Sociology Social Stratification and Inequality Global Stratification & Quick Review
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Global Stratification
Not only is each society stratified, but in a global perspective, societies are stratified in relation to one another. Sociologists employ three broad categories to denote global stratification: most industrialized nations, industrializing nations, and least industrialized nations. In each category, countries differ on a variety of factors, but they also have differing amounts of the three basic components of the American stratification system: wealth (as defined by land and money), power, and prestige.
The countries that could be considered the most industrialized include the United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, France, and the other industrialized countries of Western Europe, all of which are capitalistic. Industrializing nations include most of the countries of the former Soviet Union. The least industrialized nations account for about half of the land on Earth and include almost 70 percent of the world’s people. These countries are primarily agricultural and tend to be characterized by extreme poverty. The majority of the residents of the least industrialized nations do not own the land they farm, and many lack running water, indoor plumbing, and access to medical care. Their life expectancy is low when compared to residents of richer countries, and their rates of illness are higher.
Theories of Global Stratification
Several theories purport to explain how the world became so highly stratified.
Colonialism
Colonialism exists when a powerful country invades a weaker country in order to exploit its resources, thereby making it a colony. Those countries that were among the first to industrialize, such as Great Britain, were able to make colonies out of a number of foreign countries. At one time, the British Empire included India, Australia, South Africa, and countries in the Caribbean, among others. France likewise colonized many countries in Africa, which is why in countries such as Algeria, Morocco, and Mali French is spoken in addition to the countries’ indigenous languages.
World System Theory
Immanuel Wallerstein’s world system theory posited that as societies industrialized, capitalism became the dominant economic system, leading to the globalization of capitalism. The globalization of capitalism refers to the adoption of capitalism by countries around the world. Wallerstein said that as capitalism spread, countries around the world became closely interconnected. For example, seemingly remote events that occur on the other side of the world can have a profound impact on daily life in the United States. If a terrorist attack on a Middle Eastern oil pipeline interrupts production, American drivers wind up paying more for fuel because the cost of oil has risen.
Neocolonialism
Sociologist Michael Harrington used the term neocolonialism to describe the tendency of the most industrialized nations to exploit less-developed countries politically and economically. Powerful countries sell goods to less-developed countries, allowing them to run up enormous debts that take years to pay off. In so doing, the most developed nations gain a political and economic advantage over the countries that owe them money.
Multinational Corporations
Sometimes, multinational corporations, large corporations that do business in a number of different countries, can exploit weak or poor countries by scouring the globe for inexpensive labor and cheap raw materials. These corporations often pay a fraction of what they would pay for the same goods and employees in their home countries. Though they do contribute to the economies of other countries, the real beneficiaries of their profits are their home countries. Multinational corporations help to keep the global stratification system in place.
Quick Review
The Origins of Social Stratification
- All modern societies are stratified, arranged hierarchically into layers due to an unequal distribution of society’s rewards.
- Hunting and gathering societies had no social stratification because all members had to produce food and share it.
- Stratification arose with job specialization that began in pastoral and horticulture societies. Not everyone in the society needed to be involved in food production.
- Rise of industrialized societies led to increased stratification as the difference between the haves and the have-nots grew.
- Some improvement in working conditions created a middle class.
- New technologies created a new social group, skilled workers.
- The new technology used in postindustrial societies contributed to increased worldwide stratification.
Historical Stratification Categories
- Historical stratification systems include slavery, the estate system, and indentured servitude.
- Slavery is a system of stratification in which one person owns another.
- The estate system, prevalent in the Middle Ages, was a three-tiered system composed of the nobility, clergy, and commoners.
- Some commoners sought new opportunities in the New World and agreed to indentured servitude to get there. Unlike slavery, in which the enslaved have no choice, indentured servants agree to sell their bodies or labor to someone for a specified period of time.
Modern Stratification Systems
- Slavery still exists as a stratification system.
- The caste system is based on ascribed status, which is a condition of birth, and allows little or no possibility for mobility.
- India’s caste system is based on a belief in reincarnation, the belief that while the physical body dies, the soul of a person is immortal and goes on to be reborn into another body.
- People in castes must marry within their own caste. This practice is known as endogamy.
- Social mobility is an important characteristic of the class system, which is based on achieved status.
- The United States has a class system of stratification.
Theories of Stratification
- Karl Marx argued that there were only two classes of people in any capitalist society: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He believed that the proletariat would eventually realize they were being exploited by the bourgeoisie and would rise up in revolution.
- Max Weber argued that owning property was only part of determining a person’s social class. Power and prestige were equally important.
- Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore believed that stratification served an important function for society. It provided greater rewards to people willing to take more complex jobs.
- Melvin Tumin disagreed, arguing that all societies are not meritocracies, systems of stratification in which positions are given according to individual merit. Gender and a family’s wealth contribute to social class.
The Stratification System of the United States
- A person’s socioeconomic status (SES) is based on education, occupation, and income.
- These categories are not always reliable predictors of social class.
Social Classes in the United States
- Sociologists have identified six social classes in the United States.
- The upper class, which makes up about one percent of the U.S. population, generally consists of those with vast inherited wealth (sometimes called “old money”).
- The category called new money includes rich people whose wealth is relatively new. This class makes up about 15 percent of the population.
- The middle class, about 34 percent of the population, includes people who work at professional or white-collar jobs.
- Members of the working class, about 30 percent of the population, often work at blue-collar jobs.
- The working poor are people who have little to no job security and who, despite working two or more jobs, barely earn enough money to survive.
- People at the poverty level lack the means to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.
Poverty in America
- A staggering number of Americans currently live below the poverty level.
- Many people living in poverty are women. The feminization of poverty refers to the increasing number of female-headed households living at or below the poverty level.
- William Julius Wilson found that poverty is concentrated in inner cities and the rural South.
- Poverty exacts a high emotional and physical toll on individuals.
- According to Oscar Lewis, poor people do not learn the norms and values that can help them improve their circumstances, hence they get trapped in a culture of poverty.
Global Stratification
- Societies are stratified in relation to one another.
- The three broad categories of global stratification are most-industrialized nations, industrializing nations, and least-industrialized nations.
- Each category differs in wealth, power, and prestige.
- Theories of global stratification include colonialism, world system theory, neocolonialism, and multinational corporations.
- Colonialism occurs when a powerful country invades a weaker country in order to exploit its resources.
- According to Wallerstein’s world system theory, as societies industrialized, capitalism became the dominant economic system, which led to the globalization of capitalism.
- Harrington’s theory of neocolonialism argues that most industrialized nations tend to politically and economically exploit less developed countries.
- Multinational corporations help maintain the global stratification system.
