We review what these perspectives say generally about social stratification (rankings of people based on wealth and other resources a society values) before turning to explanations focusing specifically on poverty. This explanation was developed more than sixty years ago by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (Davis & Moore, 1945) in the form of several logical assumptions that imply stratification is both necessary and inevitable. Theories of stratification and differentiation seek to understand why these phenomena exist in society and whether they are inevitable. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Have all your study materials in one place. Weber sees the power to influence other people, even if they don't want to be influenced, as the third key dimension of social stratification. A professional athlete making millions of dollars a year earns many times the income of the president of the United States, but who is more important to the nation? According to conflict theory, stratification results from lack of opportunity and discrimination against the poor and people of color. There are many different types of stratification systems, including slave systems and class systems, the latter of which is much more common in contemporary Western societies like Britain. Social segregation represents a system of thoughts merged in social sciences and political theory based on societal categorization (Kincaid, 2015). Stratification, in this sense, is necessary. Marx, K., & Engels, F. (1947). Finally, the functionalist explanation might make sense up to a point, but it does not justify the extremes of wealth and poverty found in the United States and other nations. American Sociological Review, 24, 772782. Conflict theorists argue that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful to society, and that it results in competition between the rich and the poor as individuals act for their own economic advantage. For Your Review Public Domain Images CC0 public domain. One sociological perspective distinguishes the classes, in part, according to their relative power and control over their lives. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. One of the most insightful analyses of stratification that fits into a symbolic interactionist framework was Thorstein Veblins (1899/1953) famous discussion of conspicuous consumption, or the acquisition and display by the wealthy of lavish products that show off their wealth. al., 2006). A General Social Survey question asks whether it is the governments responsibility to reduce income differences between the rich and poor. As Figure 8.2 Annual Family Income and Belief That Government Should Reduce Income Differences Between the Rich and Poor shows, low-income people are much more likely than high-income people to think the government has this responsibility. First, the critique asserts that it is difficult to determine the functional importance of any job, as a system of interdependence makes every position necessary to the functioning of society. Which theory of social stratification argues that class is no longer relevant to sociological analysis? While it's clear that there are numerous differences within and between different social groups, what differentiation highlights is that the meaning of those differences is important to understand. Stratification and differentiation focus on the ranking of individuals in society based on aspects such as race, gender, class, or ethnicity. According to this theory, stratification benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poorthose in high-status positions continually build on their wealth, only further entrenching the gap between high-status and low-status people. 2. Coal miners make much less money than physicians, and professors, for better or worse, earn much less on the average than lawyers. In looking to explain poverty, sociologists have often tried to balance the relative importance of social structures (how society is organised) and the role of individual agency - people's independent . 9: Stratification, Inequality, and Social Class in the U.S. { "9.6A:_Poverty" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6B:_Measuring_Poverty" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6C:_Explaining_Poverty-_The_Sociological_Debate" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6D:_Social_Exclusion" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6E:_The_Dynamics_of_Poverty" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6F:_The_Feminization_of_Poverty" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.6G:_Government_Assistance_Programs" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()" }, { "9.01:_Social_Class" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.02:_Social_Class_in_the_U.S." Those who attribute poverty to problems in the larger society are much more likely than those who attribute it to deficiencies among the poor to believe that the government should do more to help the poor (Bradley & Cole, 2002). Worlds apart: Why poverty persists in rural America. Functionalist theory of social stratification, igh incomes and job satisfaction are necessary motivations that incentivise people to work hard and take up important functions. Two classic sociological approaches to poverty and social stratification are structural-functionalism and conflict theory. The three main branches are: Walby (1989) identifies six key structures as the root of a gender stratification system characterised by inequality (i.e. In the petit bourgeoisie, managers and intellectual professionals are positioned at the higher end, while self-employed workers are positioned at the lower end. Functionalism fails to explain inequalities brought about by discrimination based on identity markers such asgender, ethnicity or age. Unlike the functionalist and conflict views, it does not try to explain why we have stratification in the first place. For example, many wealthy families pay low wages to nannies to care for their children, gardeners to tend to their yards, and maids to clean their homes. The Weberian theory of stratification is based on two key ideas: the distribution of social resources, and the social inequality that's caused by the unequal distribution of those resources. Chapter 25: Counseling Individuals Living in Poverty Test Questions Question 1 Question Type: Multiple Choice Question: According to social-class stratification theory, poverty is understood a. to be at the bottom-most rung in a hierarchical system of sociocultural power relations that goes beyond differences of income b. to be stratified and Some classic journalistic accounts by authors not trained in the social sciences also present eloquent descriptions of poor peoples lives (Bagdikian, 1964; Harrington, 1962). Conflict theory assumes that class position influences our perceptions of social and political life, even if not to the degree envisioned by Marx. The institution of education depends on the family for successful primary socialisation before their children enter school. While you have spent nineteen additional years beyond age 16 getting this education and training and taking out tens of thousands of dollars in student loans, you could have spent those years shining shoes and making $150,000 a year, or $2.85 million overall. A common example looks at the relationship between a teacher and a student. Because poverty serves all these functions and more, according to this argument, the middle and upper classes have a vested interested in neglecting poverty to help ensure its continued existence. Earn points, unlock badges and level up while studying. This explanation was developed more than 60 years ago by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore (Davis & Moore, 1945) in the form of several logical assumptions that imply stratification is both necessary and inevitable. In slave societies, the dominant ideology, and one that at least some slaves accepted, was that slaves are inferior to their masters and deserve no better fate in life. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/105550/among-americans-smoking-decreases-income-increases.aspx. College Student Journal, 43, 136144. (This example is very hypothetical, but please keep reading.) Stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence, knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. Stratification by class tends to be the primary system of classification nowadays, with other forms of stratification taking secondary positions. Veblen, T. (1953). Create and find flashcards in record time. The functionalist view sounds very logical, but a few years after Davis and Moore published their theory, other sociologists pointed out some serious problems in their argument (Tumin, 1953; Wrong, 1959). In explaining stratification in the United States, which view, functionalist or conflict, makes more sense to you? The postmodern theory of social stratification argues that class is no longer relevant to sociology analysis. : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.04:_Social_Mobility" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.05:_The_Impacts_of_Social_Class" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()", "9.06:_Poverty" : "property get [Map MindTouch.Deki.Logic.ExtensionProcessorQueryProvider+<>c__DisplayClass228_0.b__1]()" }, 9.6C: Explaining Poverty- The Sociological Debate, [ "article:topic", "showtoc:no", "license:ccbysa", "columns:two" ], https://socialsci.libretexts.org/@app/auth/3/login?returnto=https%3A%2F%2Fsocialsci.libretexts.org%2FBookshelves%2FSociology%2FIntroduction_to_Sociology%2FSociology_(Boundless)%2F09%253A_Stratification_Inequality_and_Social_Class_in_the_U.S.%2F9.06%253A_Poverty%2F9.6C%253A_Explaining_Poverty-_The_Sociological_Debate, \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}}}\) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\), Discuss the critiques of structural-functionalist approaches to social stratification. Blow, C. M. (2011, June 25). Stratification results from lack of opportunity and from discrimination and prejudice against the poor, women, and people of color. Identify your study strength and weaknesses. Here, the differences in the role of each person are rooted in the power relations and inequalities that are normative of teacher-student relationships, where a teacher can direct a student's behaviour but not vice versa. They are ranked according to their importance in the eyes of men in a particular social system. These scholars concede a culture of poverty does exist, but they also say it exists because it helps the poor cope daily with the structural effects of being poor. It strikes at the soul (Blow, 2011). Salon.com. As per the Weberian theory, what are the three requirements for inequalities to translate into a system of stratification? Accessibility StatementFor more information contact us atinfo@libretexts.org. Marxism is critical of social hierarchies because they privilege certain groups and subordinate others. What is one strength of the