Social stratification of society is a hierarchical organization and the stratification of society into several layers (strata), the totality of social institutions and the relationships between them. Strata are numerous groups of people who differ in the structure of society in their position.
According to scientists, social stratification is based on the social and natural inequality of people. Moreover, the criteria for the resulting inequality are interpreted by different authors in different ways.
So, according to K. Marx, the fundamental factor is the level of income and ownership of property. M. Weber added to these provisions public prestige and the individual's belonging to power, politics. According to the theory of social stratification of Pitirim Sorokin, the division is based on uneven distribution of privileges and rights, duties and responsibilities in society. In his opinion, public space also has other criteria for differentiation. So, the division can be made according to occupation, citizenship, religious affiliation, nationality and others.
Historically, social stratification is formed with the emergence of society. With the advent of the first states, the stratification becomes tougher, but later, against the backdrop of social development, it gradually softens.
Sociology distinguishes four main types of division of society: castes, slavery, classes, and estates. The first three types are characteristic of closed societies, and the last type refers to an open society.
Social stratification first manifested itself in antiquity, during the period of slavery. There are two forms of this inequality: classical (the slave does not have any rights and is the property of the owner) and patriarchal (the slave is vested with the rights of a younger member in the family). Slavery was based on the use of direct violence. Groups of people were divided by lack or presence of rights.
The second system of separation should include the caste system. Casta is a community group in which membership passes by birth. During life, it is impossible to move from one group to another. To do this, be born again. Such social stratification is common in India. In this state, society is divided into four main castes:
- clergy (brahmanas);
- merchants (vaisyas);
- warriors (kshatriyas);
- workers, artisans, peasants (sudras).
There are also untouchables. They do not belong to any caste and are in a lower position in society.
The third stratification structure should include classes. Estates are defined as groups with duties and rights enshrined in customs or laws that are inherited. As a rule, in society there are non-privileged and privileged classes. So, in Western European society, the clergy and the nobility belonged to the second category. Until 1917, in Russia, apart from unprivileged peasants and privileged clergy and nobility, a semi-privileged category was allocated (Cossacks, for example).
Another system of division of society is class inequality. According to Lenin's definition, classes are numerous groups that differ in position in a certain structure of social production . The separation is carried out in relation to production means (to a greater extent formalized and fixed by law), according to their role in the organization of labor in society, and therefore, according to the methods of obtaining and the volume of the share of the public good.
In modern society, in a broad sense, experts distinguish three levels of stratification: lower, higher and middle. In countries with developed economies, the average level prevails, which gives stability to society.