Question

“If hard labour were such a good thing the rich would keep it all for themselves. All over the world, back-breaking work like stone breaking, digging, carrying heavy weights, pulling rickshaws or carts is invariably done by the poor. And yet they rarely improve their life chances.” Which social phenomena is reflected in this proverb? Give any two characteristics of this phenomena.

Answer 1

The term social stratification to refer to a system by which categories of people in a society are ranked in a hierarchy. This hierarchy then shapes people’s identity and experiences, their relations with others, as well as their access to resources and opportunities.

1. Social stratification is a characteristic of society, not simply a function of individual differences: Social stratification is a society-wide system that unequally distributes social resources among categories of people.
2. Social stratification persists over generations: It is closely linked to the family and to the inheritance of social resources from one generation to the next. A person’s social position is ascribed. That is, children assume the social positions of their parents.
3. Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology: Social stratification is supported by patterns of belief, or ideology. No system of social stratification is likely to persist over generations unless it is widely viewed as being either fair or inevitable.