The Impact of Social Class and Stratification - 1728 Words

Skylar Freve Mr. Gompf Sociology 101 30 November, 2010 The Impact of Social Class/Stratification Stratification and the division of people into social classes is a fundamental part of American society. Stratification is a concept that is universal; it is found in every country, every nation of the world. It is a system in which large groups of people, not individuals, are divided into different layers according to their relative property, power, and prestige. Stratification applies not only to the different nations of the world as a whole, but to the different groups of people within those nations as well. Each of these groups is stratified into its own class; the group of people ranked most closely to them in property,†¦show more content†¦This group of power elite uses their status to affect only laws and changes that benefit them and perpetuate the cycle that keeps them at the top. So, while social mobility is possible within a class system, it is not always easy to come by (Henslin 207-210). Each social class is like a subculture of society with distinct appro aches to life. Your social class can affect your physical and mental health, family life, education, and influence your religion and politics. It can even affect your interactions with crime and the criminal justice system. The higher up the social ladder you are, the more access you have to better health care, advanced education, and other opportunities. Which social class you belong to affects your decision of whom to marry; whether you will vote democrat, republican, or not at all; and even which religious denomination you will belong to. Statistically, the upper classes tend to vote republican, the middle and working class democratic, and the lowest classes do not vote at all. Your social class can also affect your dealings with the criminal justice system. Most crimes are committed within the criminal’s home neighborhood, so lower classes are more likely to be victims of these crimes. From another aspect, the white-collar crimes of the privileged classes are gene rally dealt with outside the justice system, while the street crimes of the lower class are dealt with through police interaction and court cases. This meansShow MoreRelatedSocial Stratification1747 Words   |  7 Pagesaddress what social stratification is, and why sociologists consider it crucial to our understanding of today’s society. In addition it will also be discussing the three dimensions of social stratification and how we think its changed since the 1970s and 80s to today, and which theory we think best explains this change. Along with how the inequality of valued resources impacts America as a whole, and how the recent financial meltdown has made stratification worse in America. Stratification can be definedRead MoreStratification Impact On Society877 Words   |  4 Pages The meaning of stratification is inequalities between people, community or society. It can happen socially or economically based on social status, class, ethnicity, income, wealth, race, religion, gender and power. Stratification is an unfair situation and we can find it almost in every society. In this case, resources in a society distributed unequally. For instance, in some society men and women treated differently. In Asia, some community believes that women cannot eat before man orRead MoreThe Impact Of Social Stratification On Minorities1195 Words   |  5 Pages†¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨The impact on minorities due to inequality†¨Introduction †¨During the course of this class I have learned about social problems within the society in which we live and around the world. 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This then leaves young Americans without the proper knowledge to fully contextualize the reasons for which opportunity in the United States is unequal due to social class imbalances forRead MoreSocial Inequality And Educational Opportunity And Health1577 Words   |  7 Pageseveryday life preferably thinking that there is no class stratification within America. They have thought that they no longer have those social classes that existed like a century ago (Ervin 7). Acknowledging the various social strata most often people prefer to ignore the disparity that is associated with them. Historically, social disparities relate to educational opportunity and health. However, a lot of improvements have been made in the social institutions and structures benefiting the entire