7.9.2-Summary and Review

 Summary and Review Listen to the Audio Listen to the Audio Systems of Social Stratification 7.1 Compare and contrast slavery (including bonded labor), caste, estate, and class systems of social stratification. What is social stratification? Social stratification refers to a hierarchy of privilege based on property, power, and prestige. Every society stratifies its members, and in every society, men-as-a-group dominate women-as-a-group. What are four major systems of social stratification? Four major stratification systems are slavery, caste, estate, and class. The essential characteristic of slavery is that some people own other people. Initially, slavery was based not on race but on debt, punishment for crime, or defeat in battle. Slavery could be temporary or permanent and was not necessarily passed on to the children. North American slavery was gradually buttressed by a racist ideology. In a caste system, people’s status, which is lifelong, is determined by their caste’s relation to other castes. The estate system of feudal Europe consisted of three estates: the nobility, clergy, and peasants (serfs). A class system is much more open than these other systems because it is based primarily on money or material possessions. Industrialization encourages the formation of class systems. Gender cuts across all forms of social stratification. What Determines Social Class? 7.2 Contrast the views of Marx and Weber on what determines social class. Karl Marx argued that a single factor determines social class: If you own the means of production, you belong to the bourgeoisie; if you do not, you are one of the proletariat. Max Weber argued that three elements determine social class: property, power, and prestige. Why Is Social Stratification Universal? 7.3 Contrast the functional and conflict views of why social stratification is universal. To explain why stratification is universal, functionalists Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore argued that to attract the most capable people to fill its important positions, society must offer them greater rewards. Melvin Tumin said that if this view were correct, society would be a meritocracy, with positions awarded on the basis of merit. Gaetano Mosca argued that stratification is inevitable because every society must have leadership, which, by definition, means inequality. Conflict theorists argue that stratification is the outcome of an elite emerging as groups struggle for limited resources. Gerhard Lenski suggested a synthesis between the functionalist and conflict perspectives. 227 How Do Elites Maintain Stratification? 7.4 Discuss the ways that elites keep themselves in power. To maintain social stratification within a nation, the ruling class adopts an ideology that justifies its current arrangements. It also controls information and uses technology. When all else fails, it turns to brute force. Comparative Social Stratification 7.5 Contrast social stratification in Great Britain and the former Soviet Union. What are key characteristics of stratification systems in other nations? The most striking features of the British class system are speech and education. In Britain, accent reveals social class, and almost all of the elite attend private schools. In the former Soviet Union, communism was supposed to abolish class distinctions. Instead, it ushered in a different set of classes. Global Stratification: Three Worlds 7.6 Compare social stratification in the Most Industrialized Nations, the Industrializing Nations, and the Least Industrialized Nations. How are the world’s nations stratified? The model presented here divides the world’s nations into three groups: the Most Industrialized, the Industrializing, and the Least Industrialized. This layering represents relative property, power, and prestige. How Did the World’s Nations Become Stratified? 7.7 Discuss how colonialism and world system theory explain how the world’s nations became stratified. The main theories that seek to account for global stratification are colonialism, world system theory, and the culture of poverty. The text explains each. Maintaining Global Stratification 7.8 Explain how neocolonialism, multinational corporations, and technology help to maintain global stratification. How do elites maintain global stratification? There are two basic explanations for why the world’s countries remain stratified. Neocolonialism is the ongoing dominance of the Least Industrialized Nations by the Most Industrialized Nations. The second explanation points to the influence of multinational corporations. The new technology gives further advantage to the Most Industrialized Nations. Strains in the Global System 7.9 Identify strains in today’s system of global stratification. What strains are showing up in global stratification? All stratification systems contain contradictions that threaten to erupt, forcing the system to change. Currently, capitalism is in crisis, and we seem to be experiencing a major shift in economic (and, ultimately, political and military) power and global influence from the West to the East. Key Terms View Flashcards Key Terms View Flashcards Thinking Critically about Chapter 7 How do slavery, caste, estate, and class systems of social stratification differ? Why is social stratification universal? How do elites maintain stratification (keep themselves in power)? What shifts in global stratification seem to be taking place? Why?