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Social Stratification
Almost all societies have a way of separating
groups by certain characteristics.
This separation could be based on ancestry,
race, age, physical appearance, gender,
educational attainment and occupation.
 Social Stratification
– Division of society into categories, ranks
or classes
2 Stratification Systems

Caste System
1. A person’s status is assigned at birth
2. Scarce resources and social rewards are
distributed on the basis of ascribed status
3. This is determined by the status of the parents
4. Problems with the caste system: if one person
marries and has children with a person from
another caste, whose system is that child
assigned?
 Exogamy
– Marriage outside one’s own social
category
– Is forbidden in the caste system
 Endogamy
– Marriage within one’s own social category
Example – Five castes in India
 Brahmans
– Priests, scholars
 Kshatriyas
– Rulers, nobles, soldiers, landowners
 Vaisyas
– Merchants, bankers, business people
 Sudras
– Laborers, artisans
 Harijans
– Outcastes, limited to the most undesirable tasks
– Once known as the Untouchables
 As of 2003,
– More than 160 million people in India are
considered "Untouchable”
– "Dalits are not allowed to drink from the same
wells, attend the same temples, wear shoes in
the presence of an upper caste, or drink from
the same cups in tea stalls," said Smita Narula,
a senior researcher with Human Rights Watch,
and author of Broken People: Caste Violence
Against India's "Untouchables."
2 Stratification Systems
 Class System
1. Scarce resources and social rewards are
distributed on the basis of achieved
status
2. Individuals have some control over their
place in stratification system
3. Karl Marx defined social class in terms of
who owns the means of production, which
are the materials and methods used to
produce good and services
 Divided into 2 basic groups:
– Bourgeoisie: the owners of the means of
production
– Proletariat: the workers who sell their
labor in exchange for wages
4. Max Weber believed that class consists of
three factors: property, prestige and power
Weber’s View
 Max Weber’s view is adopted by most
sociologists today
 Social Class
– A grouping of people with similar levels of
wealth (property), power and prestige
A. Wealth (property)

Made up of assets
 The value of everything the person owns

And made up of income
 Money earned through salaries, investment
returns, and other capital gains

In the US, wealth is concentrated
overwhelmingly in the hands of a small
minority of the population
B. Power


Is the ability to control the behaviors of others,
with or without their consent
Can be based on force, the possession of a
special skill or type of knowledge, particular
social status, personal characteristics or
custom and tradition
C. Prestige




Is the respect, honor, recognition or courtesy
an individual receives from other members of
society
Can be based on any characteristics a society
or group considers important
Examples – income, occupation, education,
family background, area of residence,
possessions and club memberships are the
most common factors that determine prestige
Occupation tends to be the most important
determinant of prestige
Copyright © 2012 U.S.News &
World Report, L.P. All rights
reserved.
 Socioeconomic Status (SES)
– A rating that combines social factors such as
educational level, occupational prestige and
place of residence with the economic factor of
income