Social Stratification Class Ethnicity and Racism Objectives Demonstrate

Social Stratification: Class, Ethnicity and Racism

Objectives • Demonstrate knowledge of the concepts relating to the variation in degree of social inequality. • Distinguish between egalitarian, rank, class, and caste, societies. • Show racism and inequality are related. • Demonstrate a relationship between ethnicity and inequality. • Discuss the emergence of stratification

Take Five • Do you believe that “all men are creating equal” Explain your answer. What do you think the founding fathers meant when these words were added to the declaration of Independence?

Variation in Degree of Social Inequality • Societies vary in the extent to which social groups, as well as individuals have unequal access to advantages. • Three types of advantages: 1. Wealth and economic resources 2. Power 3. Prestige

Wealth and Economic Resources • Are things that have value in culture. • Include land tools and other technology

Power • The ability to make others do what they do not want to do. • Power is influence based on the threat of force.

Prestige • Someone or some group is accorded particular respect or honor.

Three types of Societies • Egalitarian Society: contain no social groups with greater or lesser access to economic resources, power or prestige. • Rank Society: Do not have unequal access to economic resources or to power but they do contain unequal access to prestige. • Class Societies: Have unequal access to all three advantages.

Three types of Societies Type of Society Economic Resources Power Prestige Examples Egalitarian No No No !Kung, Inuit Rank No No Yes Samoans Class/Caste Yes Yes United States

Egalitarian Society • Egalitarian societies can be found not only among foragers such as the !Kung, Australian aborigines, and Inuit, but also among horticulturalists such as the Lapps.

Egalitarian Society • An Egalitarian does not mean that all people within such societies are the same. There will always be difference among individuals in age and gender and in such abilities or traits as hunting skill, health, creativity, physical powers, attractiveness, and intelligence.

Egalitarian Society • There are differences in position and prestige arising out of different in ability. • Different prestige exists, but it is neither transferable nor inheritable. • For example: great hunter or great artist.

Egalitarian Society • There may be individuals with more influence, but it cannot be inherited, and there are no groups with appreciably more influence over time. An egalitarian society keeps inequality at a minimal level.

Egalitarian Society • Any differences in prestige that do exist are not relative to economic differences. • Egalitarian groups depend heavily on sharing, which ensures equal access to economic resources despite differences in acquired prestige. • For example, hunting societies.

Egalitarian Society • They do not have social groups with unequal access to power. • Egalitarian societies use a number of customs to keep leaders from dominating others. • Criticism and ridicule can be very effective. • The Mbuti of Central Africa shout down an overassertive leader. • In extreme cases, a particularly domineering leader may be killed by community agreement; this behavior is reported among the !Kung and the Hadza. • Among more nomadic groups, people may just move away from a leader they don’t like.

Egalitarian Society • Dominance comes naturally to humans. Egalitarian societies work hard to reverse that tendency. • Economic resources such as food and commonly shared, and even tools and weapons are frequently passed from person to person. • Only within family are rights and privileges differentiated.

Egalitarian Society • Foraging societies with extensive sharing of resources are more readily labeled egalitarian as compared with some pastoral societies

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