Assignment task: Researching Social Inequality Today
Search the internet for recent news related to protests from anywhere in the world. (It is better if you find something local to you. Prepare a table with the three main theories discussed in this module. Analyze three aspects of the issue you found using the concepts learned in the module
The Phenomenon of Social Inequality
Societies function by distributing wealth and opportunities in uneven ways. This is hard to understand sometimes. But the social structures of our societies are rooted in ways that perpetuate inequality. In social inequality, we have an uneven distribution of resources. It is not necessarily that there are no resources available, but they are distributed in ways that most of the population cannot benefit from it. Societies perpetuate these conditions through norms and culture. An example of a norm could be teaching someone that "we are here on earth to serve". If we turn this norm into a strong idea, we will put it at a higher hierarchy when we make choices in life. If we find ourselves in a situation in which we might be oppressed there is a possibility that we justify the oppression by rationalizing that, since we are here to serve, it is more important to serve than to free ourselves from oppression.
That is why many societies have socially defined categories to justify stratification. According to the film "Social Class: Theories, Stratification, and Mobility - An Introduction (2019), access to social goods might depend on power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, and class.
If we have access to power, be it through political position or wealth, we could influence society more effectively by communicating our ideas and making most people think that those are the right ideas. This is a way in which morality is formed in society. If we control religion through a high-level position, we have in our hands how people interpret their relationship with supernatural power. If we are born wealthy there is a high possibility that we will always stay wealthy since we will have the means to attend the best schools, obtain the best health care, among other things.
If we belong to a specific racial classification, such as white, society offers certain accommodations and privileges that make it easier to access benefits than if you were non-white. Women are not paid equally in most societies, even though they can do the same workmen do. Sometimes sexual orientation, homosexuality, for example, is not openly accepted in many societies. Individuals who are homosexuals will have bigger challenges to acquire what other members of society have easier access to.
Historical Background of Social Stratification
If we look at the mosaic called The Royal Standard of Ur from 2500 BC we will notice how the different levels of the piece of art reflect the social stratification of the civilization already formed in Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago.
When king Hammurabi placed his code in different cities in Mesopotamia, around 1750 B.C., he made sure that people from different levels, or strata in their societies, understood that the individual members of such a society were valued in different ways. "203. If a man of gentle birth has struck a man of gentle birth who is his equal, he shall pay one mina of silver (Tierny & Scott, 1984)." Hammurabi's code is a vivid example that is more than 3,000 years old. We divide society into levels that provide different needs for that specific social structure.
We might need to start asking among other things if this is a fair arrangement. In this module, we will study some reasons social inequality seems to be the norm. Many theorists are willing to accept social inequality as a fact that cannot be changed. Functionalist theories by Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton, for example, approach the study of sociology as a way of understanding how society functions (Osbourne, 2000, p. 88). If society is structured in certain ways, it is because it is natural for societies to be this way. All institutions have a purpose in society. We just need to understand them.
But maybe as sociologists and critical thinkers, we need to go further and ask ourselves if society is "naturally" structured that way. This is what conflict theorists asked. For conflict theory, certain groups within society are oppressed by a small dominant group that owns the means of production. Since they own the means of production, what is left for us to do is offer our energy, skills, and time in exchange for wages. Societies are not fairly constituted, and they do not have to be this way "by nature". The oppressed within society need to fight for the liberation of the means of production to create a classless society.
An ironic historical fact is that democracy was born in Athens around 2,600 years ago. But at that moment in history, only males over eighteen years old who owned land and were citizens of Athens could fully participate in political aspects and have rights. That excluded most of the people that lived in Athens including non-citizens, women, children, and slaves. Thus, the birthplace of democracy gave only a minority of the members of society full access to its benefits.
In medieval times, access to education was limited to members of the clergy. The church controlled access to knowledge. Only the priests were able to read and write. The sons of kings eventually were educated by the clergy since the nobility could afford the fees. That meant that opportunities for self-development through education were in the hands of those who own property and wealth.
Is it possible to have a classless society when we have had social stratification since we formed civilizations?
Models of Social Stratification
Slavery
In slavery, a group of people is seen as less than the rest of the people. Many civilizations if not all have had some type of slavery. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. But his did not stop the unequal treatment of people of African heritage. There is no justification for some people to be enslaved by others. However, through history, we see that slaves were produced by conquering groups of people and turning them into slaves. They became property. In Roman times those who had acquired debt and could not pay for it could offer themselves as slaves until their debt was paid or even for the rest of their lives. Slavery was a successful economic enterprise for landowners because it provided a cheap labor force that did not require human treatment. Owners of slaves saved on pay and offered their slaves accommodation that would be dignified.
Castes
Although the castes system in India became illegal in 1955, most of the people in their society still believe that there are differences based on castes. Certain groups in this country cannot mix with the rest of society. Although for most of us this might seem like something outrageous, we do have social stratification in other ways. The Indian castes system was based on religious beliefs.
Estates
There was a system that is no longer legal, but we might still find some remnants of it in our current social structure. In the Estate System, there was a clear division of social classes and power. There were the nobles who owned the lands and did not have to work. They have leisure time in their hands and could enjoy and sponsor works of art and culture. Primogeniture gave the first son born all the inheritance of the father, and they kept their power because they convinced the rest of the people that they had the Divine Right of Kings (Kagan, 2004). There was also the clergy. These were many sons of nobles who were not firstborn but wanted comfortable living and power. The church offered these two things. At the lowest tier were the commoners, who were the majority of society who did not own land, did not have any power and had to work for either the nobles or the clergy. This is the mass of people who with their work produced the riches of the higher levels.
Implications of Social Stratification
By now we shall realize that if our place in the social strata is the lowest, it will determine the limitations of opportunities we will have. Although we might have the skills to progress in life, there is a possibility that we won't get an opportunity to demonstrate them. Not only that, but some of us in society will end up stigmatized.
Social Mobility: Closed vs Open Systems
In terms of social mobility, there are two types of systems. One of them is closed systems. In closed systems like the one in India which has castes, there is an extreme rigidity for social mobility, if there is any mobility at all. The social position is based on ascribed status. In India, for example, this idea is originated in culture and religion.
In open systems, there is space for mobility. People can go from one level of social stratification to the other with more ease. Another fact is that in open societies there is a movement upward and downward. The open systems are not perfect, there is still some level of rigidity, but there are more possibilities for movement to be achieved, instead of ascribed. The United States, for example, is considered an open system. There is this idea that with hard work and commitment you could achieve "the American dream". This is based on meritocracy, the idea that if you work hard, you get back merits that accommodate you little by little into a better place in society.
Theoretical Perspectives on Social Stratification
When we study social inequality and social stratification it will depend on what theoretical framework we choose. For structural functionalists, for example, we have stratification because it is a necessity for society to function. Social inequality, poverty, injustice, among other things, are justified based on this approach.
Social conflict theory, we might guess by now, argues that these differences in society are not necessary and that there is a need for those who are being oppressed to revolt against injustice. For social conflict theory capitalism as a system does not take into consideration humanity first, but capital. Therefore, it is a system that goes against the people that make it work. Ideology keeps people thinking that this system is best for them. Marxist theorists argue that this ideology is created by those who benefit from it, the owners of the means of production.
Symbolic interactionism looks at how we create meaning and symbols related to our interaction with them. The values we perpetuate are based on the symbols we keep placing in a high hierarchy and we go in a kind of loop.