Social Stratification
Social stratification is the separation of groups into distinct strata, or rankings based on many different factors associated with power. There are four main systems of stratification that perpetuates inequality in a society. One system of stratification is slavery. Slavery is a system in which certain people are considered property and are forced to serve the individuals who own them. For example, in the past African Americans had no choice but to be slaves to members of the white population in the United States. “Slave” is an ascribed status that cannot be changed, thus slavery is considered to be a closed system. Another example of a closed system is the caste system. In a caste system, individuals have ascribed …show more content…
Class consciousness refers to when the proletariat realize the inequality in the social system and wish to no longer remain in their inferior positions. Members of the proletariat share the same values and engage in political actions to start social change. Marx believes that the reason that political actions do not occur is because of the dominant ideology of meritocracy. Dominant ideology is defined as a set of beliefs and actions that strengthens the political, social and economic interests of those in power. In this case, meritocracy results in false consciousness, an attitude that opposes the ideas of their objective position, to escape the inferior social class. Because individuals believe they have a chance to move up the social levels into the bourgeoisie class, so they do not participate in political activities to change the social system …show more content…
Cultural capitals are associated with cultural aspects such as tastes, knowledge, language, values, beliefs and attitudes that individuals use to interact with each other. Although there is no well-defined rule that states which cultural capital belongs to which class, there is an implied consensus of which cultural capitals seem to belong to higher classes. Generally, those who seem more “sophisticated” are those who have the cultural capital that links with the higher class, which usually has more power. For example, individuals who show interests of art auctions can usually afford to bid, which means they have a high level of economic resources. In our society, money is a resource that is earned through the means of material, social or cultural
Social stratification is the separation of groups into distinct strata, or rankings based on many different factors associated with power. There are four main systems of stratification that perpetuates inequality in a society. One system of stratification is slavery. Slavery is a system in which certain people are considered property and are forced to serve the individuals who own them. For example, in the past African Americans had no choice but to be slaves to members of the white population in the United States. “Slave” is an ascribed status that cannot be changed, thus slavery is considered to be a closed system. Another example of a closed system is the caste system. In a caste system, individuals have ascribed …show more content…
Class consciousness refers to when the proletariat realize the inequality in the social system and wish to no longer remain in their inferior positions. Members of the proletariat share the same values and engage in political actions to start social change. Marx believes that the reason that political actions do not occur is because of the dominant ideology of meritocracy. Dominant ideology is defined as a set of beliefs and actions that strengthens the political, social and economic interests of those in power. In this case, meritocracy results in false consciousness, an attitude that opposes the ideas of their objective position, to escape the inferior social class. Because individuals believe they have a chance to move up the social levels into the bourgeoisie class, so they do not participate in political activities to change the social system …show more content…
Cultural capitals are associated with cultural aspects such as tastes, knowledge, language, values, beliefs and attitudes that individuals use to interact with each other. Although there is no well-defined rule that states which cultural capital belongs to which class, there is an implied consensus of which cultural capitals seem to belong to higher classes. Generally, those who seem more “sophisticated” are those who have the cultural capital that links with the higher class, which usually has more power. For example, individuals who show interests of art auctions can usually afford to bid, which means they have a high level of economic resources. In our society, money is a resource that is earned through the means of material, social or cultural