Cosas

Social stratification occurs when groups, sectors, or classes of people are formed based on their wealth. The most powerful are at the top of this hierarchy, and subsequent groups have less power.
Often, groups that hold more power are easily able to increase their power, while groups with less power seem to be stuck in their current postion. As stated in the beginning of “2Pac Sociology Lesson”, the news anchors state that this problem is never going away. According to Tupac, lower classes will try increasingly drastic means to gain power, eventually resulting in a social revolt.
Social status can become so engrained in a person, that they begin to see the world from that standpoint. Tupac mentions a woman he knew that would not date him because he was “too nice”. She was so used to being mistreated, that she was unable to appreciate his efforts.
Near the end of the video, Tupac states that change didn’t come in his mother’s time, and that it won’t come in his time unless someone sacrifices to make life better for everyone else. He tried to pass this message on with his music.
Tupac believed that the lower class in America was at an incredible disadvantage because they had no means to better themselves. He focused on the legal system and racism against blacks. But, with the right catalyst, the lower class could eventually rise up.
This contrasts with the caste system of India, where people are born into a certain social group, and are not able to change their conditions. The caste system is based on their religion, and status is based on power, not necessarily money. Slavery is similar in that a person is not able to better their conditions. It’s up to society to help them, which rarely happens. Slavery still exists in several countries.
Americans are born with certain rights, as outlined in the video “Social Class in America”. While none of them are born into slavery, they are assigned social status based on their parents, which is similar to a mild caste system. However, it is possible to advance their positions within society over time. They have “certical mobility”.
These videos tell us more about society as a whole than the individual groups. Since most of the oppression and disadvantage comes from the upper class, the lower class finds it difficult to rebel because they don’t have power. But in places like India, how do systems like these start? How did an entire country decide to fragment themselves?