Social institution

-Established practice

-The permanent social entities governed and control through social norms and values that help to

control human action and interaction for fulfilling the social need/function.

-According to Cooley ‘An institution is a complete organization of collective behavior

established in the social heritage and meeting some persistent need or want.’

According to Migil ‘Social institutions are organizational system of society uses to address one

or more basic needs.’

- It is organized norms for doing something.

-Social institutions are governed and have a different roles and purposes to play and they keep on

evolving according to changing time. They have well-defined procedures in order to carry out

the social requirements

- Institution develop gradually from the social life of people. Social institutions like family

education shape the ways in which people think and act.

Major types of Social Institution

i) family: marriage, kinship

ii)Economy: production, property, trading, credit, exchange

iii)religion: Church, temple, taboo

iv) education: School, College, University

v) Politics/government: State: political parties, democracy, government administration, laws.

-It is that part of society for maintaining social order and satisfy the need of people who have

involve in it through well-established set of normal and working procedure.

Characteristics of social institutions

1. Institution as a means of satisfying social needs.

2. As a form of working procedure.

3. More stable.

4. Institutions are interrelated.

5. Specific objectives.

6. Abstract nature.

7. Based on norms and value.

8. Structure

9. Written and unwritten

Importance of institutions

1. Institutions provide to the satisfaction of fundamental human needs.

2. Institutions control human behavior.

3. Institutions contribute to unity and uniformity.

4. Institutions assign roles and status to individuals.

5. Institutions simplify action for individual

Family

Family as a universal institution and it is basic social institution of social structure.

-Every members of family have own status, role and function goes accordingly. Through the

family the child gets birth, nurture, education and socialization. Hence economic social and

biological needs and function are possible through there.

-In these way families comes in existence due to marriage and regularities of offspring and

expand the family.

-Elliot and Merril “The family may be defined as the biological social unit composed of husband

wife and their children. The family may also be considered as a social institution a socially

approved organization for meeting definite human needs.”

-MacIver “The family is a group defined by sex-relationship sufficiently precise and enduring to

provide for procreation and upbringing of the children.”

-Family can be found in all human societies although not in the same form. It provides

permission of

-Sexual access between adults

-Legitimate reproduction

-Responsibility for the care and upbringing of the children

-Cooperation as an economic unit

Types of family

1. On the basis of size or structure

a. Nuclear family: The type of family comprises of parents and their unmarried offspring. This

form of family is not common among agriculture based society but it is quite common in modern

society. It is popular in individualistic society.

 b. Joint family: In this family people from three generations usually live together. This is

the most common type of family in Nepalese society

c. Extended family: This is the earliest and the most primate form of family system that

came into being at the early stage of family development where people form both father

and mother sides live together. Such family is hard to find in a present day context.

2. On the basis of authority

a. Patriarchal family

b. Matriarchal family

3. On the basis of lineage

a. Patrilined family

b. Matrilined family

3. On the basis of residence

a. Patrilocal family

b. Matrilocal family

c. Neolocal family: Neolocal residence is a type of post-marital residence in which a

newly married couple resides separately from both the husband's natal household and

the wife's natal household.

4. On the basis of marriage

a. Monogamous family; Couple who do not have a second wife or husband in

b. Polygamous family:

i. Polygynous family: In this family a male member has multiple wives.

ii. Polyandrous family: Female member is married to multiple male members.

Function of family

1. Biological function

A. Reproduction

B. Fulfillment of sexual desire

C. Nurture or bearing

2. Economic function

A. Division of labor

B. Regulation of daily economic activities

C. Protection of wealth and property

D. Determination of inheritance

3. Social function

A. Birth and death rituals

B. Social control

C. Maintenance of social status

D. Socialization of members

4. Cultural and religious function

5. Educational function

6. Recreational function

7. Health related function: - child age, old age, disable and during sickness condition.

8. Provision of residence

9. Affectional functions
-Family as Social Institution sanctions sexual union, take care of child rearing, socializes and

legitimacy of birth provides for the stable process of placement in society, by inheritance of the

property, succession of status and descent.

Transformation of the Family from traditional society to industrial society

-Separation of work and home

- Declined in family size

-Decline in extended family system

-Separation of family and education

-Loss of occupational succession

Changes in Family practices in modern world

Family and personal life: Young people give more attention to their feelings less to parental

wishes. There is a freedom of choices and freer opportunity of mate selection.

