SOCI 1210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Social Stratification, Social Inequality, Endogamy

Sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent

-while there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social

patterns

-stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group

membership, classes, and the like

-in other words, sociologists are interested in examining the structural conditions of social inequality

-while there are of course differences in individuals’ abilities and talents that will affect their life

chances, the larger question however is how inequality becomes systematically structured in economic,

social, and political life

-factors that define stratification cary in different societies

-in most modern societies, stratification is often indicated by differences in wealth, the net value

of money and assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages, salary or investment dividends

-it can also be defined by differences in power and status

-these four factors create a complex amalgam that defines individual's’ social standing within a

hierarchy.

-sociologists distinguish between two types of systems of stratification:

-Closed systems accommodate little change in social position. They do not allow people to shift

levels and do not permit social relations between levels

-Open systems which are based on achievement, allow movement and interaction between