Social Stratification And Social Class - 1468 Words

The quest to understand Society is urgent for our well being and important for if we cannot understand the social world, we are more likely to be overwhelmed by it. In America society is stratified into social classes by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy, upper, middle and lower class. Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences but achievement based. For that matter, social class is a controversial issue due to the perceptions of people in each class and many argue that social inequality and racism play a vital role in the operation of society. Among the issues, one’s position in the social class hierarchy may impact their health, family life, education, political†¦show more content†¦These extremely wealthy people live off the income from their inherited riches and they live in exclusive neighborhoods, gather at expensive soda clubs and send their children to the finest schools. The middle cl ass are like the â€Å"Sandwich† class because they have more money than those below them, but less than the class above them. They usually divide into two levels based on wealth and education. The lower middle class is often made up of less educated people with lower incomes, such as managers, small business owners and secretaries. The upper middle class consist of highly educated business and professional people with high incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, and stockbrokers. The working class are those who are minimally educated who engage in manual labor with little or no prestige and usually the unskilled workers are underpaid. Lastly the lower class, they are classified as by poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. Some suffer from lack of medical care, decent clothing, sufficient housing and food, and vocational training. Inaccurately, the lower class are characterized as poor people as welfare mothers, drug dealers/abusers or criminals. The characterization of the the social classes may seem exaggerated but are accurate basedShow MoreRelatedSocial Stratification And Social Class1205 Words   |  5 Pagesbased on their wealth, income, race and education known as the social stratification. Sociologist use this to determine the social standings of individuals within a society. Social stratification can also appear in much smaller groups. These groups such as the work place, schools, and businesses can â€Å"take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks†. (Cole, 2017) The Caste system is also another form of stratification that one does not get a choice in. They are born into it andRead MoreClass Stratification And Social Stratification1485 Words   |  6 Pages ‘Class stratification is no longer relevant in explaining equality in the U.K. today.’ A. Class stratification runs on 3 main points: Power (legal ability, capacity or authority granted on a person/persons), Prestige (a reputation or influence arising from success) and Privilege (a special right or immunity) with these being the root of social stratification it’s easy to see why inequality in universal with the bourgeoisie (the elite 2% of the world) controlling the proletariat (working class societyRead MoreStratification : Social, Class, And Caste1197 Words   |  5 PagesStratification: Social, Economic, Class, and Caste Social stratification is made up of hierarchical relationships among different groups of people. It is as though people are arranged in strata, or layers. Groups may be unequal with material resources, power, human welfare, education, and symbolic attributes. This social stratification began with the emergence of agriculture, but is now universally present. Stratification can be broken up into categories such as class, caste, age, and indigeneityRead MoreSocial Stratification and Class Essay1531 Words   |  7 Pagesbacks of the middle class. To people in the lower class, the promise is held that in a capitalist society, by working hard you can lift yourself out of the lower income bracket to join the middle class. Entrepreneurs who can find a need and fill it can make it into the upper class. The point is that this kind of thinking, a product of social stratification theory, is ingrained upon our minds. As a society, we accept it as a fact that we live in a multi-tiered cl ass system, and thatRead MoreThe Impact of Social Class and Stratification1728 Words   |  7 Pages101 30 November, 2010 The Impact of Social Class/Stratification Stratification and the division of people into social classes is a fundamental part of American society. Stratification is a concept that is universal; it is found in every country, every nation of the world. It is a system in which large groups of people, not individuals, are divided into different layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige. Stratification applies not only to the different nationsRead MoreStratification Monopoly And Social Class857 Words   |  4 PagesDuring Stratification monopoly each person was assigned to a social group. There were four different social groups which were middle class, lower class, upper class and the working class. I was assigned the lower class and I knew once the game started that I was going to have to work hard to stay in the game. Each person was given a different amount of money due to their social class. Being that I was in the lower class, I started the game off with five-hundred dollars, while the other membe rs startedRead MoreSocial Stratification, Class System And Ethnocentrism703 Words   |  3 PagesSocial stratification, class systems, and ethnocentrism are all parts of our society that influence our thoughts of what is normal and what is outlandish. Social stratification is a system in which society ranks and organizes people into ranks to identify them. A class system is a system which classifies people based on their social position at birth and their achievements later in life. Ethnocentrism is the view that one’s own culture is â€Å"normal† and other cultures are odd; through ethnocentrismRead MoreSocial Class Ladder As A Means Of Stratification Essay1451 Words   |  6 Pagessocieties use gender as a means of stratification. Discuss the consequences of this gender stratification, 2. Distinguish the difference between race and ethnicity, and give an example of each, 3. Summarize the U.S. social class ladder as proposed by Joseph Kahl and Dennis Gilbert, and 4. Discuss how marriage and family are viewed from the three sociological perspectives. FINAL ESSAY Page 3 1. According to the textbook, gender stratification is defined as males’ and females’Read MoreEssay on Social Stratification and The Importance of Class1042 Words   |  5 Pagesprides itself on its equality and freedom; in reality we do not hold up these values and are faced with inequality and imbalance. The modern American class system outlines many of the inequalities that plague our nation. In a country that prides itself on equality, there is a lot of evidence that point to social stratification and the importance of class. According to the 2010- 2011 American Community Survey, â€Å"46.2 million Americans live below the poverty line. This number includes 21.9% of childrenRead MoreSocial Stratification : Social Class, Ethnicity, Age, And Gender1074 Words   |  5 Pages It is in the human nature to be social beings, and have a social identity. Social stratification is the organization of individuals into social groups based on their access to basic needs. Aspects that affect social stratification are wealth, power, and prestige. Wealth is the amount of currency or goods that an individual or family owns. This can include money, houses, livestock, etc. Power is the ability for one to achieve their goals regardless of opposition. Wealth is directly related to