For example, the poor have higher rates of cigarette smoking (34 percent of people with annual incomes between $6,000 and $11,999 smoke, compared to only 13 percent of those with incomes $90,000 or greater [Goszkowski, 2008]), which helps cause them to have more serious health problems. (This example is very hypothetical, but please keep reading.) As an example, Marx called religion the opiate of the masses. By this he meant that religious beliefs influence the poor to feel that their fate in life is Gods will or a test of their belief in God. Name four examples of stratification systems. American Sociological Review, 18, 387393. Functional theory argues that the promise of very high incomes is necessary to encourage talented people to pursue important careers such as surgery. What are the two key ideas on which the Weberian theory of stratification is based? What is the difference between stratification and differentiation? Life chances is a concept that refers to the opportunities people have to improve their quality of life, based on their socioeconomic status. establish an egalitarian relationship with the client. In these books, the consequences of poverty discussed later in this chapter acquire a human face, and readers learn in great detail what it is like to live in poverty on a daily basis. These functions include the following: (1) poor people do the work that other people do not want to do; (2) the programs that help poor people provide a lot of jobs for the people employed by the programs; (3) the poor purchase goods, such as day-old bread and used clothing, that other people do not wish to purchase, and thus extend the economic value of these goods; and (4) the poor provide jobs for doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other professionals who may not be competent enough to be employed in positions catering to wealthier patients, clients, students, and so forth (Gans, 1972). Over 90% of African Americans in this age group had completed high school or were still enrolled in school. Religious beliefs help create false consciousness. Postmodernism moves away from explaining differentiation and stratification solely in economic terms, framing their occurrence as a result of life choices instead of life chances. Social Stratification Theories: Explanation. Is it possible to have a society without stratification? These institutions have unique purposes, and they all depend on one another to perform their core functions. The distribution of social resources, and. Some national survey data support this assumption. Women are financially dependent on men because they can't work during late pregnancy, or their children's period of infancy. The general understanding of differentiation is that different statuses come with different levels of, More about Social Stratification Theories, Social Construction of Health and Illness, Representation of Social Class In The Media, Distribution of Wealth, Poverty, and Income in the UK, Theoretical Approaches to Welfare Providers. What is the name of this phenomenon? Which theory of social stratification argues that class is no longer relevant to sociological analysis? According to structural-functionalists, stratification and inequality are actually constructive phenomena that benefit society: they ensure that the best people are at the top of the hierarchy and those who are less worthy are at the bottom. Regardless of which version one might hold, the individualistic explanation is a blaming-the-victim approach (see Chapter 1 Understanding Social Problems). We'll look at some examples of social inequality. The postmodern theory of social stratification argues that class is no longer relevant to sociology analysis. This is because identity is now much more individualised and less define-able in group terms.
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