Social Stratification is defined as “the hierarchical structures of class and status in any society”. These structures defined whole societies and even eras in history. They continue to exist today but they have changed to meet the new standards of society in our modern world. There are 3 systems of stratification, the Caste system, estate, otherwise known as the feudal system, and the class system. Each system sorts people into a status and defines how they should live in their society.
One type of stratification is the caste system. The caste system has a distinct hieratical structure. From birth the people who used the caste system, like India, have their distinct class. The highest class is the Brahman who is the priests and teachers in society. Then there are the Kshatriya who are the rulers, soldiers, and politicians. Below them are the Vaishya who are the merchants and traders. Second to the bottom are the Shudra who are the laborers and peasants. At the very bottom were the Dalit who were the outcasts or the untouchables. Until 1949 this system still existed and today it hasn’t really gone away. People who are in the lower classes can move up in society but for the most part they respect the caste system and still live by it.
Another type of stratification system is the estate system that began when kings and queens ruled over nations, medieval Europe. It was believed that Angels were the top of the “chain of being” just below God and above kings and queens. Then there were the archbishops, Dukes, Duchesses, bishops, marquis, earls, viscounts, barons, abbots, knights, officials, ladies-in-waiting, priests, squires, pages, messengers, merchants, traders, solders, watchmen, household, servants, tenants, farmers, shepherds, beggars, actors, thieves, gypsies, animals, birds, worms, plants, and finally rocks. All of these fall under the three main estates- nobility, clergy, and commoners. These types of systems all dictated what a person could do and not do. The lower class you were the less you could do. It worked fairly well except the separation between nobility and commoners was so great that it appeared that there was no real in between for people, just wealthy and poor. Even more recently in history there was a huge separation between aristocrats and businessmen and the peasants.
The last system of stratification is the class system. The class system is the system we have in America today. It starts with the wealthy, which is a very small population, then there is the middle class and the lower class or the poor. This system is different that the others because it is open and allows for people to move up in society. Poorer people can become rich if they tried, but usually that isn’t the case. According the youtube video from the 50’s it’s hard to move up in society. Someone who is poor can maybe move up to middle class but would have a difficult time becoming part of the upper class. This is mostly the case in smaller towns where people are judged based on their family standing not just personal standing. While movement is available to everyone, it doesn’t happen much.
All three systems have a high class, middle class, and lower class and they all distinguish what someone can do and can’t do in their society. The lower you are in class the less power you have and the higher you are in class the most power you have. The caste system, the estate system, and the class system all exemplify these societal norms.
Citations:
"social stratification." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers. 11 Oct. 2011. <Dictionary.comhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social stratification>.
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