postmodernist theory of stratification? We are simply born into this world, with no say in the matter! Social stratificationtheories seek to explain how society and its various systems (e.g., econ-omy and government) push some Americans into poverty and notothers. The other America: Poverty in the United States. The term class first came into wide use in the early 19th century, replacing such . As later chapters in this book discuss, because of their race, ethnicity, gender, and class standing at birth, some people have less opportunity than others to acquire the skills and training they need to fill the types of jobs addressed by the functionalist approach. Causal attributions and the significance of self-efficacy in predicting solutions to poverty. Explain your answer. Social categorization is a fundamental part of social identity theory, which is a theory that aims at explaining how people assign others to various social identity categories based on visible . Roberts has to buy a new wardrobe and learn how to dine and behave in these social settings, and much of the films humor and poignancy come from her awkwardness in learning the lifestyle of the rich. According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 629(May), 627. Women play the expressive role of the caregiver. Instead, they continued to follow traditional beliefs and practices that stymied industrial development and modernization. What is the theory of Karl Marx about social stratification? They argue that all functions and institutions are characterised by. Why? According to social-class stratification theory, poverty is understood to be at the bottom-most rung in a hierarchical system of sociocultural power relations that goes beyond differences of income Your client, a 5-year-old White male, does not have access to a reputable public school in his neighborhood. According to this theory, the poor generally have beliefs and values that differ from those of the nonpoor and that doom them to continued poverty. What is the name for a society where men are dominant? Someones" place within a system of social stratification is called their socioeconomic status. Small, M. L., Harding, D. J., & Lamont, M. (2010). If this is true, another implication is that if they do not move up the ladder, they lack the necessary merit. She does not believe she is good at math because through messages from her family, teachers and media, she is not supposed to excel at math because she is a girl. Awareness of the sexual orientation of gay males and lesbian females tends to occur in. Many detailed, insightful sociological books on the lives of the urban and rural poor reflect the symbolic interactionist perspective (Anderson, 1999; C. M. Duncan, 2000; Liebow, 1993; Rank, 1994). If this is true, we must have stratification. Contexts, 10(Spring), 1621. Outline the assumptions of the conflict theory explanation of stratification. Weber believed stratification to be multi-dimensional, with aspects related to class, status, and power impacting people's, Feminists believe that society is stratified by gender, wherein men are dominant and women are subjected to inferior. In explaining poverty in the United States, which view, individualist or structural, makes more sense to you? Gans, H. J. Goszkowski, R. (2008). What has been found regarding African American adolescents/young adults (ages 16-24)? Some principles of stratification: A critical analysis. Poverty is discussed later in this chapter, but for now it is sufficient to say that the poor often lead lives of quiet desperation and must find many ways of coping with the fact of being poor. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. What are the two key ideas on which the Weberian theory of stratification is based? (Be careful how you answer this one!). Living on the edge: The realities of welfare in America. (Original work published 1899). Functionalists might criticise the feminist theory by arguing that the differential roles of men and women are ascribed based on necessity rather than inequality. The functionalist view does not answer these questions adequately. Debunking the big lie right-wingers use to justify black poverty and unemployment. For this reason, stratification is necessary and inevitable. Your client is in the process of coming out as gay. AlterNet. According to Max Weber, the higher your socioeconomic status, the better your life chances. According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. When applied to American society, their assumptions would be as follows: To illustrate their assumptions, say we have a society where shining shoes and doing brain surgery both give us incomes of $150,000 per year. The former take advantage of their position at the top of society to stay at the top, even if it means oppressing those at the bottom. Two competing explanations developed, with the basic debate turning on whether poverty arises from problems either within the poor themselves or in the society in which they live (Rank, 2011). Although one message of many of these cultural works is that money does not always bring happiness, it remains true, as Fitzgerald once wrote, Let me tell you about the very rich. On the other hand, some ethnographic research supports the individualistic explanation by showing that the poor do have certain values and follow certain practices that augment their plight (Small, et. If you decide to shine shoes, you can begin making this money at age 16, but if you decide to become a brain surgeon, you will not start making