Sociology - Chapter 8 Social Stratification June 2019

Social Stratification
Chapter 8
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Concept
•Understand the 3 types of Social Stratification
•Understand the baseline data on inequality in US,
China and Japan
•Know how to use theoretical approach to explain
inequality
Application
As an activist – to develop campaigns to improve
inequality in your society
As individual – to apply framework to improve personal
socio-economic status

Food Scavengers of Cambodia

Enjoying Holidays on Yacht

Social Stratification - a system by which a society ranks categories

of people in a hierarchy
1. Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of

individual differences. Privileged position - Children born into wealthy
families are more likely to enjoy good health, do well in school, succeed
in a career, and live a long life.
2. Social stratification carries over from generation to generation.
Social mobility may be upward or downward but very often was passed
down from parents.
3. Social stratification is universal but variable. In some societies,
inequality is mostly a matter of prestige; in others, wealth or power is the
key element of difference.
4. Social stratification involves not just inequality but beliefs as
well. A system of inequality also defines these arrangements as fair.

Sociologists distinguish between closed systems, which allow for

little change in social position, and open systems, which permit
much more social mobility.
Closed System - The Caste System

A caste system is social stratification based on ascribed status,
or birth. Birth alone determines a person’s entire future, allowing
little or no social mobility based on individual effort.
Open System - The Class System

A class system, social stratification based on both birth and
achieved status (individual achievement). Modern economy -
depends on developing people’s talents in diverse fields. Good
education and enhancing skills allows social mobility.

The Caste System
Social Stratification based on Ascription
•Over 250 million people worldwide continue to suffer caste

discrimination. The most prominent are the Dalits of South Asia
— including Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and
Pakistan. Other examples include the Buraku people of Japan,
the Osu of Nigeria’s Igbo people, and certain groups in
Senegal and Mauritania.
•Caste imposes enormous obstacles to their full attainment of

civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.
•Under various caste systems throughout the world, caste

divisions also dominate in housing, marriage, and general
social interaction—divisions that are reinforced through the
practice and threat of social ostracism, economic boycotts,
and even physical violence.
The Caste System
The Caste System of Traditional India
When they divided Puruṣa how many portions did they make? What
do they call his mouth, his arms? What do they call his thighs and
feet? The Brahman was his mouth, of both his arms was the
Rājanya made. His thighs became the Vaiśya, from his feet the
Śūdra was produced.
Rig Veda 10.90
Manusmriti - book on Hindu law and dating back to at least 1,000

years BC, acknowledges the caste system as the basis of order of
society.
The fall of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial
regime further institutionalized the Caste system.

The Caste System
Brahmins
Priests and Teachers
Kshatriyas
Warriors and Rulers
Vaishyas
Farmers, Traders and Merchants
Shudras
Labourers
Dalits (Outcastes)
Street Sweepers
Latrine Cleaners

The Caste System
Relationship between Caste and Occupation in India
Source: Indian Anthropology : Racial, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Elements in Indian Population
The Caste System
Caste System in India Today

India's constitution banned discrimination on the basis of caste, and, in
an attempt to a level playing field to the traditionally disadvantaged,
quotas in government jobs and educational institutions for scheduled
castes and tribes were introduced in 1950
In 1989, quotas were extended to include a grouping called the OBCs

(Other Backward Classes) which fall between the traditional upper castes
and the lowest.
Secular education and growing urbanisation, different castes live side-by-

side and inter-caste marriages are becoming common.
Southern states and in the northern state of Bihar, many people began
using just one name after social reform movements. However, caste
identities remain strong, and last names are almost always indications
of what caste a person belongs to.

The Caste System
10 Worst Place to be Dalit in India (2016)
Uttar Pradesh
Rajastan
Bihar
Madhya Pradesh
*based on 2016 Data

The Caste System
Caste System in India Today

India's constitution banned caste discrimination, and create level playing
field via quotas in government jobs and educational opportunities for
scheduled castes and tribes were introduced in 1950
In 1989, quotas were extended to include a grouping called the OBCs

(Other Backward Classes) which fall between the traditional upper
castes and the lowest.
•Secular education and growing urbanisation, different castes live side-

by-side and inter-caste marriages are becoming common.
•Southern states and in the northern state of Bihar, many people began
using just one name after social reform movements.
However, caste identities remain strong, and last names are almost
always indications of what caste a person belongs to.

