Social stratification is a subject of study by sociologists, political scientists and partially social psychologists and specialists in the field of management and marketing. Social stratification as a sociological aspect reveals the causes and internal mechanisms of socio-economic differences between representatives of certain groups of the population.
Social stratification as a sociological aspect is based on the division of society into social groups in a horizontal hierarchy according to a number of criteria: income inequality, the amount of power, the level of education, the prescribed and achieved status, professional prestige, authority, and others. From this point of view, social stratification is a special case of social differentiation.
The main parameters of social stratification as a sociological aspect, experts call the openness of the social system and the key dimensions of social stratification - power, authority, social status and economic position. Societies are considered open in which it is possible to change the status obtained at birth due to social mobility. Closed are societies where it is prohibited to change the prescribed socio-economic status, for example, the caste system of India before 1900.
Among the systems of social stratification, four are distinguished: slavery, clans, castes and classes. Sometimes considered as a separate system gender inequality, which also exists within each of the four systems. Sociologists agree that civilization at the present stage is a class system of three levels - the upper class, the middle and the lower, and the identification of social classes is carried out in three ways - objective, reputational and subjective (self-assessment method).
The main concepts of social stratification as a sociological aspect are social mobility, prescribed and achieved status, class affiliation, inequality and deprivation.
Many of the observed manifestations of social stratification are based on tacit social contracts rooted in archetypes of rituals of power and submission. It is common for a person to show heightened courtesy and respect in dealing with others if they surpass him in economic or professional competence, even if this opinion is erroneous, and the high status turns out to be imaginary. Some of them manage to significantly increase the initially prescribed status precisely because of the ability to "present themselves correctly", to create an image of a socially and economically successful person in order to gain the favor of really successful people.
Within the framework of social stratification as a sociological aspect, two main theories of social inequality are studied - functionalist and conflictological. The first is based on a conservative tradition and argues that social inequality is necessary for the successful implementation of the basic functions of any society. The second represents a radical direction and calls social inequality an instrument of exploitation.
