Sociology › Section I · Social stratification › Topic I.4

Theoretical perspectives on stratification

Is inequality the price a society pays for getting its hardest jobs done, a system the powerful build to protect themselves, or something people act out every day in what they wear and buy? Each of sociology's main perspectives gives a different answer.

In this topic

  • One fact, several explanations
  • The Davis-Moore thesis
  • Worked example: testing Davis and Moore
  • Tumin's critique
  • Marx: class and the means of production
  • Weber: class, status and party
  • Worked example: three dimensions
  • Symbolic interactionism: class in daily life
  • Worked example: one pay gap, three lenses
  • Weighing the perspectives
  • Common mistakes to avoid
  • Key takeaways

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