The Caste-Like System
Caste-like System in North Korea
Source: North Korea’s class warfare: Social rhetoric, caste-system a reality under Kim dynasty
The Caste-Like System of North Korea : Songbun System
The North Korean political structure uses the term Songbun to refer to
one’s socio-political background. It has established two types of Songbun.
Chulsin Songbun: Refers to the socio-economic background of one’s

family, including that of one’s parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles,
aunts, and cousins
Sahoe Songbun: Refers to one’s individual socio-political and economic

behavior and performance
The songbun system identifies, assesses, categorizes, and politically

stratifies each North Korean resident as a political asset or liability to the
socialist revolution and the regime in general and to the ruling Kim family
specifically.

The 3 Classes in North Korea
The Core Class (Haeksim) - Loyal to the Kim regime and therefore
receives significant privileges in all aspects of life. Serve in positions that
sustain and protect the Kim regime. Given priority in every known social
welfare and support such as employment, education, housing, medical
treatment, or even food.
The Wavering Class (Dongyo) - Loyalty to the party is deemed

questionable but who can serve the regime well through proper economic
and political performance. Constant ideological indoctrination is essential
to maintaining the reliability of the wavering class.
The Hostile Class (Choktae) - Being disloyal to the socialist revolution,

the party, and its leadership. Also referred to as “impure elements” or
“antiparty and anti-revolutionary forces.” Regarded as class enemies and
discriminated in employment, military service, education, food, housing
and medical care.
The Monarchy System
28 Monarchs are still in power today. Only 10 are True Rulers

Caste and Class in United Kingdom
•UK has a class system, but caste elements from England’s aristocratic past are still
evident. A number of British families still hold considerable inherited wealth and
enjoy high prestige. Queen Elizabeth II, is the United Kingdom’s head of state, and
Parliament’s House of Lords is composed of “peers,” about 50% are aristocrats
of noble birth.
•One-fourth of the British people form the middle class. Many earn comfortable
incomes from professions and business and may have investments in the stocks
and bonds.
•Below the middle class – 50% of all Britons consider themselves “working-class,”
earning incomes through manual labor. The remaining 25% make up the lower
class, the poor who lack steady work or who work full time but are paid too little to
live comfortably.
•The British mix of caste elements and meritocracy has produced a highly stratified
society with some opportunity to move upward or downward.

The British Royal Family – Estimated Wealth of US88 Billion (RM366 Billion)
Who owns Britain? A third of the country STILL belongs to the aristocracy.
Vast majority of lands are actually owned by a wealthy core of just 1,200 aristocrats and their relatives.

The Republican Movement in United Kingdom
Republic supports the replacement of the monarch with an elected head of

state. One reason - The cost of monarchy is more than £200m every year
DEBATE: Should the Monarchy Be Abolished?
*This information is sensitive in Thailand and could be seditious in Malaysia

Article 112 of Thailand's criminal code says anyone who "defames, insults or threatens the king, the queen, the heir-
apparent or the regent" will be punished with a jail term between 3 and 15 years.
Lese-Majeste Arrests under King Rama X
•27 Number of individuals arrested. 38 Number of individuals

currently serving prison terms for lèse-majesté
•Bangkok military court convicted Wichai 35 years jail for 10
counts of lese-majesty for posting photos and videos on a
Facebook account.
•Vajiralongkorn’s personal wealth is at least US $30 billion,
among the richest monarch in the world
King Rama X
Malaysia Sedition Act 1948 – 3 Years Jail
“Now, I am in Sweden… Looking for asylum… the Malaysian

government and Sultan treat(ed) me like rubbish… I have
been threatened through gangsters and racist Malay groups in
Malaysia…. Malaysia is not safe for me, police and gangsters
are following me all the time….”

Ali Jalil – Example of Anti-Monarchy Activist from Malaysia

The Class System
The Class System
Social stratification based on birth and individual achievement.

Social mobility based on education and skills
Greater individuality leads to more freedom in selecting a
marriage partner.
Meritocracy
Social stratification based on personal merit such as a person’s
knowledge, abilities, and effort.
Measure of merit - the importance of a job and how well it is
done.
Industrial societies expand equality of opportunity and teach
people to expect unequal rewards based on individual
performance.

The Class System
Status Consistency
The degree of uniformity in a person’s social standing across
various dimensions of social inequality.
Caste system - limited social mobility and high status
consistency.
Example – The Dalits are always poor and having low income
Greater mobility of class systems produces less status
consistency
Lower status consistency - harder to define people’s social
position.
Example - Academic degrees such as PhD enjoys high social
prestige but earn only modest incomes.

