Social Stratification and Inequality

Class Systems and Social Mobility

Caste systems assign status at birth with no mobility permitted; roles are fixed by heredity and reinforced by religious or cultural norms. Class systems (open stratification) allow mobility based on merit, achievement, or structural factors. Marx identified two primary classes (bourgeoisie who own the means of production; proletariat who sell labor), while Weber added two additional dimensions: status (social prestige) and party (political power). Social mobility is movement within the stratification hierarchy. Horizontal mobility is movement within the same social level (changing jobs at similar pay). Vertical mobility is upward or downward movement between levels. Intergenerational mobility compares children's status to parents'; intragenerational mobility tracks changes within an individual's lifetime. The United States has lower intergenerational mobility than many assume -- the 'rags to riches' narrative is the exception, not the norm.

Socioeconomic Status

SES is a composite measure combining income, education, and occupational prestige. It predicts health outcomes, educational attainment, life expectancy, criminal justice involvement, and political participation more reliably than any single measure. SES operates through cumulative advantage (advantages in one domain compound into others) and cumulative disadvantage (stressors accumulate, limiting opportunities). The SES gradient shows that health and well-being improve at every step up the SES ladder -- not just at the poverty line. This gradient exists even in countries with universal healthcare, demonstrating that inequality itself, not just absolute deprivation, damages health. Cultural capital (Bourdieu) -- non-economic resources like knowledge, tastes, and credentials -- reproduces SES by conferring advantage in education and employment, often presented as individual merit rather than inherited privilege.

Poverty

Absolute poverty is a fixed threshold: inability to meet basic survival needs (food, shelter, water). Relative poverty is defined relative to a society's standards -- lacking resources to participate fully in community life. The U.S. poverty line is an absolute measure (income below approximately $15,000 for an individual), heavily criticized for excluding regional cost-of-living variation and non-cash benefits. The feminization of poverty describes women's disproportionate representation among the poor due to wage gaps, single motherhood, and occupational segregation. Cycle of poverty: poverty creates conditions (poor nutrition, underfunded schools, limited networks) that trap subsequent generations. Concentrated poverty in neighborhoods amplifies these effects through reduced institutional resources, social isolation, and exposure to environmental hazards. Social exclusion frames poverty not just as lack of money but as disconnection from social, political, and economic participation.

Global Inequality

Global stratification sorts nations into tiers: high-income (post-industrial), middle-income (industrializing), and low-income (primarily agricultural) countries. Modernization theory (Rostow) argues that all societies follow a linear path to development; dependency theory counters that global capitalism keeps poor nations as suppliers of cheap labor and raw materials for rich ones. World-systems theory (Wallerstein) divides the world into core (dominant, capital-intensive), semi-periphery (intermediate), and periphery (exploited, labor-intensive) nations. Neocolonialism describes continued economic and cultural control of former colonies through debt, trade terms, and corporate power. The Gini coefficient (0 = perfect equality; 1 = perfect inequality) measures income distribution within nations. The U.S. Gini (approximately 0.49) is among the highest of developed nations.

Theories of Stratification

Functionalism (Davis-Moore thesis): Stratification is universal and necessary -- unequal rewards motivate talented individuals to fill important positions requiring extensive training. Criticism: ignores inherited wealth, assumes pure meritocracy, and cannot explain why athletes earn more than teachers. Conflict theory (Marx): Stratification results from exploitation -- the ruling class controls institutions to maintain privilege. Power, not functional necessity, determines who gets what. Weber's multi-dimensional model: Class (economic position), status (social honor/prestige), and party (political influence) are independent axes that interact -- someone can have high prestige (clergy) but low income. Symbolic interactionism: Focuses on how inequality is reproduced through everyday interaction -- class signals (accent, dress, consumption), conspicuous consumption (Veblen: purchasing goods to display status), and stigma marking the poor as morally deficient. Structural functionalism of poverty (Gans): Poverty serves latent functions for the non-poor -- creates jobs (social workers, pawn shops), provides a pool of cheap labor, and reinforces dominant norms by stigmatizing deviance from them.

Intersectionality

Coined by Kimberle Crenshaw (1989), intersectionality is the framework that multiple social identities (race, gender, class, sexuality, disability) interact to produce distinct experiences of privilege and oppression that cannot be understood by analyzing each identity separately. A Black woman experiences racism and sexism not as separate forces but as a fused experience of being a Black woman -- intersecting systems of power produce unique forms of discrimination. The matrix of domination (Patricia Hill Collins) organizes intersecting oppressions across four domains: structural (laws and institutions), disciplinary (bureaucratic rules), hegemonic (cultural ideology), and interpersonal (everyday interaction). The MCAT tests intersectionality through passages about health disparities, educational outcomes, or workplace discrimination that show different outcomes for people at the same class level but with different racial or gender identities. Key caution: intersectionality is not an additive model (discrimination plus discrimination equals more discrimination) but an interactive one where the combined effect differs qualitatively from the sum of its parts.

