preview

Social Stratification And Its Effects On Society

Better Essays

Even without being consciously aware of it, the use of some sort of scale when interacting with others is quintessential. This is because it represents a basic need of defining the self through the means of the others; knowing one’s place in society, as well as the positions of fellow individuals, ensures an orderly functioning of said system. For the sake of this essay, the definition of social stratification as a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power (Pearce, 2015), will be used. While there are other influencing factors, income is one of the most important aspects when determining ones’ social status. It is often accompanied by family background, but while well-placed connections vary in importance, wealth is a necessary condition in a civilization governed by materialism. As such, ones’ family riches determine the levels of education their off springs may be entitled to, as well as any other assets their children may benefit from. Additionally, factors such as clothing and overall outer appearance are used by other people when trying to place one in a social category, and it certainly cannot harm to have them from a young age. Monetary prosperity and stability are essential factors when deciding one’s place in the social structure since they dictate the amount of comfort and security that individual can acquire and subsequently the opinion that others will have of

Get Access