Conclusion
The Relative Prestige of Selected Occupation in US

Inequality : A Global Perspective
Measuring Inequality : The Gini-Coefficient Index
 The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of

a frequency distribution such as income
 A Gini coefficient of ZERO expresses perfect equality, where all
values are the same - Everyone has the same income).
 A Gini coefficient of ONE (or 100%) expresses maximal inequality
among values - One person has all the income
 Common index used today are the UN Gini Index, CIA Gini Index
and World Bank Gini Index
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality
DISCUSSION
If you are the leader of your country, what are your ideas to
create a Fair Society?
1.
2.
3.

DISCUSSION
If you are the leader of your country, what are your ideas to
create a Fair Society?
a. Racial Discrimination (Policies that favour certain group)
b. Gender Inequality – harder for women to

get opportunities. Unfair treatment of Muslim women
c. High Taxation (High Prices of Goods) and yet wages is low

Social Class in US – Model by Thompson & Hickey, 2005
Upper Class (1%) - Top-level executives, celebrities, heirs; income of $500,000+

common. Ivy league education common.
Upper Middle Class (15%) - Highly-educated (often with graduate degrees)

professionals & managers with household incomes varying from the high 5-figure
range to commonly above $100,000.
Lower Middle Class (32%) - Semi-professionals and craftsmen with some work
autonomy; household incomes commonly range from $35,000 to $75,000.
Typically, some college education.
Working Class (32%) - Clerical, pink- and blue-collar workers with often low job
security; common household incomes range from $16,000 to $30,000. High
school education.
Lower Class (20%) - Those who occupy poorly-paid positions or rely on

government transfers. Some high school education

Inequality in United States
View Video of US Inequality

Inequality in United States

Inequality in China

Inequality in China

Comparing Income Inequality between China and US

Japan : A Model for Fair Country?
View Video of Japan Airlines

Based on Gini Coefficient Index 2008

Japan Average Salary ComparisonConclusion
for 2014
Salary per month Engineer RM16,000 Janitor RM9,000

Approaches to Understand Inequality

The Davis-Moore Thesis
•Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the

operation of society.
•Washing windows or answering a telephone— easy and can
be performed by almost anyone. Transplanting human organs
— difficult and demand scarce talents
•The greater the functional importance of a position, the more
rewards a society attaches to it. This will promote productivity
and efficiency because rewarding important work with income,
prestige and power encourages people to do these jobs
•Positions a society considers more important must offer
enough rewards to draw talented people away from less
important work.

Critique by Melvin Tumin
•How do we assess the importance of a particular occupation?

Oprah Winfrey earns more in one day (US315 Million Per Year)
than President Obama in a year.
•Ignore how caste elements of social stratification prevent the
development of individual talent. Born to privilege, rich children
have opportunities to develop their abilities that others never have.
•Society emphasis on money – We tend to overestimate the
importance of high-paying work. How about parenting, creative
writing, playing music in a symphony?
•Ignores how social inequality may promote conflict and even
outright revolution.

The Class Conflict of Karl Marx

Social stratification is rooted in people’s relationship to the means
of production
Capitalists: People who own and operate factories and other

businesses in pursuit of profit
Proletariat: Working people who sell their labor for wages
Capitalism will bring about its own downfall because it makes

worker poorer and poorer. Alienation of worker feeling hopeless.
Marx imagined a socialist system that will meet the needs of all
rather than a few elites. He predicted the Class Revolution. In
reality his prediction was not very accurate. Why?

Critique of Karl Marx’s 2-Class Model

•Max Weber improved on Marx’s 2-Class system to three
dimensions of inequality which consists of Class Position,
Status and Power
•This lead to development of Socioeconomic Status (SES) to
refer to composite ranking of social inequality
•Socioeconomic status is often measured as a combination of
education, income and occupation.
•Weber claimed that each of his three dimensions of social
inequality stands out at different points in the evolution of human
societies.
•Status or social prestige is the main difference in agrarian
societies and for industrial society is the dimension of class.

Max Weber and Socioeconomic Status
Class Power
This refers to unequal access to resources. If you have access to
something that someone else needs, that can make you more
powerful than the person in need. The person with the resource thus
has bargaining power over the other.
Social Status (Social Power)

If you view someone as a social superior, that person will have
power over you because you believe that person has a higher status
than you do.
Political Power
Political power can influence the hierarchical system of power
because those that can influence what laws are passed and how they
are applied can exercise power over others.

