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The Four Types Of Social Stratification

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Division is something that has been around since the beginning of time. No one is alike, and there are many things that differentiate us. We all know our place in the world and what groups we fit into; this is because of social stratification. Stratification is how society organizes itself. (Larkin, 2015). Social stratification ranks people based on their wealth, power, race, gender, education, etc. (Larkin, 2015). Over time there has seemed to be four main systems of stratification. Within these systems, there are also more divisions based on race, education, and gender.
Social stratification has historically been made up of four main systems: slavery, caste, estate, and class (Larkin, 2015). Each system has its own mobility, with slavery being the most closed and class the most open. Slavery was due to either heredity misfortune or military conquest (Larkin, 2015). Slavery was unique from the other systems because slaves were treated as the property of their owners. Additionally, the owner had the right, although immoral, to treat his slaves in any manner he/she desired. This has at times allowed innocent people to be extremely mistreated. The slaves may have all be treated equal or some may have been treated better or worse; it truly depended on both the owner and the slaves. Social mobility was very limited in slavery. There was almost no opportunity for a slave to earn freedom (Larkin, 2015). The caste system, found in India, places an individual in the caste which they are born into; and one must remain in that caste. India consists of four castes: priests, warriors, merchants, and artisans/farmers (Larkin, 2015). There is also another group that is considered so low they are not even in the system; these unfortunate people are called the untouchables. Each group is to marry only within their caste, work within their caste, and socialize within their caste. The caste system’s social mobility used to be quite strict; however, due to technology and urbanization, the mobility has grown (Larkin, 2015). This change is beginning to allow for slightly more social mobility, unlike slavery where there is little hope. The estate system prevailed during the Middle Ages in Europe. Landownership was the organizing

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