Page 19 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes production, more wealth was generated. Here accumulation of wealth became the basis of
stratification. The group who has greater control over the wealth occupied higher rank in the
society and vice-versa. Class is an example of wealth based stratification.
Power is the chance a man or group to realize their own will in a communal action even against
the resistance of others by legitimate use of coercive method. Power is the power over others.
Power enters into the notion or stratification when it is used by the state to take active role in
influencing the principle of stratification. e.g. through the implementation of positive
discrimination, state is changing the stratification system of Indian society. Lower caste people are
now capable of changing their position in the traditional hierarchy.

2.1 Equality and Inequality to Stratification

Equality
The main question is : Is equality opposite of inequality ? The other questions are : Is equality
illusory ? Is there equality only before the law ? Is there an inherent contradiction between individual
rights and social equality ? Is equality a consequence of violent or radical action on the part of
subordinate/subaltern groups ?
There is a view that “all men are created equal”, at least at the time of birth, despite different
backgrounds of their parents and cultural heritage. Another view is that democratic societies
pronounce equalities of opportunity, outcome, conditions of work, etc. However, it is necessary to
understand the varying meanings and definitions of the concept of “equality”. The concepts of
“equality” and “inequality” are basic to modern social sciences and the capitalist system. Politically
speaking, equality may be a genuine expression, but economically, differential access to societal
resources seems to be a stark reality. Such an inequality is rationalized and justified as an essential
and inevitable phenomenon. Dichotomy between equality and inequality is quite obvious in almost
all walks of life, however, the two are not absolute. Equality and inequality are relative phenomena,
and undergo perceptible change over a period of time due to both structural and cultural factors
of social change. There is always a striving for equality, and in this process, at times, new forms
of inequality may also emerge, along with disappearance/weakening of the persisting inequalities.
When privileges based on status and birth decline, equality and citizenship flourish. However,
genuine equality can be achieved only if capitalistic institutions such as the market, private property,
family inheritance and class system are mitigated. Revival of individualism, competition and
achievement as dominant values should normally encourage equality in life, but in effect, it does
not happen. No society can achieve equality among its citizens without the state support and
welfare measures for the weak and poor. Equality as a system of egalitarian relations disturbs
stability or status quo in a given society. According to Bryan S. Turner, equality can be ensured
only if there is political stability and egalitarian ideology. The nature of equality, the conditions of
social stability, ideology and social movements bring about greater equality and coherence.
Equality as a Value and as a Concept
Turner observes : “Basically, I conceive equality as a value and as a principle, as essentially
modern and progressive”. Today, inequality is no longer taken for granted or as a natural
circumstance of human beings. Why inequality ? What is its moral justification ? Not only equality
is a modern value, it is also used as a measure of modernity and of the whole process of
modernization. Equality is associated with the development of the nation-state, political
egalitarianism and social justice.
Equality, both as a value and a principle, took a concrete shape in the slogan “Liberty, Equality
and Fraternity”, given in the French Revolution of 1789. Social inequality was rejected as an
inevitable and natural phenomenon in the French Revolution. The American Revolution of 1765

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