Smaller family size

Increased women rights and status in the family

Decrease in family unity

Decease in family control

Lack of stability

Changing husband wife relation

Reduction in rights of father

Change in economic activates

Reduction cultural and religious activities

Marriage

Marriage is primary, stable social institution. It has social, cultural and economic importance. It

is established by the human society for control and regulated to sexual life of man. Marriage is the

social, religious and legal permission to engage for a men and women in family through sexual

relationship. Marriage is a universal institution but the forms of marriage are different in different

time, place, ethnic group and religion. Marriage creates the rights and obligations between husband

wives. Lack of universal definition e.g. Committed relationship between homosexual is challenge

for conventional definitions of marriage

Marriage is shaped by different social and sexual norms prevalent in different societies.

Understanding about marriage also changed in accordance to change in the society.

However, marriage still remains as one of the basic social institutions prevalent through the

development of human civilization.

Characteristics of marriage

-Primary social institution

-Fulfills the biological, social, economic, emotional needs.

-Marriage is universal

-Type, functions, beliefs of marriage change according society and culture

-It is social relation with duties and obligation

-It is a result of civil as well as religious ceremony.

-Right of mutual relationship in biological, psychological, social and economic sphere of male and

female.

-Requires social approval.

-Formation of intergroup alliance and exchange.

-Assignment of individual to social group.

-Changes status and roles of men and women

Importance of marriage

1. Regulates and controls sexual relations of the individual. Puts restriction on the premarital and

extramarital sex relationship.

2. Establishes family formation.

3. Establishment of family and kinship is possible after marriage: Marriage determines the

descent of the newborn individual.

4. It is the organization of gendered divisions of labor.

5. Develops intense love and affection towards each other’s and deepens emotions, strengths the

companionship between them. Converts the isolated and lonely individual life to fulfilling life

by providing psychological strength.

6. Helps intellectual cooperation among both of them.

7. Minimize the social distance between groups and strength their solidarity.

8. Social security

9. Contributes the social and cultural exchange and broadens the social relationship of different

people and communities.

10. Inter-caste marriage brings change in caste-based discrimination in the society

Types of marriage

A. On the basis of numbers of husband and wife.

1. Monogamy: - It is the marriage in which involving just one men and one women at a given

time. (Modern and most prevailed marriage in the world now)

-One man and one woman don’t marry to another partner without divorce and death of one

member.

-In Nepal monogamy is most prevailed marriage and Nepal Act 2020 BS has restricted to

polygamy.

2. Polygamy:-In a given time two or more husbands or two or more wives living jointly known as

polygamy. Polygamy is generally classified in these two types:

I. Polygyny:-If a man is married to two or more wives in same time known as polygyny. Polygyny

is also found in Nepal and mostly in Islamic countries.

-Nepal Act 2020 has restricted to polygyny (but in some conditions polygyny is allowed.)
II. Polyandry: - Polyandry denoting the concurrent marriage system of one wife is living with

two or more husbands in same time.

-Polyandry is basically found in Sherpa community in Nepal, Tibet and north-western part of India.

-The forms of polyandry are classification in these two types:

a. Fraternal Polyandry: - When one woman marries two or more related brothers is known as

fraternal polyandry. In other sense the wife of senior brothers is commonly taken as a wife by other

junior brothers that is fraternal polyandry

b. Non-fraternal polyandry: - This polyandry is open to men who are not jointly brothers or

husbands are belong from different families. That forms polyandry is basically found in Khasi and

Nayar community of India.

B. On the basis of norms (Rules or Taboo):

I. Endogamy: - Marriage within group.

II. Exogamy: - Marriage in out of group. E.g. Hindu culture is ‘Caste’ endogamy and ‘Gotra’

exogamy similarly. Naga tribes of India followed the village exogamy.

III. Cousin marriage: -Marriage with in only own consanguinity. E.g. Islamic culture.

IV. Cross-cousin marriage: - Marriage within own relation from mother line e.g. Gurung and

Magar community.

V. Intercaste marriage, Inter religion marriage

VI. Hypergamy: - Marriage between high caste, economic and social status men and low

caste, economic and social status women.

