Page 269 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes such restrictions relating to caste endogamy and clan exogamy. Members of a caste are required
to marry within their caste/sub-caste, and outside their own clan and that of mother, grandmother
and maternal grandmother, etc. Thus, stratification by “status groups” evolves on the basis of
agreed upon communal action and conventional styles of life.
Weber states that with some over-simplification, one might say that “classes” are stratified according
to their relations to the production and acquisition of goods, whereas “status groups” are stratified
according to the principles of their consumption of goods as represented by special “styles of life”.
An “occupational group” is also a status group. Generally, it successfully claims social honour
only by virtue of the special style of life which may be determined by it. The differences between
classes and status groups frequently overlap. Castes in India are a sort of status communities.
Brahmins, for example, have shown, in the past, a relatively high degree of indifference to pecuniary
income, and they have been at the top of caste hierarchy. Stratification by status is favoured when
the bases of the acquisition and distribution of goods are relatively stable, and not threatened by
onslaught of technology and economic transformation.
Guarantees of Status Stratification
As we have stated earlier that specific style of life is the characteristic feature of a given status
group. Such a style of life is ensured by the status group through observance of certain norms and
regulations vis-a-vis its members. Social honour is estimated based on adherence to the normative
compliance by individual members or collectively by all the members as a status group. Visits to
specific streets, neighbourhoods, groups, etc., are also examples of encircling of status groups. The
development of status is essentially a question of stratification resting upon usurpation. Such
usurpation is the normal origin of almost all status honour. Stability of a system of stratification
comes in from legally sanctioned social order.
“Ethnic” Segregation and “Caste”
Weber considers “castes” as examples of status groups. When the status group evolves into a
closed “caste”, it realizes its aims to the fullest extent. Status distinctions are then guaranteed not
merely by conventions and laws, but also by rituals. Ritualistic impurity and stigma or relative
purity and honour characterize caste hierarchy or status honour based on the principle of pure
and impure. According to Weber, the “caste” is the normal form in which ethnic communities
usually live side by side in a “societalized” manner. Caste-like status distinctions are found all
over the world.
However, a “status” segregation grown into a “caste’ differs in its structure from a mere “ethnic”
segregation. Caste is a vertical social system of super - and subordination relations between
different caste groups. An ethnic group has its own honour as the highest one. “Caste” insists on
a hierarchy of honour, and more so in favour of the privileged or upper castes and status groups.
By implication, there are actually the negatively privileged status groups, characterized by repulsion
and segregation and denial to access societal resources.
Finally, the development of status groups from ethnic groups (including castes) is by no means
the normal phenomenon. The “objective” racial differences are not basic to every subjective
sentiment of an ethnic community. A status group is to a high degree effective in producing
extreme types. At the same time, quite frequently, the class situation is by far the predominant
factor in the possibility of a style of life expected for members of a status group.
Status Privileges
For all practical purposes, stratification by status goes hand in hand with a monopolization of
ideal and material goods or opportunities, in a typical manner. Besides the specific status honour
based on distance and exclusiveness, we also find all sorts of material monopolies. Such honorific
preferences may include the privilege of wearing special costumes, of eating special dishes, taboo

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