Stratification in the United States and Worldwide Stratification is the structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society. In this chapter, we examine three general systems of stratification, social inequality as reflected in social class and social mobility, stratification within the world economic system, and the welfare system in North America and Europe. Some degree of social inequality characterizes all cultures. Systems of stratification include slavery, castes, and social class. Karl Marx saw that differences in access to the means of production created social, economic, and political inequality and distinct classes of owners and laborers. Max Weber identified three analytically distinct components of stratification: class, status group, and power. Functionalists argue that stratification is necessary to motivate people to fill societys important positions; conflict theorists see stratification as a major source of societal tension and conflict. One measure of social class is occupational prestige. A consequence of social class in the United States is that both wealth and income are distributed unevenly. The category of the poor defies any simple definition, and counters common stereotypes about poor people. The long-term poor, who lack training and skills, form an underclass. Functionalists find that the poor satisfy positive functions for many of the nonpoor in the United States. Ones life chances--opportunities for obtaining material goods, positive living conditions, and favorable life experiences--are related to ones social class. Occupying a high social position improves a persons life chances. Social mobility is more likely to be found in an open system that emphasizes achieved status than in a closed system that focuses on ascribed characteristics. Race, gender, and family background are important factors in social mobility. Former colonized nations are kept in subservient position, subject to foreign domination, through the process of neocolonialism. Drawing on the conflict perspective, the world systems analysis of sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein views the global economic system as divided between nations that control wealth (core nations) and those from which capital is taken (periphery nations). According to dependency theory, even as developing countries make economic advances, they remain weak and subservient to core nations and corporations within an increasingly intertwined global economy. Multinational corporations bring jobs and industry to developing nations, but they also tend to exploit the workers there in order to maximize profits. According to modernization theory, development in peripheral countries will be assisted by the innovations transferred from the industrialized world. Many governments are struggling with how much tax revenue to spend on welfare programs. The trend in the United States is to put welfare recipients to work.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 05:12:43 +0000
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