VII. Hypogamy: - Opposite forms of hyper gamy.

VIII. Levirate marriage: - After death of senior brother his widow wife is married by his junior

brother is known as levirate marriage. It is mostly found in Tharu community of western

Nepal.

IX. Sorrate marriage: - Allowed to marriage with wife’s junior sister known as sorrate

marriage.

Traditional Marriage

1. Arranged marriage 2. Marriage by capture 3. Marriage by purchase 4. Marriage by exchange

5. Child marriage 6. Infant: - Children are sometimes even promised to each other before

birth.

Modern and western marriage

1. Love marriage 2. Homosexual marriage (Gay and lesbian) 3. experimental marriage

(cohabitation) 4. Paper or court marriage

Forms of Hindu marriage

1.Brahma Bivah 2. Daiva Bivah 3. Arsha Bivah 4. Prajapatya Bivah 5. Asura Bivah

6. Gandharva Bivah 7. Rakshas Bivah 8. Paishach Bivah

Kinship

Kinship is human relation based on biological descent and marriage. In all societies the links

between blood relatives and relatives by marriage are assigned certain custom, rights and

obligation.

-Kinship system include socially recognized relationship based on genealogical ties.

-Kinship is the social recognition and expression of relationship both consanguineal (of blood)

and affinal ties. (marital knot) that binds people together as a group.

-Kinship is important study because it is a universal phenomenon.

MacIver and Page- “The bond of blood or marriage which binds people together in group is

kinship.”

-Kinship system represents one of the basic social institutions. Kinship is universal and in most

societies plays a significant role in the socialization of individuals and the maintenance of group

solidarity.

Function of kinship

1. Determination of marriage and family.

2. Determination of descent, inheritance and succession.

3. Fulfillment of social responsibility.

4. Economic, social, emotional support

5. Social and cultural knowledge.

6. Mental satisfaction.

Types of kinship

1. Consanguineal kinship: - Established by blood or reproduction e.g. father, mother, son,

daughter, brother sister etc.

2. Affinal kinship: - Established by marriage e.g. husband and wife.

3. Adopted kinship: - If any couple adopt any other childs to progeny that is called adopted

kinship. Such practice is very common in western societies further in Nepali society.

4. Fictive kinship: - Established by socially culturally rituals e.g. Meeteri relation, relation

of preceptor and disciple etc.

Degree of kinship

The degree of kinship indicates the nearness and distance of relationship. According to George

Murdock kinship can be categorized in to three degrees they are:

1. Primary kinship: - This kind of kinship is the nearest or direct relationship which can be

based on both Consanguinal and affinal. Every individual who belongs to direct and close

attached. Murdock has mention the primary kinship into eight types. Husband and wife

(affinal) and other seven are consanguinal e.g. father and son, father and daughter, mother

and son, mother and daughter, elder and younger brother, elder and younger sister, brother

and sister.

2. Secondary kinship: - The primary kin of primary kin come under this category or one

person come under the middle to link in relation. E.g. grandfather and grandson, uncle and

cousin, uncle and nephews or nieces etc. According to Murdock Secondary kinship has 33

types.

3. Tertiary kinship: - The secondary kin of primary kin’s is come under this category.

According to Murdock Tertiary kinship has 151 types.

Kinship usages(practices)

The kinship relations are regulated according to usages prevalent in the society based on social

system. In order to create the pattern of human interaction among kin members; kinship usages

have been developed that regulate proper and acceptable role relationships. Under this process an

individual is expected to carry out his social activities within the code of conduct and behavioral

pattern accordingly. It is developed and enriched for the smooth functioning of relationships

within the kin members.

Following are the usages of kinship.

A. Rule of Avoidance: - In almost all societies avoidance rule are prescribed for men and

women must maintain certain amount of modesty in dress, speech, gesture, behavior etc. In

Hindu society, e.g. the relationship between brother-in-law(Jethaju) and sister-in-law(Buhari)

and father in law and sister in law; they are allowed to touch each other.

B. Joking relationship: - This relationship is the term used for reverse of rule of avoidance. It

permits to tease and make fun of each other or mock or ridicule the other without offense

being taken e.g. Dewar and Bhauju, Sali and Vena, solti-soltini etc in Nepal.

