Social Stratification in the United States

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Social stratification, or the so-called social structure of society, is an apparent hierarchy of the public being separated into superposed classes (OpenStax, 2015). Naturally, the concept poses an unequal work value so that people who have a higher status in society are likely to earn more than those positioned lower in the social pyramid. Furthermore, the gap between employers and employees is still apparent, even though the working conditions have been enhanced. The theory suggests that this inequality benefits employers who become more prosperous day by day while the staff becomes poorer. The notion of stratification can also characterize the countries: some are more developed than others (OpenStax, 2015). Unfortunately, this global inequality is beneficial only to the states with a better status on the worldwide market, whereas other countries face challenges in their development.

The conditions of an individual can be characterized from different viewpoints: subjective, absolute, and relative. The first perception is individual, meaning that a person identifies ones material situation (OpenStax, 2015). Absolute poverty, however, is related to human needs and how much an individual is deprived of the necessities: food, shelter, education, and healthcare (OpenStax, 2015). The concept of relative poverty defines the inability of a person to participate in social activities and, consequently, benefit from these experiences.

Naturally, the concept of poverty is usually offensive to most people, so the statement of it being in the eye of the beholder makes sense. In other words, outside perception is indeed likely to harm the self-esteem of an individual (OpenStax, 2015). That is why it seems unfair to react to the homeless negatively, no matter their behavior or self-perception. If a person begs strangers for necessities, it is a personal choice whether to help one with, for instance, money, food, or clothes.

Reference

OpenStax. (2015). Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax. Web.

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