Stratification (Week 9) - Conan Chua

1. Summary

Economic stratification refers to the differentiation in social status or class based on wealth, and in some related sense, power. Sociology focuses on how this type of stratification brings about inequality, not just in spending power but also in access to valued resources, such as health care, education, jobs, or even having a voice as a citizen.

The measure of a person’s Socioeconomic Status (SES) can be broken down into 3 elements; Power, Property and Prestige. Power can be in the form of authority, or coercion (force). Property refers not only to one’s home, but to their possessions and income. Prestige refers to one’s reputation within a society, which can come from their family name or occupation. These three elements usually affect each other, such as when one has a lot of Power, Property and Prestige often follow suit.

Inequality and Private Ownership’s origins date back to the earliest developments of society, back when hunter/gatherer societies transformed into horticultural societies. Groups of humans grew very large in numbers as they settled in one place for a long time, and people began making things instead of collecting things from nature. Trading began and some people started to have more possessions than others.

Inequality is very persistent, as the people who benefit most form it often have the greatest influence on society because of it. Technological advancements also create channels in which these people are able to keep their benefits within the family and pass them down the generations. The rich who benefit from inequality also have the power to instill certain cultural idea about inequality in order to justify it, making people accept inequality as a part of their lives.

Structural functionalism view inequality as an important cog in a properly functioning society, where the harder and more important jobs are filled by the most qualified people. There is also a need for less qualified people to fill other important but much easier jobs. Arguments against this idea state that it is hard to put a value to a job’s importance in society; for example, how is a society supposed to function without garbage collectors? Why do we pay sportspeople so much more than teachers, who seem to contribute much more to society?

Conflict theory argues against stratification, referring to a skewed flow of benefits towards the rich at the expense of the poor. Conflict theorists are pushing for a more cooperative society, where everyone does their best for the society and receives rewards based on their needs, not their contributions.

At a global scale, inequality is created in a few ways. The modernization of a society that is more willing to embrace new ideas will progress quicker than a more traditional one. Those more developed countries then exploit the less developed countries in order to stay on top and benefit more. Resources that could have helped develop the poorer countries flow out and into the richer countries, further hindering their development. Poorer countries start to become dependent on the richer countries for what little rewards they believe they deserve, and hit a road block where they have no choice but to accept their fate.

2. Something of interest to me

I feel that inequality will probably never be completely abolished. It will only be controlled to a certain extent, with the best case scenario being that everyone is given enough to live comfortably. People at the top tier of society often possess much more than they need, and it is only human to try and gather more, grow larger and become stronger than before. Maybe there exists a way that we haven’t found out yet, that allows the world to provide for everyone’s needs, while still preserving the drive for people to progress, because without the “carrot on a stick” in front of us, it is hard to think of a way to motivate people to work harder, even if it is for the greater good of society.

3. Discussion point

I don’t think that abolishing inequality will do any good for society. I feel that if inequality were to be abolished, we would have generations of people fighting to take back power, property and prestige. Even if society starts to accept equality as a part of their lives and everyone is able to live comfortably, humanity’s development might start to become more and more stagnant. People do not see the need to do anything more than is required of them.