C. Teknonymy: - According to these usages some kin is not referred to directly utter the

name; especially in Hindu society women does not utter her husband’s name rather say Ram

ko baba. These kinds of usages are found the people in many place such as Australia, New

Guinea, China, Siberia, Columbia etc.

D. Cauvade: - This is a peculiar custom in which husband imitate the behavior of wife

especially to pregnancy period and delivery pain. It is socially found in Caribbean countries.

E. Avunculate: -In this usages maternal uncle(mama) is given prominent place in the life

rituals of his nephews and nieces e.g. In Hindu Chettri Brahmin culture maternal uncle

should be necessary to attend first time hair cutting ceremony of nephews and also

bratbandha ceremony.

F. Amitate: - When a special role is given to the father’s sister it is known as amitate. In

these usages she is given more respect than mother. In some culture father’s sister is

supposed give name to his niece and nephew.

Economy

-Every society must provide some organized way for satisfying material wants like food, shelter

and clothing without which life could not be sustained. In order to ease these living pattern

society selects certain types of economic system, behavior and relationships.

-Economy means the unified system of production, consumption, distribution and exchange.

-It is an integrated system of living mediated through economic activities, work, division of labor

whether they are formal and informal in nature.

-Economy is changeable; in the course of fulfilling the desires and needs of society; society

change the existing or old economic system and vice a versa.

According Jones (1910) “The economic institutions are the complex techniques, ideas, customs

relating to the exploitation of the environment of satisfaction of subsistence needs.”

Production, Distribution and Exchange

-The productive factors like land, capital, labor and organization are combined in cooperative

efforts at producing goods and these bring division of labor and system of occupation.

-Distributive process is organized around the claims of each person to share of the goods

produced. Good have always been relatively scare when demand exceeds supply and distribution

has always been unequal.

Property

-Property is conceived in terms of the control of man over things; a control recognized by society

and more or less permanent.

-It is an exclusive right of person to possess use and dispose it according to his own wish.

Property may be individual, collective or common.

There is some personal private property is all societies.

Primitive Communism: No private property

Slavery: Land, animal, slaves

Feudalism: Land, Tools, technologies

Capitalism: Money, Factories, industry, machinery, technologies

Division of Labor

Division of Labor refers to the specialized and established kind of work. Division of labor has

become an essential features of modern society.

Division of labor is created in order to accomplish the task on time with effective and expertly

mediated through skill, qualification and experiences.

-Societies have a different types of division of labor. Ancient society lacked the specialized

division of labor.

-In hunting and gathering societies and agriculture societies there was gendered division of labor.

Caste societies have caste based discrimination.

-After the industrialization in Europe there began the capacity based division of labor. Modern

society has a skill and capacity based division of labor.

Mode of Production

-The way society is organized to produce goods and services.

-Varied ways through which human being collectively produce means of subsistence in order to

survive.

Mode of production consists of forces of production and relations of production;

forces of production or means of production: it is a combination of means of tools and

techniques, machinery, infrastructure, land, capital and human labor power.

Relations of production: Some social relations are voluntary and freely chosen (a person chooses

to associate with another person or a group). But other social relations are involuntary, i.e.

people can be socially related, whether they like that or not, because they are part of a family, a

group, an organization, a community, a nation etc. By "relations of production", means the sum

total of social relationships that people must enter into in order to survive, to produce, and to

reproduce their means of life. As people must enter into these social relationships, i.e. because

participation in them is not voluntary, the totality of these relationships constitute a relatively

stable and permanent structure, the "economic structure" or mode of production.

Types of economic modes of production

Primitive communism:

-Hunting, gathering people did not produce but collected food in the jungle and hunted wild

animals

-forces of production (utensils, common land of gathering, tools) was owned by community

-classless society

-Subsistence economy; meeting only basic survival needs

Slavery

Direct possession of human being(slave). Slaves remain as private property as owners and sold

as goods.

-Advanced tools and technique, agriculture, animal husbandry, slaves

-Master and slave

Feudalism

-The basic production was dependent in agricultural so the value of land is very high. Most of the

productive land was in the hand of a few persons. King divided land and give it to people called

land lords in return they got tax and military services during wars.

-Landlords had serfs to work on their agricultural land. Landlord would exploit serfs

-Landlords and serfs/tenants

-Both the landlords and the serfs thought that they were in their present condition due to their deed

in previous life or fate.

