German sociologist Max Weberdeveloped a theory proposing that
stratification is based on three factors that have become known as
"the three p's of stratification": property, prestige and power. He
claimed that social stratification is a result of the interaction
of wealth (class), prestige status (or in German Stand)
and power (party).
- Prestige is a significant factor in determining one's place in
the stratification system. The ownership of property is not always
going to assure power, but there are frequently people with
prestige and little property.
- Property refers to one's material possessions and their life
chances. If someone has control of property, that person has power
over others and can use the property to his or her own
benefit.
- Power is the ability to do what one wants, regardless of the
will of others. (Domination, a closely related concept, is the
power to make others' behavior conform to one's commands). This
refers to two different types of power, which are possession of
power and exercising power. For example, some people in charge of
the government have an immense amount of power, and yet they do not
make much money.
Max Weber developed various ways that societies are organized in
hierarchical systems of power. These ways are social status, class
power and political power.
- Class Power: This refers to unequal access to resources. If you
have access to something that someone else needs, that can make you
more powerful than the person in need. The person with the resource
thus has bargaining power over the other.
- Social Status (Social Power): If you view someone as a social
superior, that person will have power over you because you believe
that person has a higher status than you do.
- Political Power: Political power can influence the hierarchical
system of power because those that can influence what laws are
passed and how they are applied can exercise power over
others.