ipl-logo

Social Stratification Analysis

948 Words4 Pages

Introduction

In the following, I am going to analyse Marx and Weber 's social conflict views of stratification and in what way their views resemble and to what extend they differ from each other. At first, I will provide an explanation of stratification in general. Thereupon, I will define Karl Marx 's ideas and point of view of stratification. Then I am going to analyse Max Weber ' s aspects of stratification. Lastly, I am going to compare their views and state the similarities and differences between them.

Stratification in general

There have always been and there will always be differences among people in a society. Due to these differences, people are ranked in a hierarchy of status by the society. This is called stratification. All …show more content…

Social stratification carries over from generation to generation.
The social position of parents is usually transferred on to their children. When the caste system was still established in India, the parents directly transferred their social position and status to their children, as they were born in the same caste as their parents. The caste system is admittedly an extreme example, because there was no mobility between castes possible. However, in today 's society, there is social mobility possible. Individuals can move upward, downward or horizontal in their social position. By unemployment or job-related failures, people can move downward. By achieving success or fame, people can move upward. Often, people move horizontally, e.g. by a job change, but in the same social level.
3. Social stratification is universal but variable.
Universal means, that there is social stratification in every society. However, the degree of inequality varies from society to society.
4. Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as well.
This can be seen by the fact that inequality is accepted in the society.

Class and Caste …show more content…

The substructure forms the base of society. It includes the means of production and the relations of production which relates to the relation between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The superstructure includes philosophy, culture, religion, etc., the factors that do not belong to the economic system. As the superstructure is based on the means of production, the substructure forms the superstructure. Marx thought that social stratification is created by the unequal access to the productive properties. The capitalist or also called the bourgeoisie, exploit their workers by only paying them as much as necessary to scratch a living. The workers are not aware of their invidious position as they take the ideologies, norms and values which the capitalists promotes, for granted. Marx predicted a revolution of the workers. He believed that the proletariat will become aware of its misery and will unite to overthrow the capitalists and capitalism. Out of this revolution, an egalitarian communist society will develop. For Marx, the egalitarian ideal rest upon the principle “from each according to his ability; to each according to his needs” (Marx & Engels,1972:388, orig. 1848). In an egalitarian communist society, the state is the owner of the means of productions and divide the resources fairly between all citizens. As the means of production are then equally distributed, there would be no

Show More
Related

Compare And Contrast The Plague Strikes In Egypt

286 Words | 2 Pages

A total of 10 plague strikes were attempted against the Egyptian gods and their leader, the pharaoh. Each plague was an attempt to destroy the faith the Egyptians held for each god the people of Egypt worshiped. The first plague started out simple and gradually strengthened until the pharaoh finally gave in and released the Israelites. One plague mentioned is the plague of frog. This plague was an attempt to discredit the frog goddess, Hapi.

Read More

Communism During The Salem Witch Trials

732 Words | 3 Pages

“The bourgeoisie was accompanied by a corresponding political advance in that class” Marx felt that the bourgeoisie had overstep their bounds in the society and ruined morals for the proletariat (Karl Marx and Frederick Engels The Communist Manifesto). Karl Marx begins to blame the bourgeoisie for everything wrong with the society and how they have ruined the nation with all their industries and production. Communism was created by Karl Marx due

Read More

Social Stratification In The United States

821 Words | 4 Pages

Social stratification has been a part of society for thousands of years and has yet to dissipate. It is prevalent on the micro and macro level and has been a part of various societies and cultures ranging from the united states all the way to India. Social Stratification, "is a system of inequality that takes into account the differences among individual members of a society and ranks them by their wealth, power, prestige, and ascribed status, thus creating a social hierarchy" (Larkin, 2015, para. 5). The organizing principles of social stratification are class, gender, and race. The caste, slavery, and class system are all products of social stratification and have been seen throughout history.

Read More

Inequality In The Odyssey

1749 Words | 7 Pages

The earth is made up of a number of layers, where each layer is different from one another and have distinct characteristics and compositions. Therefore sociologists also think that humans are divided into these layers as well. Social stratification can therefore be defined as the division of society into different classes. In this stratification there are unequal privileges to be seen. The strata is ranked with people in higher classes having more privilege then people in the lower positions.

