SOCA01H3 Lecture 10: Lecture 10
Thursday November 19, 2009 ± Lecture 10 Stratification
Today READ: Brym Chapter 17
The Functional Theory of Stratification
-Argues that inequality is useful and inevitable.
Inequality Does Seem Inevitable (Impossible to avoid or prevent from happening)
-Kibbutz in Israel.
-Get rid of inequality by separating parents and children.
-Rotate authority so it is continually changing.
-However, family thing did not last long, ended up returning kids to family.
-Rotation position did not work, as some people may be more effective than others.
People who performed best got kept as leaders.
-Pass on advantages to next generation.
-Soviet Union and Communism
-Tried initiating equality of wages.
-Specifically tried to equalize equality for women.
-However, equal wages did not work at all.
-Women got better jobs, but did not change their status. (Ended up getting two jobs.)
-Communist party had power, therefore, gave themselves great wealth.
-Lifestyles for people at top were so wealthy.
-Kids of heads of party went to high institutions.
-When Soviet Union fell apart, members ended up buying out their wealth.
-In large numbers came to Canada. (Moved into Bridle Path)
-Basically, inequality of power (from large-scale organizations) is translated into status and
economic outcomes. They tend to pass on power to generations.
-Therefore, inequality is inevitable.
The Functional Argument
-Some jobs (ex. physicians) are more important than others (ex. janitors)
-Functionally important jobs require more training.
-To motivate people to make the sacrifices necessary to train for important jobs, they must
receive large rewards for their work.
Functionalism Affirmative Action
-Position open to best person -Position open to talented and qualified persons of
any group.
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Document Summary
Thursday november 19, 2009 lecture 10 stratification. Inequality does seem inevitable (impossible to avoid or prevent from happening) Get rid of inequality by separating parents and children. However, family thing did not last long, ended up returning kids to family. Rotation position did not work, as some people may be more effective than others. People who performed best got kept as leaders. However, equal wages did not work at all. Women got better jobs, but did not change their status. (ended up getting two jobs. ) Communist party had power, therefore, gave themselves great wealth. Lifestyles for people at top were so wealthy. Kids of heads of party went to high institutions. When soviet union fell apart, members ended up buying out their wealth. In large numbers came to canada. (moved into bridle path) Basically, inequality of power (from large-scale organizations) is translated into status and economic outcomes. They tend to pass on power to generations.
