UNDERSTANDING CULTURE SOCIETY AND POLITICS

1. MODULE 3: SOCIAL
AND POLITICAL
STRATIFICATION

2. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
- Is a form of inequality. It is a process wherein the members of the society
are ranked in terms of their superiority.
MEMBERS ARE DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT STRATA OR LAYERS THAT FALL IN
THE HIERARCHY:
A. SOCIAL DESIRABLES
B. SOCIAL MOBILITY SYSTEM
C. SOCIAL INEQUALITY
D. GENDER INEQUALITY
E. ETHNIC MINORITIES
F. OTHER MINORITY GROUPS
G. GLOBAL INEQUALITY

3. SOCIAL DESIRABLES
- Social standards vary or status in every society. However, according to Max
Weber most societies would favor those with power prestige or status and
wealth or class.
3 COMPONENT THEORY OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION:
1. POWER
2. PRESTIGE
3. WEALTH

4. POWER
- Refers to the ability to influence
other people. It is getting what they
want despite the unwillingness of
others to give in their desires.

5. PRESTIGE
- Refers to the person’s position in the society.
This refers to having a certain status that
enables you to have resources or
opportunities that others without your status
cannot have.

6. WEALTH
- Refers to the amount of resources that
you have.

7. SOCIAL MOBILITY SYSTEM
 Is how people manage to change their social position over a period of
time.
2 TYPES OF MOVEMENT:
1. VERTICAL MOBILITY- refers to how people would move up and down the
social hierarchy.
2. HORIZONTAL MOBILITY- refers to a person were to move in an equally
ranked position.

8. 2 TYPES OF SYSTEM BASED ON SOCIAL MOBILITY:
1. OPEN CLASS SYSTEM- is a person’s status is based
on their achievement.
2. CLOSED CLASS SYSTEM- in these societies people
are born into their classes and they will usually
remain in their ascribed status for the rest of their
life.

9. SOCIAL INEQUALITY
 People having unequal access to various resources and privileges in
society.
3 FACTORS CHARACTERIZED BY SOCIAL INEQUALITY:
1. Wealth
2. Power
3. prestige

10. GENDER INEQUALITY
- Is characterized by having some people deprived of privileges
such as some occupations, equal pay, education, rights that
others enjoy due to their sex or gender.
- Some of the researchers that study gender inequality would
question on whether women have had subordinate roles in all
societies but they all believe that most communities, men have
held the dominant roles.

11. ETHNIC MINORITIES
- There will always be groups of people in a society that will be
classified as minorities.
- Their civil, political, economic and social and cultural rights are
sometimes violated because they are discriminated due to
their ethnicity.
- Ethnic inequality is present throughout the globe.
- Aside from the social discrimination felt by these people, the
global economy is also affected.

12. OTHER MINORITY GROUPS
-aside from the social standing, ethnicity and gender,
there are other factors that can affect how an individual
is treated in society.
- A person’s religions, disabilities and beliefs can affect
their influence and position in society.

13. GLOBAL INEQUALITY
 Inequality and discrimination exists in societies across the globe. The
discriminatory practices in these communities can cause significant alarm
in the global scale.
2 main figures affecting international activities:
a. State
b. Non-state actors

14. STATE
- As explained by the National Intelligence Council (
NIC Eurasia group seminars are classified into 3
categories:
1. state is a weak states
2. modernizing states
3. post industrial states