Social stratification is a sociological concept used to analyze and interpret the classification of individuals and social groups, based on data and common socioeconomic conditions.
The main objective of social stratification within sociological studies is to understand the functioning of the hierarchical organization of a society. Furthermore, it also aims to identify the main distinctions between social classes and how inequalities are socially constructed.
All societies have some kind of stratification, whether simple or complex. That is, the individuals that make up this social group are divided into layers (strata).
In general, social stratification sees a set of inequalities that affect a certain group of people in a society, separating them in some way from the others. A good example of social stratification in Brazil are favelas or peripheral neighborhoods.
Characteristics of social stratification
Social stratification is mainly based on the following characteristics:
- It is a peculiarity of society, not simply a reflection of individual differences;
- Material and immaterial resources are unevenly distributed among members of different strata (layers);
- It has a "hereditary" character, that is, it is transmitted from generation to generation;
- It is universal and variable;
- It involves inequalities and beliefs.
In this way, studies on social stratification are able to understand how factors such as power, wealth and status quo they are points of distinction between people of the same society.
And from this principle, these studies are able to observe these inequalities and refine knowledge of conflicts and problems that are related to the symbolic aspects of these classifications. social.
Learn more about Stratification.
The uneven distribution between the different layers identified in the social stratification is usually represented through the Social Pyramid.
Social Pyramid
The higher the individual's position in the pyramid, greater will be your access to immaterial and material resources of society.
As shown in the pyramid, the base is always larger than the summit. This means that the number of people with less access to resources produced in society is greater.
The explanation for this is due to the fact that the base of the pyramid represents the social layer that produces goods and services, that is, the proletariat (slaves, serfs, commoners, etc.).
Types of social stratification
In Western times, social stratification is organized into three main social layers: high class, middle class and low class, and each of these classes can be further subdivided into other classes.
Individuals who belong to a certain social stratum can rise or fall between the strata if they are part of an open society. This process is known as social mobility.
On the other hand, there are closed societies that do not allow this change between social layers. In Indian culture, for example, the caste system divides individuals into different hierarchical levels determined from birth.
Each caste has a fixed role to play in society and those who are not faithful to the rituals and duties of their caste will be reborn in an inferior position in the next incarnation.
There is, therefore, no mobility between the hierarchies of a caste, which even determines the type of contact that each individual can have with members of other castes.
As a rule, the social stratifications of open societies (capitalists) are based on the economic power of the individual. On the other hand, in the closed societies what determines this inequality is the origin of the individual, that is, the lineage of his family.
Learn more about varieties and the social mobility.
Studies on social stratification have as their main reference the theories of Karl Marx and Max Weber, although they have different focuses.
Social stratification according to Max Weber
For Weber, society can be stratified based on three main orders: economical, Social and politics. These, in turn, are branched into different concepts.
Distinctions between social classes are formed on the basis of economic criteria. The so-called strata are configured through the social distinction that the individual has in the environment (importance of the group that comes from or integrates).
Finally, politics generates the so-called parties, which are also groups formed by people with privileges compared to others, generating some kind of inequality.
Unlike Marx, Weber does not see work (economics) as the most important aspect of social stratification. For the German intellectual, the strata of society are formed by a union of these different orders.
Proof of this is the fact that Weber shows how stratification can occur between people in the same profession. In the case of two doctors, for example, one may have greater prestige and a better position in the status quo instituted by society in comparison to the other.
Social stratification according to Karl Marx
According to Karl Marx, social stratification is centered on the class system, divided mainly between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Marx's theories are associated with economic studies and the social aspects of economics and its effects.
Origin of social stratification
Originally, in primitive societies, the concept of social stratification did not exist. Only from the beginning of the division of labor among community members (mainly the sexual division) did inequalities begin.
The territorial dominance and the ethnic differences that emerged from it also helped to accentuate the division of social groups into different layers.
social stratification and social structure
Despite being interconnected subjects, social stratification and social structure have different concepts.
The social structure forms a system of organization of society, through the interrelation of social, economic, political and other factors. Social stratification, on the other hand, seeks to understand how these classifications are formed.
Examples of social stratification
Usually, we can find this kind of division when a group of people who do not have a lot of conditions financial, ends up not having access to the same services available to another group with better conditions. financial.
This can also be seen in peripheral neighborhoods, where most of the low-income population is found. Typically, these neighborhoods are farther away from city centers.
See more about the meaning of Social class it's from social hierarchy.