-Existed in especially Roman and Greek empire

-Feudal had expend their production to luxurious life and to continuity of tradition or rituals on

competition.

Characteristics of Feudalism

1. Society is based on inequality.

2. Land is the main means of production.

3. Class relation between landlords and serfs.

4. Monarchy (King) is the main leader of feudalism.

5. Lack of exchange value and trade.

Capitalism /Capitalist mode of production

-Capitalism begin with industrialization

-According to Chaitanya Mishra “The essence of capitalistic mode of production is the creation of

commodities leads to the generation of profit, a part of which is reinvested to produce further

commodity and so on.

Features

1. Private ownership of the production: - Individuals has own the land, machines, industries and

companies and decide what they will produce.

2. Wage labor: The worker under capitalism is free labor that they are not slaves or serfs. They

are free to sell their labor power to any employer.

3. Market economy/ competition: - Spontaneous price mechanism. An exchange of goods and

service in willing of buyers and sellers. Producers buy and sell goods freely with price being

determined by the balance of demand and supply.

4. The pursuit of profit: - In capitalism commodities are produced for profit and what is not

profitable is not produced.

5. Economic liberalism, Capital accumulation, Investment and growth

-The driving force in capitalistic mode of production is the motivation of individuals to use their

capital in order to increase their wealth. The increase create through productive capital is called

profit.

7. Class: Bourgeoisie (elite, high class, owner of the means of production) and proletariat (common

people, low class, workers)

8. Exploitation of proletariat

9. Polarization of interest groups and class conflict.

-According to Karl Marx the capitalist mode of production incorporates the workers and the

owners in different and contradictory ways. Groups which he called classes have different

interests and what is good for one class may not be good for other classes

10. Exploitation of man by man, destruction of human values and no sense of humanities.

-In capitalist mode of production, the capitalist pay the wages less than the value of the workers

produce. This leads to Marx’s central concept of surplus value. This defined as the difference

between the value of product when its sells price or it is sold and the value of the elements

consumed in the formation of that product. In this way the capitalist seek to exploit workers as

much as possible.

11. Freedom, economic progress, competitive, more flexible socio-economic disparity.

12. The nature or process of production is collective but nature of sales or distribution is private

and monopolistic.

-USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia

Cycle of capitalist mode of Production

 Money
Capitals

Accumul Means of
ation or productio
generatio Capitalist n or
Labour
n of
Profit mode of power

Productio
n
Producti
Sales of
on of
Commod
commodi
ity
ty

Socialism /Socialist mode of production

-Means of production are same in capitalist mode of production and socialist mode of production

but difference between these two mode of production is in capitalist mode of production all the

means of productions are under the private ownership and in socialist mode of production all the

means of production are under the state ownership.

-There is no private property and all means of production possess under the nation or people.

According to Marx “After the revolution of proletariat; dictatorship of proletariat is established

and emergence of socialist mode of production.”

-Socialism is an economic system where everyone in society equally owns the factors of

production through a democratically elected government.

-Capitalist mode of production is success in production but socialist mode is much more success

in distribution.

-From each according to his ability, to each according to his contribution.

Norwey, Swden,Denmark
Characteristics of Socialist mode of production

1.Collective or state ownership in means of production.

2.The nature and process of the both the production and distribution is social.

3.Cooperative, not antagonistic and sentimentally integrated production force.

4.Elimination of social and economic inequality.

5.Centralized planning or state centered approach.

6.Lack of class conflict.

Communism/Communist mode of production

-Communism is an economic, political, and social system in which most or all property and

resources are collectively owned by a class-free society rather than by individual citizens.

-Communism results in a society in which all people are equal and there is no need for money or

the accumulation of individual wealth. There is no private ownership of economic resources with

a central government controlling all facets of production. Economic output is distributed according

to the needs of the people. the central government provides the people with all basic necessitates,

such as food, housing, education, and medical care, thus allowing the people to share equally from

the benefits of collective labor

-From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

-Cuba,China,North Korea

-Whereas the pure communism according to the theory developed by the German philosopher,

economist, and political theorist Karl Marx is a state less, classless society where all will have no

private property or say all property will be owned collectively by group or commune. Everybody

work mutually. They do have ‘we feeling’.

Mixed Economy

-In this economic system public and private ownership are combined with some degree of

socialism and capitalism.

