Question

Social Stratification and the American Dream

Define and discuss the concept of social stratification. What is it, how do sociologists view the concept, what does it mean for people in society.

Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSloUNWK45s

Discuss example of social stratification as viewed in the video. Discuss opportunities and struggles these people face, discuss how they adjust to and cope with their situations.

Again using social stratification principles, discuss what you think the future holds for these children, families and the US.

Using social stratification principles, will many of these people become rich, let alone middle class in our society? Why? Defend your positions using social stratification principles and examples from the video.

What are possible solutions you see to these situations?

-Please follow the steps as I have laid them out.

-Please be advised I am not looking for you to describe the video to me, I am looking for you to discuss it using social stratification principles! Just talking about examples for the video will not get you many points!

Minimum 1,000 words

Answer 1

• Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power.
• Society’s layers are made of people, and society’s resources are distributed unevenly throughout the layers. The people who have more resources represent the top layer of the social structure of stratification. Other groups of people, with progressively fewer and fewer resources, represent the lower layers of our society.
  
• Sociologists recognize that social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns. Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and the like.
• No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities. The structure of society affects a person’s social standing. Although individuals may support or fight inequalities, social stratification is created and supported by society as a whole.
• In most societies, stratification is an economic system, based on wealth, the net value of money and assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages or investment dividends. While people are regularly categorized based on how rich or poor they are, other important factors influence social standing.
• For example, in some cultures, wisdom and charisma are valued, and people who have them are revered more than those who don’t. In some cultures, the elderly are esteemed; in others, the elderly are disparaged or overlooked. Societies’ cultural beliefs often reinforce the inequalities of stratification.
• People nowadays categorize others on the basis of wealth they have.Relations today are formed on the basis of how much money one has and to while level of social strata one belongs.
• Caste systems are also by used to stratify people.A caste system is one in which people are born into their social standing and will remain in it their whole lives. People are assigned occupations regardless of their talents, interests, or potential. There are virtually no opportunities to improve a person’s social position.
• In the Hindu caste tradition, people were expected to work in the occupation of their caste and to enter into marriage according to their caste.
• Although the caste system in India has been officially dismantled, its residual presence in Indian society is deeply embedded. In rural areas, aspects of the tradition are more likely to remain, while urban centers show less evidence of this past.
• In class systems, people have the option to form exogamous marriages, unions of spouses from different social categories. Marriage in these circumstances is based on values such as love and compatibility rather than on social standing or economics. Though social conformities still exist that encourage people to choose partners within their own class, people are not as pressured to choose marriage partners based solely on those elements. Marriage to a partner from the same social background is an endogamous union.
• Social stratification systems determine social position based on factors like income, education, and occupation. Sociologists use the term status consistency to describe the consistency, or lack thereof, of an individual’s rank across these factors. Caste systems correlate with high status consistency, whereas the more flexible class system has lower status consistency.
• In a class system, a person can work hard and have little education and still be in middle or upper class, whereas in a caste system that would not be possible. In a class system, low status consistency correlates with having more choices and opportunities.
  
• Social stratification based on class system defined by income and status definitel what drives peoples' judgments today.People consider ones who have more money important and influential and definitely "worthy" of being related to.Money is power,is the rule followed today.
• Due to time limit,remaining questions can be asked as another question,they will be answered,thankyou for your cooperation