Social Stratification

By Dr Upasana Borthakur
 Social Stratification
• Social stratification, a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
• Social stratification is a process through which groups and social categories in societies are ranked as higher or lower
to one another in terms of their relative position on the scales of prestige, privileges, wealth and power.
• Social stratification is also a historical process. It emerged as a social institution of societies at a certain level of social
evolution and social development.
• There are three major organizing principles of social stratification. These are status, wealth and power.
• The earliest principle of social stratification is that of status. Status in the language of social stratification means
ranking of groups in a society on the basis of their relative position in terms of honour or respect.
• The second organizing principle of social stratification is wealth. Wealth is generated in societies only when
technologies advancement takes place and there is a change in the mode of production. Examples are: change from
hunting and food gathering economy to settled agriculture, change from agriculture based economy to one based
predominantly upon manufacturing and industry. Such changes, not only brought about the institution of social
stratification, but in course of time also altered the principles of organization of social stratification.
• The third organizing principle of social stratification is power. Unlike status and wealth which can be clearly linked
with group characteristics of ranking in societies, the principle of power is relatively diffused attribute because it is
not exclusive in character. It is always possible that a group with higher status in society or that which enjoys greater
wealth also exercises more power in society.
 Functionalist approach of social stratification
• According to the functionalists, social stratification is functionally necessary and is therefore a universal and permanent
feature of society.
• Stratification is functionally necessary because every society needs a mechanism inducing people to occupy positions
which are socially important and require training.
• Material rewards and prestige act as prestige act as stimuli towards the occupation of such positions.
• These help in maintenance of equilibrium and solidarity in society.
• Many functionalists have talked about functionalist approach to social stratification.
• Talcott Parsons regarded social stratification as the differential ranking of human individuals who compose a given society
and their treatment as superior and inferior relative to one another.
• Parsons views society as a system which is divided into various strata's. These different strata's function together for the
proper functioning of the system as a whole.
• Value consensus is essential for the survival of any social system.
• Parsons as a functionalist tries to understand the relationship of groups in a society as interdependency and co-operation.
• To him social stratification is inevitable and functional.
• Stratification tends to integrate people in a social system to achieve the collective goals. Power and prestige are essential
for the survival of any society.
• It leads to the fulfillment of goals by division of labor.
• But Parsons theory is also criticized as he lays too much emphasis on maintenance of value consensus. He does not talk
about conflict and change.
 Davis and Moore’s theory of social stratification
• Davis and Moore’s theory of social stratification talks about role allocation and role
performance in a society.
• These are functional prerequisites of a society which must be fulfilled if society is to survive.
• There are certain positions in society that are functionally more important than others and
require special skills for their performance.
• Only a limited number of individuals in any society have the talents which can be trained into
the skills appropriate to those positions.
• These positions in society carry an inducement of value in the form of rewards and privileges,
which will give motivation to individuals to undergo training for those positions.
• Differential rewards has a consequence on an individual.
• Thus Davis and Moore says that stratification is a device to insure that most important positions
are occupied by talented persons.
• They say that stratification is functional, positive and inevitable and ensures stability and
equilibrium in society.
 Criticisms of functionalist theory
• Tumin rejects the views of Davis and Moore that stratification integrates a social
system.
• Tumin rather takes a different stand by saying that differential rewards can
encourage hostility, suspicion and distrust among the various segments of a society.
• He strongly feels that stratification is a key element for making divisions in the
society rather than integrating.
• Functionalists are criticized because they declare that stratification is universal by
including it among the functional pre requisites of social life and do not take account
of the possibility that other phenomena may occur in its place in the form of
functional pre-requisites.
• Functionalists have ignored change but no society can remain static. Change is an
inevitable concept of society.
• The conflict theorists regard functionalists as utopian and ideological.
 Marxian approach to stratification
• Social stratification is simply the hierarchical arrangement of social groups, and implies inequality.
• Karl Marx pioneered a comprehensive study on class as a form of social inequality and accelerated further studies on
the subject.
• According to Marx, history may be divided into several periods, ancient civilization, feudalism, and capitalism. Each of
these periods is characterized by a predominant mode of production and based upon it a class structure consisting of a
ruling and an oppressed class.
• A social class in Marx’s terms is any aggregate of persons who perform the same functions in the organization of
production.
• “Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild master and journeymen, in a word oppressor and
oppressed stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden fight, a fight that
each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending
class.”
• The conflict of interest forms the basis of class struggle, according to Marx, which has a driving force of social change.
• According to Marx, capitalism develops certain inherent contradictions which destroys itself.
• Overproduction, monopolization, underproduction, profit motive of capitalists, polarization of classes lead to the
breakdown of capitalist society.