-State adopts the capitalist and socialist economy side by side.

-Capitalism for economic growth and socialism for social welfare.

-Trade, commerce, business, industry, agriculture, tourism is used for economic prosperity

whereas state provides the safety nets especially education, health and other needs. Nepal is

adopting mixed economy.

Political institution

-Political institution is a way of political working which has a distribution of power and leadership.

-Political institutions are the standardized ways of maintaining order in the society.

-We call political institution a procedure of political activities, rules, customs and behaviors and

working system. It is a system of interactions in any society through which binding or authoritative

allocations are made and implemented accordingly.

-Political institution is an institution with a working procedure, allocation of power and the

ascertaining leadership rights.

-Political institutions in sociology is not only the state, government, political parties but also

behavior norms directives, methods and work procedure, political mechanism, constitution,

provision of voting behavior, periodic election, formation of government, pressure groups, foreign

affairs, diplomacy, law and order civil society and other manifest and latent political

interrelationships. Political institutions are set up norms and status that is specialized in the

exercise of power and authority.

-Leadership is selected by political system and that leadership makes policies for conducting

economic, social, political activities and implements these policies in the country. Formation of a

constitution, its implementation, and foreign affairs and also broadened through political

institution. As these intuitions have a significant role in ruling system of a country, it has significant

impact on socio cultural life of people within country.

- According to Willam P. Scott “Political institution is the social institution of social norms and

roles that serves to maintain social order to exercise power; to compel conformity to the existing

system of authority and to provide the means for change in the legal or administrative system.”

-Ancient society did not have the modern concept of state and government. Ancient society was

simple and whole working mechanism of the society was also simple. Certain individuals would

rule the society. In ancient period authority and power used to be determined by the religious

means, tradition, custom, physical force and in present authority and power are determined by the

state and political force. In ancient period moral codes, customs, traditions were the means of

social control but in modern days, in complex society many political institutions, rules, regulations,

mechanisms have been created to maintain law, order and the balance in the society.
Power: - Power means the ability to control the behaviors of others against their will.

Authority: - A means of power whose exercise in governed by the norms and status of

organization.

-Power is decision making and authority is the right to make decisions, i.e. The supreme court is

the authority and people should abide by the decision made by them is the power.

State: Max weber defined “state as human community which successfully claims the monopoly

of the legitimate use of physical force within given territory”. State is a major agent of social

control. State is an inclusive group from which there is no escape. All other social groups are

subordinate to the authority and power of the state.

- A state less person belongs nowhere and in terms of rights and status is non-person. State has a

basic interest in maintaining the order and the peace in the society; developing the network of

international relations and maintain the international positions.

Functions of the state:

Maintaining internal peace: control territories and people

Promoting national interests among other nation

Compromising among various interests in making public policy

Controlling members in pursuit of collective goals.

Political Parties: political party is a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political

power.

-Political parties are the association and the organization to mobilize the citizens to get control of

the state. There are one party, bi-party and multiple party system among in different counties.

Voting Behavior: Voter’s behavior, consciousness, desire, knowledge affect the entire political

process of the country. People express their preferences and desire through vote.
Vote can punish the unwanted political parties whereas vote casted after evaluating the vision,

capacity, morale, character of the candidates and political parties can change the leadership and

the entire nation. Voting is important process of nation building.

T.B. Bottomore makes a distinction between 3 kinds of political system

1. Political system of tribal societies: Each tribal community have their own political system.

There is a provision of local chief of the community such as Naike /mukhiya in raute of

Nepal. Tribal communities are slowly getting modernized and industrialized. E.g. African

societies.

2. Political system in non-industrial countries

The developing countries are being industrialized after emancipation from colonial and

autocratic rule. E.g. countries of Asia, Middle East. These countries have tried to make a

democracy as a political system but they face instability. Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan are the

examples of instable political system.

3. Political system of the industrial societies

These developed nations have comparatively stable political system. Democracy as a system and

process is institutionalized. European and America are having stable political system. Good

governance, transparency, equality, periodic election, inclusiveness are some attributes in modern

democratic practices in the world.

Social Stratification

-Social stratification is the ordering of the social differences with the help of a set of criteria or

just single criterion which ties differentiated strata into a system.

