SEC-II Course Title:- An Introduction to the
Political Sociology
Concept of Social
Stratification
In all societies people differ
from each other on the basis of their age, sex and personal characteristics.
Human society is not homogeneous but heterogeneous. Apart from the natural
differences, human beings are also differentiated according to socially
approved criteria.
So
socially differentiated men are treated as socially unequal from the point of
view of enjoyment of social rewards like status, power, income etc. That may be
called social inequality. The term social inequality simply refers to the
existence of socially created inequalities.
Meanings:
Social
stratification is a particular form of social inequality. All societies arrange
their members in terms of superiority, inferiority and equality. Stratification
is a process of interaction or differentiation whereby some people come to rank
higher than others.
In
one word, when individuals and groups are ranked, according to some commonly
accepted basis of valuation in a hierarchy of status levels based upon the
inequality of social positions, social stratification occurs. Social
stratification means division of society into different strata or layers. It
involves a hierarchy of social groups. Members of a particular layer have a
common identity. They have a similar life style.
The
Indian Caste system provides an example of stratification system. The society
in which divisions of social classes exist is known as a stratified society.
Modern stratification fundamentally differs from stratification of primitive
societies. Social stratification involves two phenomena (i) differentiation of
individuals or groups on the basis of possession of certain characteristics whereby
some individuals or groups come to rank higher than others, (ii) the ranking of
individuals according to some basis of evaluation.
Sociologists
are concerned not merely with the facts of social differences but also with
their social evaluation.
Definitions:
1. Ogburn and Nimkoff:
‘The process by
which individuals and groups are ranked in more or less enduring hierarchy of
status is known as stratification”
2.
Lundberg:
“A stratified
society is one marked by inequality, by differences among people that are
evaluated by them as being “lower” and “higher”.
3. Gisbert:
“Social
stratification is the division of society into permanent groups of categories
linked with each other by the relationship of superiority and subordinations”.
5.
Raymond W. Murray:
Social
stratification is horizontal division of society into “higher” and “lower”
social units.”
Origin
of Stratification:
Regarding
the origin of stratification many views have been given.
(i) According to
Davis, social stratification has come into being due to the functional
necessity of the social system.
(ii) Professor
Sorokin attributed social stratification mainly to inherited difference in
environmental conditions.
(iii) According
to Karl Mrax, social factors are responsible for the emergence of different
social strata, i.e. social stratification.
(iv) Gumplowioz
and other contended that the origin of social stratification is to be found in
the conquest of one group by another.
(v) According to
Spengler, social stratification is founded upon scarcity which is created
whenever society differentiates positive in terms of functions and powers.
(vi) Racial
differences accompanied by dissimilarity also leads to stratification.
Types of Social Stratification:
Social
stratification is based upon a variety of principles. So we find different type
of stratification.
The major types
of stratification are
(i) Caste
(ii) Class
(iii) Estate
(iv)
Slavery
(i) Caste is a
hereditary endogamous social group in which a person’s rank and its
accompanying rights and obligations are ascribed on the basis of his birth into
a particular group. For example-Brahmins, Kshyatryas, Vaishyas and Sudra Caste.
(ii)
Class-Stratification on the basis of class is dominant in modern society. In
this, a person’s position depends to a very great extent upon achievement and
his ability to use to advantage the inborn characteristics and wealth that he
may possess.
(iii) Estate
system of medieval Europe provides another system of stratification which gave
much emphasis to birth as well as to wealth and possessions. Each estate had a
state.
iv)
Slavery had economic basis. In slavery, every slave had his master to whom he
was subjected. The master’s power over the slave was unlimited.
Characteristics of Social Stratification:
On the basis of
the analysis of the different definitions given by eminent scholars, social
stratification may have the following characteristics.
(a)
Social stratification is universal:
There is no
society on this world which is free from stratification. Modern stratification
differs from stratification of primitive societies. It is a worldwide
phenomenon. According to Sorokin “all permanently organized groups are
stratified.”
(b)
Stratification is social:
It is true that
biological qualities do not determine one’s superiority and inferiority.
Factors like age, sex, intelligence as well as strength often contribute as the
basis on which statues are distinguished. But one’s education, property, power,
experience, character, personality etc. are found to be more important than
biological qualities. Hence, stratification is social by nature.
(c)
It is ancient:
Stratification
system is very old. It was present even in the small wondering bonds. In almost
all the ancient civilizations, the differences between the rich and poor,
humble andpowerful existed. During the period of Plato and Kautilya even
emphasis was given to political, social and economic inequalities.
(d)
It is in diverse forms:
The forms of
stratification is not uniform in all the societies. In the modern world class,
caste and estate are the general forms of stratification. In India a special
type of stratification in the form of caste is found. The ancient Aryas were
divided into four varnas: the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras. The
ancient Greeks were divided into freemen and slaves and the ancient Romans were
divided into the particians and the plebians. So every society, past or
present, big or small is characterized by diversed forms of social
stratification.
(e)
Social stratification is Consequential:
Social
stratification has two important consequences one is “life chances” and the
other one is “life style”. A class system not only affects the “life- chances”
of the individuals but also their “life style”.
The
members of a class have similar social chances but the social chances vary in
every society. It includes chances of survival and of good physical and mental
health, opportunities for education, chances of obtaining justice, marital
conflict, separation and divorce etc.
Life
style denotes a style of life which is distinctive of a particular social
status. Life-styles include such matters like the residential areas in every
community which have gradations of prestige-ranking, mode of housing, means of
recreation, the kinds of dress, the kinds of books, TV shows to which one is
exposed and so on. Life-style may be viewed as a sub-culture in which one
stratum differs from another within the frame work of a commonly shared
over-all culture.
Social Stratification and Social Mobility:
Social
mobility refers to the movement within the social structure, from one social
position to another. It means a change in social status. All societies provide
some opportunity for social mobility. But the societies differ from each other
to extent in which individuals can move from one class or status level to
another.
It
is said that the greater the amount of social mobility, the more open the class
structure. The concept of social mobility has fundamental importance in ascertaining
the relative “openness” of a social structure. The nature, forms, direction and
magnitude of social mobility depends on the nature and types of social
stratification. Sociologists study social mobility in order to find out the
relative ‘openness’ of a social structure.
Any
group that improves its standard will also improve its social status. But the
rate of social mobility is not uniform in all the countries. It differs from
society to society from time to time. In India the rate of mobility is naturally
low because of agriculture being the predominant occupation and the continuity
of caste system as compared to the other countries of the world.
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