• The ruling class of every society sows seeds of its destruction sooner or later.
 Criticisms
• Although Marx’s theory of social class is of great importance and has had a profound influence on
modern social thought, it has been subject to many criticisms.
• One of the earliest criticisms comes from Max Weber. Weber says that Marx has talked only about
class as a form if stratification. He does not correspond to differential status and party which are
other two dimensions of stratification.
• Marx was criticized on the grounds that he concentrated too much on class and neglected other
concepts like nationalism and conflict between nations and history.
• Marx focused more on the capitalistic exploitation and ignored that capitalism concentrates on
worker prosperity with the development of nationalism.
• Marx was also criticized in the division of classes. It is because as capitalism improved there was an
expansion of the middle class. This class was neglected by Marx.
• Marx was criticized because his predictions never happened in the 20th century capitalism.
• Despite all these criticisms Marxian analysis is important in the fact that he describes and analyses
the formulation of the aspiration of the working class and the rise of the modern capitalist
movement.
 Weberian Approach to stratification
• Weber saw stratification in terms of power and its distribution into class, status and party.
• Weber gave a multidimensional theory of stratification.
• Power according to Weber is “man’s capacity to realize their own will in communal action even against the resistance of
others who are participating in that action. Power is the capacity to influence others.”
• Power is reflected in class, status and party.
• For Weber, classes emerges in market economies in which individuals compete for economic gain.
• He defines class as a group of individuals who share a similar position in a market economy by virtue of which they receive
similar economic reward.
• Those who share similar class situation also share similar life chances. Money is the objective relationship by which man
enters into the market.
• Weber talks about two classes: propertied class and propertyless class.
• Propertied class is again divided according to the types of property owned: rentiers and entrepreneur.
• The property less class is also divided into two. One is on the basis of skills (blue collar workers) and the other on the basis
of qualification (white collar worker).
• Weber saw a greater variety of economic factor playing an important role in class formation.
• For Weber, class has been derived from other economic resources like skills and qualifications which affect the type of job
people are able to obtain.
• With the formation of classes, Marx presupposes that conflict will
come about but Weber denies it.
• He says that we can find a group of individuals sharing similar class
without being conscious of it and do not engage in class struggle.
• Weber says that class consciousness develops only in specific situation.
Class struggle is not an inevitable or universal phenomenon.
• Weber says that social mobility will prevent class conflict whereas
Marx considered mobility only in terms of sinking in to the ranks of the
proletariat.
• Therefore, for Weber, there are other sources of valuation and group
formation besides class interest in a society.
• So status valuation is the second dimension of Weber’s theory of
stratification.
 Status
• Status in Weberian theory of stratification is referred to the difference between social
groups on the basis of social honor or prestige given to them in the society.
• A group of persons who are given same estimations of honor or prestige and live in a
certain standard in their living sphere, they to Weber belong to the same status
group.
• Unlike class, members of a status group are usually aware of their common status.
• This awareness of common position is expressed through restriction on marriage,
commensality, prohibition of interaction with others, use of particular language and
many others which distinguish between a particular life style from others may lead to
formation of a status group.
• According to Weber, possession of wealth by persons enjoy high status in a society as
it is the objective indicator for one’s status in a given social order.
• In a status group members share common interest and identity.
 Party
• Another dimension of stratification is party.
• Party defines a group of individuals who work together because they have common
backgrounds, aims and interests.
• According to Weber, party in modern society can influence stratification independent of
class and status.
• Party formation helps in generation of power to be enjoyed by people. It is a voluntary
association.
• The basis of party formation is diverse and neither class nor status determine them
completely.
• Political parties gain power through either coercion or consensus depending upon the
action they seek to influence.
• Parties may appeal to concerns cutting across class differences, for example, parties may
be based on religious affiliation or nationalistic ideas.
• For Marx, status and party both derive from class. But for Weber,
though status and party is influenced by each other both can
together influence the class.
• Therefore, Weber’s theory of stratification is important because
other dimensions of stratification beside class strongly influence
people’s lives.
• His analysis is based on empirical reality where he sees inter
relationship between all three (class, status and party) which
though influence each other but are not determined by each
other.
 Caste system
• The caste system is a special system of closed social stratification found mostly in ancient and modern India.
• It is based on hierarchy, difference and ranking based on which society is stratified into various segments which give rise to
inequality in society.
• The caste system has existed since time immemorial and has governed the lives of many Indians.
• According to the traditional texts there are four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. There is another category
called the Untouchables who are outside the varna system
• There are many theories regarding the origin of the caste system out of which three are widely accepted.
