Social Stratification

The Davis-Moore thesis states that social stratification has good consequences for society. They argue societies may have different occupations or tasks that these jobs differ in their importance to society. They believed this encourages people to work harder and be more efficient in their jobs, ultimately benefiting society.

(North Head). The passengers and crew were ill fated and spurned by Typhus and Scarlet fever. They were all quarantined and apparently 56 of 444 people died on their journey to Sydney. At this point there were no buildings on the site and nothing to tell the passengers where they could and could not go. All that was there was bush, a beach some cleared land and a fresh water spring.

Social stratification is defined as a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. For example, There are fundamental principles of stratification:

Looking at the article “Class Matters” by Peter Sacks, Social classes are divisions in society, which are based on social and economic status. People from a similar social class have a distinct level of power and wealth within a given community or country. The most common social groupings, based on status, are the upper, the middle, and the lower social classes. The precise considerations of determining these hierarchical social categories vary from time to time. Many researchers have come up with different perspectives as far as social stratification is concerned. According to Karl Marx, social stratification is a result of one's position in the hierarchy of factors of production. Therefore, social stratification is a manifestation of financial muscle within society further creating the divide within social groupings as seen through educational divides and inequalities that lie in many aspects of life.

The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines inequality as ‘the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and power among and between individuals, households and groups’(1). It goes on to say that ‘the subfield of social stratification has as its main task the description and analysis of inequalities, or the makeup of the stratification system of any given society’.(1) From this one definition, we can already begin to see the strong links that lie between inequalities and social stratification. As we delve deeper into the topics, we can begin to see both the inevitability and the functionality of stratification

In May, 1911 the ship entered its first body of water in a river located in Belfast. It being one of the

Economic stratification is the different rankings in social class are separated in different economic ways. These differences can vary from clothing, cars, perfumes, cigarette brands, etc. There are many ways you can tell what a person stratification is just by the way they look or the things they have. Usually these ranking go from lower class to middle class then the upper class. Each of these classes have very different ways of living and what they do to maintain a certain status.

Social Stratification is a term used by sociologists to describe inequalities that exist between society and us as individuals and can also be described as a hierarchy with the less privileged people at the bottom and the more favoured people at the top. (Giddens, 2006)

Individuals within a society are grouped into certain rankings that is based on their wealth, income, race and education known as the social stratification. Sociologist use this to determine the social standings of individuals within a society. Social stratification can also appear in much smaller groups. These groups such as the work place, schools, and businesses can “take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks”. (Cole, 2017) The Caste system is also another form of stratification that one does not get a choice in. They are born into it and regardless of their talents will hold positions that are given to them their whole life. Social mobility is the ability for individuals to move about their social standings.

This paper will be discussing “Some Principles of Stratification” by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore, “Classes in Capitalism and Pre- Capitalism” by Karl Marx, and “Who Rules America?” by G. William Domhoff. Davis and Moore examine stratification, social class, and positional rank and their effects on individuals and society. Marx examines inequality in society, the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed or the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, and methods of production and their effects on society. Domhoff examines the roles of corporate communities and the upper class and how they impact America.

Social stratification can be simply defined by stating that it is a system in which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy (Macionis, page 224). The concept of social stratification is based on four central principles, which are social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences, it carries over from one generation to the next, while it is universal, it is also variable, and social stratification involves not only inequality but beliefs as well (Macionis, pages 224-225). The first principle, that social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences, basically says that children born into wealthy families are more likely to be of good health, do well in school, succeed in a career, and live a long life (Macionis, pages 224-225). An example of this first principle can be seen in the what happened to the Titanic. The first-class passengers survived not because they were better swimmers than the second- and third-class passengers, but because of their privileged position (Macionis, page 224-225). The second principle states that the concept of social stratification is one that carries over from one generation to the next (Macionis, page 225). This concept is essentially stating that the social standing of a person is partially determined by their parents. Most people’s social standing remains constant throughout their lives (Macionis, page 225). While social stratification is

America is known as the land of the free and home of the brave. When thinking of this you think about all the opportunities presented to people and all the freedom. An idea of America is that we’re a meritocracy, which means anyone can be able to to become anything they want as long as they work hard playing by the rules. Along with that many people believe that diversity will bring together the country and unite us all but that’s not the case. America is not a meritocracy.

The ship set sail on April 10, 1912 from Southampton, England and on its way to New York. The total passengers were around 2,200 people, including a crew of around 900. The passengers were divided into certain classes depending on what kind of ticket they paid for, with first class being the most

Individuals in today’s society are separated by many different factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, and economic status. Another form of separation is that of stratification. There are four major systems of stratification slavery, caste, estate, and class. “Social stratification means the differentiation of a given population into hierarchically superposed classes.”(Sorokin, 1964, p. 11) Stratification can either be in the form of an open or closed system. The closed system is one that allows minimal to no movement within the system. The open system is just the opposite it allows for varying degrees of movement throughout the system. There are many ways to break down the social stratification of

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.