A society is defined as an intricate system composed of people who fall under different social classes. These social classes are characterized largely by the economic status of the occupants. However, in some cases, a social class can be defined by religious status of the people -that is the caste system. In a layman’s language, these social classes are explained in terms of the rich, the middle class and the poor. The occupancy in any one of the above named classes is referred to as social stratification.
With this information on social classes, it then emerges that social stratification is a level occupied in the society based on an economic status and production which has the consequence of rewards to a person in that position.
In every society, there are always three identifiable levels of social stratification. These are the communalism, slavery and estate (Benokraitis 2010)
. In ordinary terms, these are the social classes of pariahs, proletariats, and the nobles. It is important to note that in every ordinary self regulating social system, the communalism, or what is better known as primitive communalism, membership will be characterized by high levels of sharing, and very little inequality. Such a society is dependent minimally on money economy and will well be found in primitive societies. In essence, this level of social stratification will be related to the poor or the pariahs (Benokraitis 2010)
The second main class –the class of the proletariats is comparable to slavery. This is the class of workers. This class is comparable to slavery as there is the general expectation that some people must permanently offer labor to the owners of the instruments of production. Workers don’t have the means of production apart from their labor, which is defined, either in terms of skills or man-power. This social class is seen as slavery as, without skills or man power, the proletariat is doomed to reverting to even a lower less fortunate level of the poor.
The proletariats fall bellow the highest social class of the nobles. Nobles in the modern societies are defined as the owners of the means of production-the rich. This class reins the tools of production, and the employers of the other two classes. The existence of the poor and the workers lie in their hands as they dictate the wages and salaries they pay as a reward for the labor.
It should however, be noted that, in dynamic societies, governed by free economy, and liberal market forces, the existence of any one group of people is not static. This means social stratification in a society is an ever changing situation, with new members joining and others leaving to either an upper or a lower class, depending on ones industriousness or an acquired status through inheritance (Benokraitis 2010)
In conclusion, therefore, it is worth noting that, at times, interaction of these three classes may lead to clashes as a lower class aims at achieving higher status and at the same time the higher class struggles to maintain its high social class-this is called class struggle. Such clashes may arise in forms of strikes or go slows by the workers.
Reference list
Benokraitis, N. V. (2009). SOC. Mason: Cengage Learning. Ellis, E. (2010). difference between sociology and psychology. Retrieved October 23.
