Stratification and Weber

Stratification and Weber
Overview

To Max Weber stratification was not only the result of the struggle for scarce economic resources, but also the struggle for prestige and power. Weber noted that even within the propertyless/the working/proletarian class, people have a variety of skills that they can market. These skills he argues attract different levels of economic reward. Weber postulated that Marx’s division of the social system into two major groups was inadequate. Instead he proposed that, each of these groups can be further sub-divided into several classes.

Weber’s Classification of Social Strata:

•    Classes – economic groupings whose purchasing power, make them common.
•    Status Groups – members of this group share the same social standing. They share either the same or similar lifestyles eg. They may be members of the same club, church, live in the/similar neighbourhoods.
•    Status groups transcends class lines
•    Parties – are groups that seek to acquire power. Parties aim to promote the interests and policies of their membership. Such groups may take the form of trade unions, ethnic associations and political parties.
•    Party groups also transcend class.

Summary:

Altogether, Weber posited that although economic factors influenced social positioning, other factors such as status and the struggle for power produced a more complex differentiation within the social structure. Thus social stratification is not limited to capital but also interests.