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Reflection On Social Stratification

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SOCI1001 Introduction to Sociology Mak Samuel Kit Wai / UID 3035197072 Date of Submission: November 20, 2014 Reflective Memo Topic : Social Stratification (1143 words) The modern world we are living in consists of a complex structure, in which different classes of people and various kinds of institutions form our stratified society. In the beginning of the essay, I am going to observe and understand our society with three classical sociological theories suggested by Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx and Max Weber respectively. To begin with, I’ll briefly explain the three theories first. The first theory is the functionalism originated from Emile Durkheim. It views the society like a body, and institutions and classes that form the society are just like organs in our body. In order to keep the society stable and running, the contribution of each and every class is essential. However, it doesn’t mean that every class held equal importance. In fact, different occupations held different importance, and the reward for doing the job depends on its contribution and functional importance to the society as a whole. As a result, the society is divided into classes of different functions, and the classes work for the …show more content…

He classified the capitalist society into different classes according to their socioeconomic status, which included their amount of assets, knowledge and skills, and their occupations. Under his classification, people who share a similar position in the market are considered in the same class, such that concepts of the upper class, the middle class and the lower class are established. Also, different classes possess different amount of power in the society, and it leads to the problem of social inequality. In the society, the upper class continues to monopolize market resources and enjoy exclusive privileges, while the poor has a lower chance of success and remains

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