Social Stratification Essay

512 Words3 Pages
Social Stratification is defined as a system of rankings used to ranks categories of people and has four important principles. First, social stratification is a trait of society, neither the rich nor the poor create social stratifications yet it shapes everyone’s lives. Second, social stratification carries over from generation to generation, passed from parent to child. Few peoples social standings change during their lifetimes. Third, social stratifications are universal but vary, not every country has the same stratifications in some places it is a matter prestige and in others wealth and power are what matters. Some societies are more unequal than others. Finally, it involves not only inequality but also beliefs, for it states the why of the inequality not only the what, for if you are different in beliefs than everyone else you are bound to be shunned, for example my daughter hangs out with Wiccans, Pagans, and Atheists but she’s a Methodist, she hangs out with people of different social statuses that most people wouldn’t associate with outside of their own personal groups. Social inequalities exist because one group thinks that their better than another because of wealth or occupational highness comparatively to those in lower jobs that make less money. These dominate in a society that fears conformity and equality for to be better someone has to be worse, even non-conformists are a conformed group. Within this there are two types of systems open systems called class systems where you can start the son of a sweat shop worker and end as a CEO of a large corporation. In a class system you work and toil and one day could be better off than you are, and make your children’s lives easier than your childhood was. The second type is a caste system. This system is a closed system. If you are born the son of a sweat shop worker you will be a sweat shop

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