-Stratification is the system of status difference

Hierarchy: Kind of stratification where the strata are arranged vertically. For example, caste and

class based social stratification

Difference: It is horizontal arrangement of the society. For example, occupations may be listed

without any scaler or hierarchical ranking.

-Stratification can most simply be defined as structured inequalities between different groupings

of people. Society can be seen as consisting of strata in hierarchy or ranking with the more

favored at the top and the less privileged at bottom

-Sociologist speak of social stratification to describe inequalities that exist between

individuals and groups within human society. It is a segmental division of society into

different layers of social hierarchy supported by property power and prestige. Power refers

to the degree to which individual and the group can impose their will on others, with or without

their consent. Prestige relates to the degree of esteem associated with the social position, status,

and qualities of an individual and style of living. Property refers to the material possession one

define as valuable in a particular society. There can be social stratification between the sex groups,

age groups, caste groups, occupational groups, class groups and so on.

-Ginsberg “Social stratification is the division of society’s permanent groups or “categories

linked with each other by the relationship of superiority and subordination.”

- Melvin M. Tumin, “Social stratification refers to the arrangement of any social groups or

society into hierarchy of position that are unequal with regard to power, property, social

evaluation or psychic gratification.”

-Individuals and groups enjoy differential unequal access to rewards based on their position

within the stratification scheme.

System of Stratification

1. The system of stratification is social and universal nature

2. It is in diverse form. Social stratification is based on caste, class, gender, ethnicity, role and

status.

3. Social stratification can be achieved and ascribed both.

4. Stratification can be made horizontally or vertically.

5. Social stratification may accommodate the principle of co-existence or it can be conflict

based.

6. The ranking applies to social categories of people who share common characteristics

without necessarily interacting and identifying with one another. For example, women may

be ranked differently form men or wealthy people differently from poor

7. People’s life experiences and opportunities depend heavily on how their social category is

ranked. Being male or female, being white or black, being upper class and working class

makes a big difference in terms of life chances.

8. The ranks of different social categories tend to change very slowly over time.

-In the earliest human society which were based on hunting gathering there was a little social

stratification mainly because there was very little wealth and resources to divide up.

The development of agriculture produced considerably more wealth as a result as a result great

increase in social stratification.

Historically four basic system of stratification of can be distinguished:

1) Slavery: Slavery is an extreme form of inequality in which certain people are owned as

property by others. Today slavery is illegal in every country of the world.

2) Feudal estates: Feudal estates considered of strata with differing obligations and rights

toward each other. In Europe highest estate was composed of aristocracy; landlords

formed another estate possessing various distinctive privileges. Third estate were

commoners, peasants, serfs.

3) Caste System:

Social stratification is many. Caste system is an extreme form of social stratification

-The caste based social stratification is the segmental division of society in terms of social

acceptance, social relations and recognition which is based on Hindu Varna system of purity and

impurity.

-It is a social separation of groups that are not in fact set apart by any clear racial sign and made

eternal by religious myth.

-It is a system of social hierarchy in which people are divided into certain strata at the top which

is Brahmins followed by Chhetri and the bottom of which are untouchables (Bramhin, Kshetri,

Baisya, Shudra)

-The important feature of caste division is that there is a social hierarchy where people born in

certain caste can enjoy certain rights where others cannot.

-The norms of marriage culture, socio-political engagement is all determined by the family to

which a person is born

-The system assigns status strictly in terms of birth enforcing endogamous marriage, partly

limiting social contacts between groups.

-Caste is a social system in which one’s social status is given for life. In caste societies, therefore

different social levels are closed so that all individuals must remain at the social level of their birth

throughout the life. Caste societies can be seen as in which class position is ascribed at birth.

Features:

It is a hierarchical division of the society: society is segmented into different stratum.

There is a provision of purity and pollution in caste system: Brahmins are entitled to be pure and

others untouchables are impure.

Most extreme form of status hierarchy: It is a concept of Scared or profane. People form the

upper caste is considered pure and from lower class considered impure. People from upper caste

do not accept food and water from lower castes.

Restriction of food items: caste system imposes certain restrictions on food habit of the members.

Some traditional Brahmins still do not take garlic, onion and chicken.

There is restriction in social relationships and mate selection: Endogamy is a rule of marriage in

which bride is selected within caste group. Marriage outside caste is prohibited and discouraged.

