Key Concepts
The system by which society ranks people based on wealth, power, and status
What is social stratification?
The sociological perspective that sees society’s stratification as exploitative and a source of conflict
What is conflict theory?
A term for a stratification structure that does not allow for social mobility
What is caste system?
An elite and largely self-sustaining group who possess most of the country’s wealth
What is upper class?
In the traditional Hindu caste system, a person who breaks social or religious rules, such as marrying outside their caste, can be completely excluded from social and religious life.
What is caste expulsion / being outcast?
Segments of society whose members hold similar amounts of resources and share values, norms, and an identifiable lifestyle.
What is social class?
The functionalist who believed inequality as necessary for social order, ensuring that the most qualified individuals fill society's most important roles.
Who is Émile Durkheim?
The term for a system in which social class is based on merit and individual effort and movement is allowed between classes
What is open-class system?
A social class composed primarily of white collar workers with a broad range of education and incomes
What is middle class?
The most extreme form of social stratification that is based on legal ownership of people and existed in colonial Indonesia under the cultuurstelsel.
What is slavery?
The ability to move up or down the social hierarchy.
What is social mobility?
This micro‑sociological perspective holds that all social structures are built from everyday interactions, and that appearance often serves as a quick basis for judging wealth and social status.
What is symbolic interactionism perspective?
This term encompasses both moving to a higher social position (upward) and moving to a lower social position (downward) within the class hierarchy.
What is vertical mobility?
The poorly educated manual and service workers who may work full-time but remain near or below the poverty line
Who is working poor?
This extreme form of racial or ethnic stratification seeks to permanently eliminate a subordinate group through mass killing, forced expulsion, and destruction of cultural identity.
What is ethnic cleansing?
A tendency to choose romantic partners who share a similar social-economical-cultural class background.
What is homogamy?
The two social classes that Marx identified: one owns the means of production, and the other labors without owning the means of production
What are Bourgeoisie and Proletariat?
A term for a change in occupation with the same social class
What is horizontal mobility?
A system of social stratification based on a hereditary nobility who were responsible for and served by a lower stratum of forced laborers called serts
What is feudal system?
The system of segregation of racial and ethnic groups that was legal in South Africa between 1948 and 1991.
What is apartheid?
A tendency of social classes to remain relatively stable as social class status is passed down from one generation to the next
What is social reproduction?
A term used by Marx to refer to the working-class acceptance of capitalist ideas and values.
What is false consciousness?
A term for a change in social status or class from one generation to the next
What is intergenerational mobility?
A modern stratification system that is often tied to occupation, education, and income rather than birth
What is meritocratic system?
This concept refers to a relationship where a powerful figure (often a political elite or employer) provides resources to lower‑status individuals in exchange for loyalty and political support, reinforcing vertical social bonds.
What is paternalism / patron‑client relationship?