Page 71 - DSOC202_SOCIAL_STRATIFICATION_ENGLISH

Social Stratification

Notes obscured the class boundaries. In the Theories of Surplus Value, Marx refers explicitly to the
growth of the middle class as a phenomenon of the development of capitalism. A continual
increase in the members of the middle classes was felt due to growth of capitalism.
• Radical political movements, including women’s movement and diverse ethnic and national
movements, have not been class-based. Coalitions and alliances in social life have blurred
class consciousness in terms of the Marxist theory. The place of the peasantry in the class
structure and its political role in different types of society were not given due significance in
the Marxist theory.
• According to Kosambi, caste and class-based stratification and exploitation existed side by
side in India. Similarly, different forms of slavery and bondage, feudal relations have also
existed in different combinations in the same areas and at the same time.
• Marx talked of two antagonistic classes, having “unity of opposites”, but these classes have
not been undifferentiated. Several groups exist in between the two classes. Today, civil
society and voluntary groups have impinged upon the state to change its character and
functioning.
• In India, in spite of globalization and privatization, the state remains the largest employer
today. In view of the recent recession in the world economy, particularly in America,
professionals are again looking for government jobs for reasons of security and guaranteed
pay package, And even, then the organized workforce is about one-fifth of the total earners.
In such a situation division of society in terms of bourgeoisie and proletariat and implicit
class conflict between the two seem to be a presumptuous phenomenon.
• In his doctoral thesis A Contribution to the History of Medieval Business Organizations (1889),
Weber studied the cost, risk or profit of an enterprise. After this, he started training at the
German bench/or bar. At this point of time, he got acquainted with the social and political
problems of agrarian society. He joined as an instructor in law at the University of Berlin.
Weber also studied social, political and economic developments of Roman society.
• Since Weber was born after Marx, he had advantage of reacting to the Marxist ideas and
conceptualizations. He tried to “round out” Marx’s economic materialism by a political and
military materialism. “Weber looks for the disposition over wapons and over means of
administration.” He makes a clear and rational distinction between economic, social and
political orders of society, and considers power as a key to all the domains of society.
• Weber writes : “In general, we understand by ‘power’ the chance of a man or of a number of
men to realize their own will in a communal action even against the resistance of others, who
are participating in action.”
• “Economically conditioned” power is not, of course, identical with “power” as such. On the
contrary, the emergence of economic power may be the consequence of power existing on
other grounds. Man does not strive for power only in order to enrich himself economically.
Power, including economic power, may be valued “for its own sake”.
• “Social order” is defined by the way in which social honour is distributed in a society. The
social order and the economic, order are related to the legal order. However, the two are not
identical. The way in which economic goods and services are distributed and used determines
the economic order.
• The social order is determined by the economic order to a high degree and in turn reacts
upon it. Thus, “classes”, “status groups” and “parties” are phenomena of the distribution of
power within a community.
• “The term ‘class’ refers to any group of people that is found in the same class situation”.
Competition eliminates some and patronizes others. Monopoly occurs either due to absence
or weak competition or when the rival is ousted from competition.
• “Property” and “lack of property” are, therefore, the basic categories of all class situations.

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