• 1. Theory of divine origin: According to this theory it is believed that Brahmins were made from the mouth of God and
therefore they were associated with hymns and rituals. The Kshatriyas were created from his arms and hence supposed to
protect their kinsmen and fellow humans. The Vaishyas were created from his stomach and thighs and therefore they were
associated with agriculture and trade. The Sudras were created from his feet and supposed to serve other people. The four
varnas were conferred specific status and purpose in society according to the body part they were created from.
• 2. Theory of Quality of Guna: Depending on the quality predominating in a person he was associated with a particular
group. The Brahmins were supposed to be satwik, the kshatriyas were supposed to be rajasik and the sudras were
supposed to be tamasik.
• 3. The theory of cultural contact: The Aryans came to India from the north as invaders. They conquered the land and
settled down introducing elements of their culture and tradition in the country’s native society. They pushed the natives
towards the southern part of the country who came to be known as the Dravidians. The Aryans were divided into four
varnas , the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, the Vaishyas and the Sudras.
 Features of caste system
• The principle of hierarchy: The caste system is based on the principle of hierarchy. This
principle divides society into unequal groups or castes. These groups are placed in a
ranked order of high and low.
• Pollution: Underlying the principle of hierarchy is the important conception of purity
and impurity. Hierarchy is a religious notion reflected in the separation of the pure and
impure.
• Separation: The caste system separates the people of a place on the basis of their
caste. This ideology of pollution is the spirit of the caste system. This separation
between castes creates a division of labor and expresses the repulsion between
unequal groups.
• Thus hierarchy, pollution and separation are the pillars of the caste system.
• The caste system is kept alive through a control over the behavior of different castes.
This control is seen in four areas – occupations, marriage, lifestyle and food, water etc.
• Restrictions on marriage: There are restrictions on marrying within one caste and as a result of which the caste system
is characterized by the rule of endogamy. Accompanying this is the principle that a caste must marry outside the village
or it must practice village exogamy.
• Restrictions in occupation: Every caste has a traditionally prescribed occupation which is heredity and which the caste
monopolizes. Thus the Brahmin thought it was correct for him to be priest and similarly a chamar regarded it as his
duty to cure hides and prepare shoes.
• Every occupation other than being high or low is also considered clean or unclean and is ranked in a hierarchy of pure
and impure.
• Restrictions on food habits: The restrictions on inter dining and eating are called commensal restrictions. There are
very strict restrictions on dietary interaction between castes.
• Food itself is placed in a hierarchy and vegetarian food is regarded as satwik and pure and non-vegetarian food is
impure.
• Food is divided into kaccha and pakka. Kaccha food is any food cooked in water and a person doesn’t eat it unless
prepared by a person of the same caste or subcaste. Pakka food is food cooked in ghee without using water and can be
taken by Brahmins at the hands of other castes.
• Restrictions on lifestyle: Within the caste system a restriction is placed on the dress, speech, customs of different
castes. The clothes and jewellery worn by the upper caste cannot be worn by the lower caste.
• The religious ritual practiced by the upper castes are Sanskritic in nature and based on traditional Hindu scriptures. The
rituals of the lower caste are localized and based on local traditions and they cannot use the Hindu scriptures.
• Thus from the above features it can be inferred that caste system is a system not only of social inequality but also a
system where some social groups belonging to the upper sections of the caste system have all the advantages of life
and the others have all the disadvantages.
• Caste system still prevails in India and discrimination based on caste still continues to be a part of everyday life of Indian
society.
 Class system
• Social class, also called class, a group of people within a society who possess the same socioeconomic status.
• A class consists of a set of people who share similar status with regard to factors like wealth, income, education, and
occupation. Unlike caste systems, class systems are open.
• Karl Marx pioneered a comprehensive study on class and accelerated further studies on the subject.
• A social class in Marx’s term is any aggregate of persons who perform the same functions in the process of production.
• Unlike Marx, Daherendorf argues that as capitalism develops the two classes- Bourgeoisie and Proletariat, became
heterogenous.
• The working class divides itself into three categories. These are skilled, semi skilled and unskilled.
• Further Mosca and Pareto talks about the ruling class. In all societies two classes of people appear – a class that rules
and a class that is ruled.
• C. Wright Mills talks about power elite. Business, military and government are the three famous American power elite.
• Unlike Marx, Weber also talked about social classes.
• Class is one of the forms of social stratification.
• Marxists argue that class was a feature of all known societies with the concept of private property.
• Presently all societies of the modern world become class infested societies that harbour numerous classes and the
basis of forming classes in society at present times are the economic, social, as well as political.
 Social Stratification in India
• Caste stratification
• Class Stratification
• Gender Stratification
• Caste class nexus is found in India
• Instances of violence to lower caste people
• Instances of discrimination on women in India