Max Weber Theory of Social Stratification

What can you do to achieve the following?
Political Power
Status Power Class Power

Increasing Your Socio-Economic Status

Component Indicators What can you do?
Wealth Property such as buildings, • Buy a bungalow

(Class) lands, farms, houses, factories • Buy a Ferrari
and as well as other assets • Own Lands
• Have 1 Million in Bank
Prestige Respect with which a person • Popular Youtuber

(Social) or status position is regarded • Join Beauty Pageant
by others • Be a Movie Director
• Join Elitist Clubs
Power The ability of people or groups • Join a political party

(Influence) to achieve their goals despite • Start a powerful NGO
opposition from others • Start a News Portal
• Be Close friends of
Politicians

Capital in the 21st Century
When the rate of return on capital (r) is greater than the rate of economic
growth (g) over the long term, the result is concentration of wealth

Pierre Bourdieu's Theory on Class Distinction
•According to Bourdieu, tastes in food, culture and presentation, are

indicators of class, because trends in their consumption seemingly
correlate with an individual's fit in society. Each fraction of the classes
develops its own aesthetic criteria.
•A multitude of consumer interests based on differing social positions

necessitates that each fraction "has its own artists and philosophers,
newspapers and critics, just as it has its hairdresser, interior decorator or
tailor.“
•Bourdieu also introduce additional 2 types of Capital (apart from
Economic). Social capital: actual and potential resources linked to
durable network of institutionalized relationships (Who I know?) and
Cultural capital: A person's education (knowledge and intellectual
skills) that provides advantage in achieving a higher social-status in
society.
Network of institutionalized relationships
What kind of Networks are Powerful?

The 3 Types of Cultural Capital

Embodied Cultural Capital
Consists of consciously acquired and passively inherited features that
characterize ways of being and feeling, such as language, tastes,
patterns of communication and behaviour and so forth. It is acquired
over time, through socialization. Example – British Accent
Objectified Cultural Capital

Physical objects that we own, such as our cars, works of art, or even
our groceries. These cultural goods can be transmitted both for
economic profit and for the purpose of “symbolically” conveying the
cultural capital values. Example Owning Picasso Paintings.
Institutionalized Cultural Capital

Institutional recognition, most often in the form of academic credentials
or qualifications, of the cultural capital held by an individual. It also
comprises of job/titles or social family roles like husband or wife.
Example Datukship in Malaysia
Conclusion

THE END

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Social Stratification

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Social Stratification - a system by which a society ranks categories

1. Social stratification is a trait of society, not simply a reflection of

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Sociologists distinguish between closed systems, which allow for

Closed System - The Caste System

Open System - The Class System

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Social Stratification based on Ascription

•Over 250 million people worldwide continue to suffer caste

•Caste imposes enormous obstacles to their full attainment of

•Under various caste systems throughout the world, caste

The Caste System of Traditional India

Manusmriti - book on Hindu law and dating back to at least 1,000

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Relationship between Caste and Occupation in India

Caste System in India Today

In 1989, quotas were extended to include a grouping called the OBCs

Secular education and growing urbanisation, different castes live side-by-

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

10 Worst Place to be Dalit in India (2016)

*based on 2016 Data

Caste System in India Today

In 1989, quotas were extended to include a grouping called the OBCs

•Secular education and growing urbanisation, different castes live side-

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Caste-like System in North Korea

The Caste-Like System of North Korea : Songbun System

Chulsin Songbun: Refers to the socio-economic background of one’s

Sahoe Songbun: Refers to one’s individual socio-political and economic

The songbun system identifies, assesses, categorizes, and politically

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The 3 Classes in North Korea

The Wavering Class (Dongyo) - Loyalty to the party is deemed

The Hostile Class (Choktae) - Being disloyal to the socialist revolution,

The Monarchy System

28 Monarchs are still in power today. Only 10 are True Rulers

Caste and Class in United Kingdom

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

The Republican Movement in United Kingdom

Republic supports the replacement of the monarch with an elected head of

DEBATE: Should the Monarchy Be Abolished?

*This information is sensitive in Thailand and could be seditious in Malaysia

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Lese-Majeste Arrests under King Rama X

•27 Number of individuals arrested. 38 Number of individuals

Malaysia Sedition Act 1948 – 3 Years Jail

“Now, I am in Sweden… Looking for asylum… the Malaysian

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Ali Jalil – Example of Anti-Monarchy Activist from Malaysia

The Class System

Social stratification based on birth and individual achievement.

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE // Lectures by Sean Ang

Measuring Inequality : The Gini-Coefficient Index

 The Gini coefficient measures the inequality among values of