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( Social stratification)
In sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of social classes, castes and strata within a society. While these hierarchies are not universal to all societies, they are the norm among state-level cultures (as distinguished from hunter-gatherers or other social arrangements). According to Peter Saunders,[1] in modern Western societies, stratification depends on social and economic classes comprising three main layers upper class, middle class, and lower class. Each class is further subdivided into smaller classes related to occupation. The term stratification derives from the geological concept of strata, or rock layers created by natural processes. Social stratification is regarded quite differently by the principal perspectives of sociology. Proponents of structural-functional analysis suggest that since social stratification exists in most state societies, a hierarchy must therefore be beneficial in helping to stabilize their existence. Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, asserted that stability and social order are achieved by means of a universal value consensus. Functionalists indicate that stratification exists solely to satisfy the functional prerequisites necessary for functional proficiency in any society. Conflict theorists consider the inaccessibility of resources and lack of social mobility in many stratified societies. They conclude, often working from the theories of Karl Marx, that stratification means that working class people are not likely to advance socioeconomically, while the wealthy may continue to exploit the proletariat generation after generation. Marx identified that the social classes are stratified based on their connection to the means of production. Therefore the ruling class, bourgeoisie, and working class, proletariats, maintain their social positions by maintaining their relationship with the means of production. This maintenance of status quo is achieved by various methods of social control employed by the bourgeoisie in the course of many aspects of social life, e.g., through ideologies of submission promoted through the institution of religion. However, some conflict theorists, mainly Max Weber and followers of his perspective, have criticized Marx's view, pointing out that social stratification is not based purely upon economic inequalities, but is also shaped, to an equal degree, by status and power differentials. Weber's analysis indicated the presence of four social classes, which he called the propertied upper class, the property-less white-collar workers, the petty bourgeoisie, and the working class. Another noteworthy factor is cited in the work of Francois Adle, who stated that, "The advancement [of] technology has changed the structure of mobility completely." In a nutshell social stratification refers to the ranking of social groups above and below each other, in terms of how much power, prestige and wealth members have.
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