SOC 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Proletariat, False Consciousness, Exogamy
3 Dec 2020
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Document Summary
Structure of social inequality in a society, i. e. , the distribution of wealth, status, and power among people occupying different social statuses. Every society has inequality, but societies differ widely in the form inequality takes. Characteristic of the entire society, not just single individuals. Hence whether any one individual is wealthy or poor, powerful or powerless, honored or reviled, is very much affected by the society itself and its system of stratification, not just by the characteristics of that individual. Ones social status is determined completely by birthright and it is irrevocable. Social mobility from one caste to another is quite unlikely. Persons family ties are primary determinant of their social standing. People can marry outside their own clan (exogamy) and this is often employed. There are three main estates: nobility, church and peasants. Since only eldest sons inherited all the wealth, other sons of noblemen had to enter the clergy or make living in some other way.
