Introduction to Sociology/Stratification/Heechan Kim

1. Summary

This article contains several views and problems caused by stratification. First, stratification refers to the hierarchical arrangement of people in society and is divided by various factors such as power. There are dominant views on this stratification. The most representative is functionalism, which argues that stratification positively affects our society. However, there is also the view that stratification adversely affects global society. Social stratification basically results in inequality. This inequality began with the horticulture / cattle society. And it has been kept up to now. At the present time inequality is influencing society with various factors such as race, sex, and capital. As a result, poor people and socially marginalized people can not offer the same educational opportunities as rich children. So sociologists are  exploring theories that will help solve inequality.

2. New learning / What was interesting

The most interesting part of what I read was the explanation of the elements of stratification in three perspectives (micro, meso, macros). As you know, a microscopic view is a close observation, and a macroscopic approach is a broad observation. The stratification is narrow, rich parents can give their children good clothes and good education, but children born to poor parents do not receive such benefits. But on a macroscopic level, we can see that the global economic system of the world has a huge impact on our lives.

3. Discussion

I have found through this article that social stratification has a major impact whether it is positive or negative for our lives. Moreover, stratification is the biggest problem that causes inequality. Is there anything that can help a little bit in solving these problems in our daily life?