Social Stratification: Characteristics and functions; forms of social stratification: estate system, caste system, class system.

Social Stratification: Characteristics and functions; forms of social stratification: estate system, caste system, class system.

Social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of individuals or groups in a society based on various factors like wealth, power, and prestige, serving to maintain order and stability; forms include estate systems where rights are based on land ownership, caste systems determined by birth and occupation, and class systems structured by economic factors, reflecting differing levels of social privilege and access to resources.

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Meaning and Characteristics

  • Social stratification refers to structured inequality and hierarchical ranking of individuals or groups in society based on wealth, income, status, power etc.

  • It involves differential access to scarce resources, privileges, and valued rewards.

  • Key characteristics include hierarchy, inequality, ascribed status vs achieved status, power, prestige, social mobility.

Functions

  • Motivation Function: The promise of gaining more privileges motivates people to accept key goals.

  • Facilitation Function: Qualified persons occupy the most important societal positions.

  • Stability Function: Predictable inequality ensures stability in social structure.

  • Political Function: Maintains dominance of certain ruling groups over others.

  • Symbolic Function: Denotes what people can rightfully expect due to status.

Forms of Stratification

  1. Estate System

    • Based on ownership or non-ownership of properties.

    • Estate groups include nobility, clergy, serfs/slaves.

    • Nobility exercises control and power while slaves have little agency.

    • Minimal social mobility between estates.

  2. Caste System

    • Caste determined at birth based on ideas of purity, pollution.

    • Traditional occupation based on caste e.g. priest, warriors, menials.

    • Endogamy within caste boundaries.

    • Social ostracism and exclusion of dalits/outcasts/untouchables.

  3. Class System

    • Based on economic differences - income, wealth.

    • Allows for social mobility between classes.

    • Major classes - upper class, middle class, working class, poor.

    • Class conflicts over distribution of resources.

The structured inequality creates a hierarchy of groups leading to differential life chances and experiences. The form it takes has consequences for social mobility, access to resources, and perpetuation of status differences.

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