How it works

Stratification operates through interlocking mechanisms. Institutional discrimination embeds inequality in policies and practices (housing covenants, school funding tied to property taxes, sentencing disparities). Ideological justification makes inequality seem natural -- beliefs about meritocracy, the 'culture of poverty,' or genetic determinism reduce cognitive dissonance among the privileged and demoralize the disadvantaged. Social reproduction (Bourdieu) describes how class position transmits across generations: middle-class parents practice concerted cultivation (organized activities, reasoning with children), while working-class and poor parents practice accomplishment of natural growth (unstructured time, directives over negotiation). These different parenting logics prepare children unequally for institutions designed around middle-class norms. At the individual level, stereotype threat (Steele and Aronson) and self-fulfilling prophecies convert structural inequality into differential performance. Globalization adds a supranational layer: corporations exploit wage differentials across countries, reproducing inequality at a world scale.

How it works

Stratification operates through interlocking mechanisms. Institutional discrimination embeds inequality in policies and practices (housing covenants, school funding tied to property taxes, sentencing disparities). Ideological justification makes inequality seem natural -- beliefs about meritocracy, the 'culture of poverty,' or genetic determinism reduce cognitive dissonance among the privileged and demoralize the disadvantaged. Social reproduction (Bourdieu) describes how class position transmits across generations: middle-class parents practice concerted cultivation (organized activities, reasoning with children), while working-class and poor parents practice accomplishment of natural growth (unstructured time, directives over negotiation). These different parenting logics prepare children unequally for institutions designed around middle-class norms. At the individual level, stereotype threat (Steele and Aronson) and self-fulfilling prophecies convert structural inequality into differential performance. Globalization adds a supranational layer: corporations exploit wage differentials across countries, reproducing inequality at a world scale.

Comparisons

• SC-001 (Sociological Theories): Conflict theory, functionalism, and symbolic interactionism are the theoretical foundations of stratification analysis. The Davis-Moore thesis directly contrasts with Marx.
• SC-003 (Socialization): Socialization reproduces stratification through cultural capital transmission (Lareau's concerted cultivation vs. natural growth).
• SC-005 (Deviance): Labeling theory connects SES to deviance designation; the powerful define what counts as deviant, and poverty-related behaviors are criminalized (e.g., vagrancy laws).
• SC-007 (Race and Ethnicity): Racial stratification compounds class stratification; intersectionality is the framework connecting these systems.
• SC-008 (Gender): The feminization of poverty, gender pay gaps, and occupational segregation link gender to stratification.
• SC-010 (Health and Medicine): The SES-health gradient is a central P/S passage topic: social determinants of health.
• CARS / P/S: Passages on global inequality, social mobility narratives, or the psychology of poverty (scarcity mindset) require applying stratification concepts to interpret data.

Common confusions

• Confusing caste and class. Caste = closed system, ascribed status at birth, no mobility. Class = open system, achieved status possible, mobility exists (though constrained). Look for passages describing hereditary occupations or endogamy rules to identify caste systems.
• Treating SES as just income. SES is a composite of income, education, and occupational prestige. The MCAT may ask which component best predicts a given outcome -- education is often the strongest predictor of health behaviors.
• Assuming mobility is common. Passages presenting U.S. intergenerational mobility data typically show it is lower than public perception. The phrase 'land of opportunity' may be a distractor if the data show low mobility.
• Mixing absolute and relative poverty. Absolute = cannot meet basic physical needs (defined by a fixed threshold). Relative = cannot participate fully in society's typical activities. A family with a smartphone but insecure housing may be relatively poor according to U.S. standards.
• Applying functionalism uncritically. Davis-Moore asserts inequality is necessary; the MCAT expects you to recognize this as one theory, not fact, and to identify its counterarguments (inherited wealth, discrimination, non-meritocratic rewards).
• Simplifying intersectionality to addition. Intersectionality is interactive, not additive. Being a woman and being Black does not equal sexism plus racism; the experience is qualitatively distinct. MCAT answer choices that present intersectionality as a simple sum of oppressions are wrong.

Quick review

• Class vs. caste: Caste = closed, ascribed, no mobility. Class = open, some achieved status, mobility possible but constrained.
• SES: Composite of income, education, occupational prestige. SES gradient: health improves at every step up, not just above poverty.
• Poverty: Absolute (survival threshold) vs. relative (society's standards). Feminization of poverty, cycle of poverty, concentrated poverty.
• Global inequality: Modernization theory (linear) vs. dependency theory (exploitation). World-systems: core, semi-periphery, periphery. Gini coefficient measures inequality.
• Davis-Moore thesis: Stratification is functional -- rewards motivate talent for important roles. Criticized for ignoring inherited advantage.
• Weber: Three dimensions of stratification: class (economic), status (prestige), party (power). They interact but are independent.
• Bourdieu: Cultural capital reproduces class through non-economic advantages (knowledge, tastes, credentials). Social reproduction across generations.
• Lareau: Concerted cultivation (middle-class parenting: organized activities, reasoning) vs. accomplishment of natural growth (working-class: unstructured, directives).
• Intersectionality (Crenshaw): Overlapping identities produce distinct, non-additive experiences of privilege and oppression. Matrix of domination (Collins).
• Conspicuous consumption (Veblen): Purchasing goods to display status. Ideological justification makes inequality seem natural.