Social Stratification: Impacts of Technology & Industrialization
Social Stratification and its Impact on Society
Industrial Productivity and its Effects
Industrial productivity raises the standard of living for the historically poor majority.
Specialized work demands schooling for all members of society to participate in the labor force.
Education sharply reduces illiteracy.
A literate population presses for a greater voice in political decision-making, reducing inequality.
Greater equality means lessening of men’s domination over women.
Over time, even wealth becomes somewhat less concentrated (contradicting Marx’s prediction).
The Kuznets Curve
In human history, technological advances first increase, but then moderate social stratification.
Greater inequality is functional for agrarian societies, but industrial societies benefit from a less inequitable system.
Social inequality around the world generally supports the Kuznets curve.
High-income nations that have passed through the INDUSTRIAL ERA (US, Canada, nations of Western Europe) have somewhat less income inequality than nations where a large share of the labor force remains in farming (Latin America, Africa).
Income inequality reflects not just TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT but also POLITICAL and ECONOMIC PRIORITIES.
Social & Global Stratification
Social Stratification is a system where society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy based on four basic principles:
- It is a trait of society.
- It persists from generation to generation.
- It is universal but variable.
- It involves not just inequality but also beliefs.
Caste & Class Systems
The Caste System: (India, caste & agrarian life)
- Closed systems, allow for little change in social position (determined by birth)
The Class System:
- Meritocracy
- Status Inconsistency
- Open system, much more social mobility
To increase meritocracy (promote productivity and efficiency): Industrial societies teach people to expect inequality of rewards based on individual performance.
Pure Meritocracy (weakens families & other social groupings): Social position depends entirely on a person’s ability and effort.
Social Mobility (3 Types)
- Intergenerational: The change that family members make in social class from one generation to the next. Usually the result of individual effort or individual failure.
- Structural: Changes in society cause class movement, technology, blue to white-collar positions.
- Exchange: Large numbers of people move up & down the social ladder, yet the balance of upper & lower class systems remains the same.
Why Does Social Stratification Exist?
Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore: Social inequality plays a vital part in the operation of society.
Davis-Moore Thesis: Social stratification has beneficial consequences for the operation of a society. Some form of social stratification has been found in every society.
Why is Social Stratification Universal?
- Society must make certain its positions are filled.
- Some positions are more important than others.
- The more important positions must be filled by the more qualified people.
- To motivate the more qualified people to fill these positions, society must offer them greater rewards.
Weber’s “3 P’s of Social Class”
- Property (assets=wealth): determines status in society.
- Prestige (derived from property=wealth): people admire the wealthy, other factors dictate prestige (celebrities).
- Power (ability to control others): Property (wealth) is the basis of power. Prestige (wealth & celebrity status) is turned into power.
Status Consistency & Inconsistency
Status Consistency: Similar rank in all 3 dimensions of social class, property/wealth, power, prestige.
Status Inconsistency: Mixture of high & low ranks according to Weber’s 3 P’s of social class.
Social Stratification: Marx & Weber
Marx & Weber treat social stratification as a macro-level issue.
Karl Marx
- Views equality as a more positive value.
- Inequality is harmful because it caused both human suffering and conflict between haves and have-nots.
- Social stratification springs from injustice and greed, wanted people to share resources fairly.
- The study of social stratification at all levels of society involves a mix of FACTS and VALUES about the shape of a just society.
Max Weber
- Socialism increases inequality by expanding government & concentrating power in the hands of a political elite.
- Doubted that overthrowing capitalism would significantly lessen social stratification.
- Overthrowing capitalism might reduce economic differences.
Gerhard Lenski’s Model of Socio-Cultural Evolution
A society’s technology affects its type of social stratification:
- Hunter/gatherer societies
- Horticultural, pastoral, and agrarian societies
- Industrial societies
Hunter/Gatherer Societies
- Simple technology, produce only what’s necessary for day-to-day living.
- Some may produce more than others, but the group’s survival depends on sharing what they have. Little inequality.
Horticultural, Pastoral, and Agrarian Societies
- Technological advances create a surplus & more social inequality, the elite controls most of the surplus.
- Large-scale agriculture is more productive (true, any time in history).
Industrial Societies
- Advanced technologies lower social inequality.
- Prompted by the need to develop individual talents, meritocracy takes hold and weakens the power of the traditional elites.