Read More

Essay On Health And Social Class

1733 Words | 7 Pages

How does social class affect people’s lives? Social class groups individual persons into class hierarchy which is determined by person’s income, education, wealth, social connection, and job profession. Social class classifies people into spectrum of class such as lower class, lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class, and upper class. Depending on which class an individual falls in affects earnings, education, respect, success, status, family life, health, job occupation, and social connection. An individual that lies in higher part of class spectrum gets more opportunities and has better lives than an individual that lies in lower part of class spectrum that does not get opportunities and struggles in lives.

Read More

How Does Social Class Affect The American Dream

1243 Words | 5 Pages

Within social mobility, many people fail to have a sense of the realization of the American Dream because of the fewer advantages and more problems minorities have to struggle through. Therefore, our social class affects our ability to realize the American Dream because we face challenges to make ends meet, intersectionality and education because of high status.

Read More

Race And Social Class Essay

629 Words | 3 Pages

Social class determines people's access to resources and opportunities, such as healthcare, education, and job opportunities. Social class also

Read More

The Causes Of Karl Marx And The French Revolution

893 Words | 4 Pages

Karl Heinrich Marx was born in 1819 before the French revolution where he met Friedrich Engels whom became his close friend and collaborator who also introduced socialist and communist ideas to him. It is crucial to recognize that Karl Marx lived and experienced the aftermath of the French revolution where the feudal system of industry fell and industrialization replaces the latter, he identified two significant simplified classes of people, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He further elaborated on the problems that these 2 opposing social classes would bring, exploitation, alienation and the fetishism of commodity. Further more, he went on to predict that there would be a revolution lead by the proletariats to overthrow the bourgeoisies. According to Karl Marx, Capitalism is a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production.

Read More

Impact Of Socio-Economic Class

1251 Words | 6 Pages

Socioeconomic class is a group that consists of the same background on income, occupation, and educational level in the society which causes inequalities to different social classes. The socio-economic class still affects many people lives until now. In a world that is constantly changing, socio-economic class still has a huge impact and effects on each life that people can’t escape and destroy.

Read More

Essay On Social Classes In America

608 Words | 3 Pages

America is the land of opportunity with many different career choices and educational experiences for anyone despite their different social classes. Although defined by social classes, I believe people can choose to progress from the social class they are born into. In order to fulfill the “American Dream,” someone must work hard, have courage, and determination, then they can prosper and achieve success. Stated simply, Ben Carson said, “Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, you can live your dreams.” No matter what social class a person comes from, they can overcome any obstacle in their lives as long as they set their mind to

Read More

Odysseus As A Modern Hero In Homer's Odyssey

527 Words | 3 Pages

Odyssey essay The Odyssey is an epic poem written by Homer. In the Odyssey, Odysseus leaves Ithaca and his family to go fight in the Trojan War. After ten years of fighting Odysseus goes on a long journey to try to get home. Odysseus was a very important person.

Read More

Structural Functionalism Living Wage

1039 Words | 5 Pages

Argued Davis and Moore thesis states that social stratification is universal because of its functional consequences. in caste system, people are rewarded for performing the duties of their position of birth, in class systems, unequal rewards attract the ablest people to

Read More

What Is Karl Marx Theory Of Exploitation

1074 Words | 5 Pages

According to Edwards et al. (2006) Marx thought that within capitalism there would be an increased divide between the bourgeoisie class and the proletariat class in the future. The proletariats are lower of the two classes, the people who have to work for wages in order to survive. The bourgeoisie are the people in society who controlled and owned the means of production in a capitalist system.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Marxism And Feminism

1143 Words | 5 Pages

Bourgeoisie, which gains the power, defines superstructure “including all social and legal institution, all political and educational systems, all religions and all art” (Bressler, 162), and articulate the ideology which is based on profits of bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie ideology leads to alienation of individuals, especially proletariats. This bourgeoisie ideology creates the clash between the two classes. Marx supported the working class and their victory over dominant class. Marxism believes in providing equal opportunity to the working class as that are available to the

Read More

Examples Of Social Mobility In The Caribbean

1705 Words | 7 Pages

Yes, but the degree to which this is probable varies significantly from society to society. Social mobility refers to the upward or downward movement between higher or low social classes. (Barber, 1993) In other words, it’s a person’s movement over time from one class to another.

Read More

More about Social Stratification Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document