SOC 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 30: Social Stratification, Ascribed Status, Gang Of Youths
11 Jul 2018
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Yes, but the degree to which this is possible varies considerably from society to society. On the one hand, in a closed society with a caste system, mobility can be difficult or impossible. Social position in a caste system is decided by assignment rather than attainment. This means people are either born into or marry within their family"s caste; changing caste systems is very rare. An example of the rigid segregation of caste systems occurs today in india, where people born into the lowest caste (the (cid:1688)untouchables(cid:1689)) and can never become members of a higher caste. On the other hand, in an open society with a class system, mobility is possible. The positions in this stratification system depend more on achieved status, like education, than on ascribed status, like gender. For example, the united states" social stratification is of this type, meaning movement between social strata is easier and occurs more frequently.