this same amount until about age 35, as you must first go to college and medical school and then acquire several more years of medical training. Stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence, knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. She examined gender stratification alongside racial inequality, or stratification by ethnicity. However, neo-Marxists like Wright & Perrone (1974) say that there's a third class, the petit bourgeoisie (middle class). Third, the functionalist view also implies that people move up the economic ladder based on their abilities, skills, knowledge, and, more generally, their merit. This is because identity is now much more individualised and less define-able in group terms. ; Conflict theorists, on the other hand, view inequality as resulting from . Marxists understand social class in empirical terms related to wealth, income and occupation. Weberian life chances can be seen as an expansion on some of Karl Marx's ideas. Lewis, O. In the midst of plenty: The poor in America. When working with older adults, counselors should: Twelve-year-old Jennifer begins to experience intense heart palpitations prior to a math test. Weber saw class as more of a continuum related to economic positions, which results in different life chances. Feminists argue that society is characterised by a system of patriarchy. Differentiation is, simply put, the acknowledgment that different social roles have different worth and status within a particular society. The LibreTexts libraries arePowered by NICE CXone Expertand are supported by the Department of Education Open Textbook Pilot Project, the UC Davis Office of the Provost, the UC Davis Library, the California State University Affordable Learning Solutions Program, and Merlot. True or false? The popularity of this belief leads many Americans to blame poor people for their poverty. This hierarchical stratification is based on concepts like social roles, interests, experiences, and careers. By looking at social stratification theories, we can see how these aspects may impact us! Caste societies, as we noted earlier, have similar beliefs that justify the existence and impact of the caste system. Kerbo, H. R. (2012). Also sometimes known as 'party', this dimension relates to political influence and connections. The functional theory of stratification: Some neglected considerations. According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world. Test your knowledge with gamified quizzes. Ultimately, this leads to the differentiation of gender roles, where women take up more nurturing responsibilities (like teaching) and men take up more instrumental responsibilities (this translates into them not being as involved with child-rearing as mothers). Drawing on theories of racialized organizations and cultural reproduction, I compare how working-class Hispanic students attending a moderately selective institution and their co-ethnic counterparts attending a less selective, regional university contend with class cultural hierarchies that impact their growth and inclusion. Boston, MA: Little, Brown. (1972). As this example suggests, many people might not choose to become brain surgeons unless considerable financial and other rewards awaited them. Stratification is necessary to induce people with special intelligence, knowledge, and skills to enter the most important occupations. of the users don't pass the Social Stratification Theories quiz! Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. In your sessions, you find that he has an embedded belief that same-sex attraction is abnormal/wrong and that it is better to be heterosexual. Block, F., Korteweg, A. C., & Woodward, K. (2006). social stratification: The hierarchical arrangement of social classes, or castes, within a society. Which job would you choose? For inequalities to translate into a system of stratification, there need to be: Systematic inequalities operating between those groups, and. Duncan, C. M. (2000). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Class may still have some relevance in sociological analysis, but only to the extent that it forms another part of a person's identity, like age or gender. One of the most important beliefs in the United States is the American Dream, epitomized by the story of Abraham Lincoln. Different social groups have different life chances, depending on their positions in society. Sociologists take two opposing approaches to explaining economic stratification: structural-functionalism and conflict theory. What type of feminist was Firestone (1970)? This keeps society running smoothly by providing structure. What are social stratification and differentiation? American Journal of Sociology, 78, 275289. What is the difference between stratification and differentiation? In these books, the consequences of poverty discussed later in this chapter acquire a human face, and readers learn in great detail what it is like to live in poverty on a daily basis. Differentiation is the process of distinguishing between different identities and their associated roles. Marxists see stratification as privileging the bourgeoisie and oppressing the proletariat. To the extent that people accept such ideological beliefs, they are less likely to criticize the existing system of stratification. American Sociological Review, 18, 387393. The link between higher education and employment is central to the understanding of social stratification and social mobility. It proposes the existence of a hierarchy where some groups