Social stratification is a direction of sociology, in which society is seen as a complex of interconnected layers. In modern social stratification, multidimensional models of the class hierarchy are used.
Social stratification is a concept in sociology that considers society as a layered structure.
The division of society into layers
Initially, the term "stratification" was used in geology to refer to different layers of the earth. In the transverse section, the earth stratum looks like a multitude of layers of sedimentary rocks superimposed on each other. This is how society in sociology represents several social strata that differ from each other in status and affluence.
In social stratification, it is customary to divide society into strata depending on indicators of consumption, leisure, power, education and welfare. Such strata are arranged in a strict hierarchical order.
The simplest example of social stratification is the division of society into masses and elites, between which there is inequality. At the top of the hierarchy are the "initiates" and the nobility, below are the rest.
Modern sociology uses multilayer and multidimensional stratification models. It allows the possibility of a person moving from one stratum to another (the so-called "social mobility").
One of the founders of social stratification was W. L. Warner. He was interested in the opinions of people from different social classes about each other and built a model according to which modern society is divided into several layers, from wealthy aristocrats to unemployed and vagrants.
Stratification and public "filters"
In historical terms, stratification talks about the rigidity of the “filters” that were used to limit social mobility. In the heyday of slavery, people from one stratum simply physically could not break through the hierarchy. Even now, in India there are castes whose representatives will never become managers or employees of banks - all they can be content with is collecting dead animals and processing hides.
