Social and

Political
Stratification
 Social Stratification
• It derives from the Latin strātum (plural strata; parallel, horizontal
layers)
• defined as a system by which society ranks categories of people in a
hierarchy.
• referring to a given society’s categorization of its people into rankings
of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, social
status, occupation and power.
 Social Stratification
• Stratification is the division of society into classes that have unequal
amounts of wealth, power, and prestige. In a stratified society,
inequality is part of the social structure and passes from one
generation to the next. - Max Weber
• Arrangement of any social group or society into hierarchy of positions
that are unequal with regard to power, property, social evaluation and
psychic gratification .- Melvin M. Tumin
 Social
Stratification:
Ancient Times
 Social Stratification: Ancient Times
• In Ancient Egypt there were four social classes.
• At the top was the royal family, along with a large number of nobles
and priests.
• Next class was professional soldiers.
• Middle class comprised of merchants, artisans, and scribes .
• Lastly the peasants, who were mostly farmers. At the bottom, were
the slaves, many of whom had been brought to Egypt as prisoners of
war.
Social Classes
Refers to a
group of people
with similar
levels of
wealth,
influence, and
status.
 Types of Social Classes
Social Stratification is distinguished as three social
classes.

1.The Upper Class

2.The Middle Class
3.The Lower Class
 Types of Social Classes
1. The Upper Class
Consists of the elite family who are the most
prolific and successful in their respective areas.
Types of upper class
• Upper-upper class – includes those aristocratic and high society
families with old money who have been rich for generations.
• Lower-upper class – includes those with new money or money made
from investment, business ventures and so forth.
 Types of Social Classes
2. The Middle Class
Mostly professional people. They Value Education
most since education to them is the most important
measure of social status.
White collar workers.
Types of middle class
• Upper middle class – is often made up of highly educated business
and professional people with high incomes, such as doctors, lawyers,
and CEOs.
• Lower middle class – is often made up of less educated people with
lower incomes, such as managers, small business owners, teachers
and secretaries. (www.cliffnotes.com)
 Types of Social Classes
3.The Lower Class
“The Underclass”Skilled and unskilled
craftsman,farm employees, underemployed
and indigent families.
Types of lower class
• Lower class/under class – poverty, homeless and unemployed.
• Working class – those minimally educated people who engage in
“manual labour” with little or no prestige. Unskilled and skilled
workers.
Status
In sociology or
anthropology, social
status is the honor or
prestige attached to
one's position in society.
 Status
The Higher and Lower positions that come
about through social stratification is called
statuses.
 Ascribed and Achieved
Statuses
Ascribed Statuses
refers to a position one holds in a social
system that one attains involuntarily or by
birth.
 Ascribed and Achieved
Statuses
Achieved Statuses
It is one which an individual achieved by his
effort.
Developing mastery
• Tell if the picture is ascribe or achieved status
Developing Mastery
 Prestige and Esteem
Prestige
Refers to the evaluation of status.

Esteem
Refers to the assessment of our role
behaviour.
 Cause of
Social
Stratification
Cause of Social Stratification
1. Inequality
Inequality exists because of natural differences in people‘s abilities.
2. Conflict
Stratification occurs due to conflict between different classes, with
the upper classes using superior power to take a larger share of the
social resources.
3.Power
Power influences one‘s definition of self and the importance of ideas
in defining social situations.
Cause of Social Stratification
4.Wealth
Difference in the wealth is also one of the causes of
social stratification.
5.Instability
Instability in the society being the cause of social
stratification enhances stability and induces members
of the society to work hard.