are privileged, and others are oppressed. Black girls were more frequently subjected to negative labels than White girls or Black boys. Dont people take on a CEO job or other high-paying job at least partly because of the challenge, working conditions, and other positive aspects they offer? The general understanding of differentiation is that different statuses come with different levels of, More about Social Stratification Theories, Social Construction of Health and Illness, Representation of Social Class In The Media, Distribution of Wealth, Poverty, and Income in the UK, Theoretical Approaches to Welfare Providers. Stratification is a process whereby different groups are ranked differently in a given society. involves ranking different social groups. Everything you need for your studies in one place. Postmodernists say that processes of differentiation are linked to identity formation. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2012/03/15/the_truth_about_the_poor/. It has been reported that LGBT youth are ______ ______than their heterosexual counterparts to attempt suicide. Generally, postmodernists say that systems of social stratification are much more fluid than modernist sociologists realise. Marxism is criticised for using economic terms to explain other, independent factors of inequality. Table 8.1 Theory Snapshot summarizes these three approaches. The positive functions of poverty. Do CEOs of corporations really need to make millions of dollars per year to get enough qualified people to become CEOs? Awesome A-Level Sociological Differentiation & Stratification Essays & Coursework Examples that have been Marked by Teachers and Peers allowing for the best possible results. Over 90% of African Americans in this age group had completed high school or were still enrolled in school. Elementary school teachers do a very important job in our society, but their salaries are much lower than those of sports agents, advertising executives, and many other people whose jobs are far less essential. Because he was born in a log cabin and later became president, Abraham Lincolns life epitomizes the American Dream, the belief that people born into poverty can become successful through hard work. SOC 101 Social Class and Stratification Notes Social stratification - a society's categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education and power-Society's layers made of people-Society's resources distributed unevenly throughout the layers-People w/ more resources are the top layer Most people believe that hard work . Differentiationinvolves ranking different social groups. Sociological thinking focuses on the structure and organisation of society and how this relates to social problems and individual lives. The distribution of social resources, and. tax break: A deduction in tax that is given in order to encourage a certain economic activity or a social objective. Finally, the functionalist explanation might make sense up to a point, but it does not justify the extremes of wealth and poverty found in the United States and other nations. By implication, if people remain poor, they are not trying hard enough or have other personal deficiencies keeping them in poverty. According to this theory, stratification benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poorthose in high-status positions continually build on their wealth, only further entrenching the gap between high-status and low-status people. These theories are often multi-level, examining how thesestruc-tural effects interact with communities and the poor to compound theproblems associated with poverty. positions, (4) characteristics of class systems, (5) social policies to address poverty, and (6) patterns of stability and change. According to Marxists, people are differently stratified based on their relationship to the means of production - either as an owner, or a labourer. The conflict-theory approach offers a critique of structural-functionalism. In general, the functionalist perspective and conflict perspective both try to explain why social stratification exists and endures, while the symbolic interactionist perspective discusses the differences that stratification produces for everyday interaction. For example, in the film Pretty Woman, Richard Gere plays a rich businessman who hires a prostitute, played by Julia Roberts, to accompany him to swank parties and other affairs. , such that men typically have more freedom, resources, opportunities and power than women. While differentiation considers the difference in status between social groups, stratification looks at these same differences in relative terms, positioning them into a hierarchical system where some groups are higher or lower than others. Source: Data from General Social Survey, 2006. Suppose you could wave a magic wand and invent a society where everyone had about the same income no matter which job he or she performed. The theorys answer is that all parts of society, even poverty, contribute in some way or another to the larger systems stability. According to structural-functionalists, stratification and inequality are actually constructive phenomena that benefit society specifically, that the privileges attached to high- status incentive motivated, qualified people to work to achieve those positions. Yet they purchase these products to show off their wealth and to feel better about themselves. People are stratified relative to their relationship to the means of production.
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