Closed social structure: Caste system is closed type society. Caste cannot be changed.

-No accumulation of wealth and no exercise of talents change caste status

-Every Hindu necessarily belongs to the cast of his parents and remains. It is absolute and

permanent stratification of the society.; Caste is fixed at the time of birth exception of exogamy;

the strata are kept apart by the exclusion of lowers.

There is a provision of restriction in occupational choices: Hindu Varna system is basically

fixed order of occupation. It is caste based division of labor and selection of occupation is

restricted.

-Individuals talents, aptitudes, interests, abilities were neglected. Caste based system excludes

lower class people to enjoy social cultural and economic opportunities.

-Caste order discounts intrinsic merits and capacities and denies opportunities for the

advancement to those who belong to lower caste. Doing so deprives itself of the potential

contributions that might emanate from their ranks. Whenever system limits opportunities to

privileged groups within it the society is needlessly losing the aptitudes and talents that might

contribute to the society.

Caste-class relations: People form lower caste have little access to the means of production

(land, factory, technology, money) education, opportunities and wealth. Lower class people are

dominated from higher class people.

4) Class system

-Class is a large scale social grouping of people who share common economic resources which

strongly influence the type of life style they are able to lead.

-The divisions that reflect the principle of social class are vertical strata graded in order.

-Recognition of the superior –inferior stratification.

-Some degree of permanency of the structure

-Status as criteria of social class.

-Distinct status group provides the precise concept class stratification applicable to any system of

wherever found.

Features:

Class is economically based: Classes depend on economic differences between group of individual

inequalities in the possession of material resources. According to Karl Marx class is always

manifestations of economic differentiations. Economic factor is commonly associated with status

distinctions. According to him the society is divided into different layers based on economic

condition of people such as who controls the means of production and who do not own the means

of production. Such as Masters and slaves, landlords and tenants; capitalist and labor class

Class positions are in some part achieved: An individual class is not simply given at birth as in

the case of other types of stratification. Social mobility (moving upward and downward in the class

structure) more common than in other types.

Class system are fluid: unlike other types of strata classes are not established by legal or religious

boundaries. The boundaries between these classes are never clear cut. There is no formal restriction

on marriage between people of different groups.

Classes system are large and impersonal: In other types of stratification systems inequalities are

expressed primarily in personal relationships of duty and obligations like slave and master; high

caste and low caste.

Social and Economic Class: Germen sociologist Marx weber emphasized that social and

economic order are not identical. The economic order is merely the way in which economic

goods and services are distributed and used. According to weber class division is not derived

from control or lack of control of means of production but economic differences which have

nothing to do with property such as skills, qualifications which affect the types of job people are

able to obtain.

Criteria of Class distinctions: The common and oldest type of social classification is expressed

as dichotomy. Its various form distinguishes the gentry and the commonality; elites and masses,

rich and poor, educated and uneducated; rulers and ruled.

-Tripartite division are also employed like Upper class, middle class and lower class.

Universally the class can be divided as

 Upper class/ based on the ownership of the property or the means of production

 Middle class/ based on the possession of educational or technical qualification

 Lower class/ based on the possession of manual labor power

Gender based social stratification

Sex refers to physical or physiological differences between males and females, including both

primary sex characteristics (the reproductive system) and secondary characteristics such as

height and muscularity. The biological differences between female and male that are developed in

the womb; determined at the moment of birth and throughout the childhood & life history.
Gender refers to the social, cultural and psychological traits linked to male and female through

particular social context

Gender is a term that refers to social or cultural distinctions associated with being male or female.

Gender is social concept. It refers to the social cultural differences a society assigns to people

based on their biological sex.

-A person’s sex, as determined by his or her biology, does not always correspond with his or

her gender. Therefore, the terms sex and gender are not interchangeable. It is a social role of male

and female in the society. Gender is socio-culturally constructed

Gender based social stratification

Male

Female

Others

-So, far as gender stratification is concerned, it is the male domination to the female in relating to

social, cultural, religious and many more aspects of everyday life.

-In male dominated society men enjoy certain rights, privileges and opportunities that women

cannot whereas women face different level of constraints in their life chances.

-Differential Pay for the work and institutional crisis

-Distribution in occupation

-Patriarchy
-Religion and culture

-Gender and social evils