key Systems:
  • Slavery: People owning other people as property; historically common, but outlawed in many places.
  • Caste: Status determined by birth; rigid social structure; often linked to religion.
  • Class: Primarily based on wealth; allows more social mobility.

### Conditions of Slavery

• Varied Conditions: The conditions of slavery have differed across time and cultures and were not always permanent. Sometimes it was related to debt, crime, or war.
• Ownership vs. Lineage: Some cultures did treat slavery as a permanent and inheritable status, while others allowed for individuals to purchase freedom, or for children of slaves to be free.

### Slavery in the New World

• Growing Need for Labour: The search for labor, fueled by growing need for colonies and their economic development led to a new source of slaves.
• Enslaving Indigenous People: Initially, attempts to enslave indigenous people were mostly unsuccessful due to their greater knowledge of the terrain.
• The African Slave Trade: The transatlantic slave trade supplied enslaved Africans to the New World.
• Inheritable Status: Some societies made the status of slave inheritable.

### Casteh

• Ascribed Status: Status determined by birth in a social group, often linked to religious or social practices.
• Ritual Pollution: In many caste systems, contact with individuals from lower castes is often considered polluting. This generates rules and social boundaries.
• India's Castes: Provides a prime example of a caste system. There are four main castes, subdivided into numerous sub-castes.

### Class

• Fluid Boundaries: Status is primarily based on economic resources (property and wealth). Class systems are more fluid compared to slavery or caste systems, offering potential social mobility.
• Social Mobility: Ability for people to move among different classes either upward or downward.
• Material Possessions: Economic resources play a significant role in defining class.

### Global Stratification

• Three Worlds Model: A historical model of global stratification that categorized countries into three groups: First World (industrialized capitalist nations), Second World (Communist nations), and Third World (nations not fitting into the previous two categories).
• Revised Model: This model is outdated but still provides a general perspective, with categories like Most Industrialized, Industrializing, and Least Industrialized nations.

### How Did The World's Nations Become Stratified?

• Colonialism: Powerful nations established colonies to exploit their resources and labor, creating lasting disparities in wealth and power.
• World Systems Theory: Industrialization and globalization led to the development of a global economic system where nations were interconnected in complex ways, with core nations, semi-periphery nations, and periphery nations experiencing different outcomes.
• Culture of Poverty: Some theorists argue that certain cultural traits and attitudes perpetuate poverty, but this model is highly criticized for blaming poverty on the poor.

### Maintaining Global Stratification

• Neocolonialism: Continued economic control and exploitation of lesser developed nations by more developed ones, particularly through international trade and debt relations.
• Multinational Corporations (MNCs): The activities of MNCs can maintain global stratification because of the profit seeking and global reach. This often involves exploiting cheaper labor in less developed nations.

### The Dump People: Working and Living and Playing in the City Dump

• Phnom Penh, Cambodia: People living and working within Phnom Penh's city dump; a survival strategy in the face of overwhelming poverty.

Bheir an quiz seo seachad na h-eadar-dhealachaidhean mòra ann an inbhean beò eadar famíliaichean taobh a-staigh Ethiopia agus Springfield, Illinois. Thar an t-slighe, freagairidh tu na ceistean mu dheidhinn stratachadh sòisealta agus a' bhuaidh a th' aige air cothroman anns a' chòrr den t-saoghal.