Page 297 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes 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.
• Power is omnipresent. It is in everyday life, in the micro-world of the individual, in the
school and at the workplace. Power is relational, some have very less power, and others
have near-absolute power. Means of power range from physical force to gentle cajoling. At
the macro level, there are institutions of power and authority, such as the state or government.
• Power is in society, and society is reflected in the structure of power and authority. Power is
not a new concern in sociology. Two approaches, one led by Max Weber and other by
Vilfredo Pareto, provide the basic categories for the sociological analysis of power.
• Power is a general phenomenon, whereas domination is a more specific aspect. As we have
discussed earlier, power comprises the chance that an actor’s will can be imposed on other
participants in a social relationship, even against their resistance. Power is measured simply
by the chance that an individual or collectivity would have to realize their will. Power is
realized through the actions in which an actor engages, and this potential is determined not
only by accidental or fortuitous circumstances, but also by the structurally defined
opportunities and capacities that are available to an actor.
• In particular, communities, political parties and bureaucratic organizations have been studied
by social scientists from their respective perspectives. Here, we may mention C. Wright
Mills’ book The Power Elite in particular as it has generated a serious discourse on national
power structure in the context of American society. According to Mills, America is ruled by
economic, political and military elites. The economic elite represents the top strata of big
business and corporation management. The political elite represents key figures in the formal
apparatus of government. The military elite comprises of the top echelon of the armed
services.
• Society and polity are closely linked in India. Economy is undoubtedly an important factor
influencing politics and social status. But its role and significance are somewhat hazy and
less effective. Power emanates in India from two main sources : socio-cultural fabric, and
political structures. In the first case, caste, religion, language, region, etc., play decisive role
in access to positions of power and authority. In the second, institutions such as Panchayati
Raj, municipal bodies, State Assembly and Lok Sabha provide opportunities to the people to
enter into these arenas of power politics. Political parties are generally in the forefront at the
time of elections for these bodies.
• A patriarchal society is one in which power is held by male heads of households. There is
also clear separation between the “public” and the “private” spheres of life. In the “private”
sphere of the household, the patriarch enjoys arbitrary power over all junior males, all
females and all children.
• Distinction between “male” and “female” is bio-physiological; it is value-neutral. However,
when a male is referred as a “man”, and a female as a “woman”, a value is attached to the
two, in terms of superior and inferior human beings. Postmodernists both Foucault and
Derrida recognize connection between language and power. Both attack such a rationality of
postmodernism.
• Domestic patriarchy has come with the concept of home and home making. Women’s right
to proper recognition of her work at home has been recognized to a great extent all over the
world. Now women go out for work, have their savings, and a control over what they earn.
Most men are not hostile towards women’s work. Despite these very notable changes, the
man’s work determines where the couple lives, and how much of their lives are organized.

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