Page 246 - Essencials of Sociology

Summary and Review 219

capable people to fill its important positions, society must offer and the Least Industrialized. This layering represents relative
them greater rewards. Melvin Tumin said that if this view were property, power, and prestige. The oil-rich nations are an ex-
correct, society would be a meritocracy, with positions awarded ception. Pp. 206–210.
on the basis of merit. Gaetano Mosca argued that stratification
is inevitable because every society must have leadership, which by How Did the World’s Nations
definition means inequality. Conflict theorists argue that strati-
fication is the outcome of an elite emerging as groups struggle Become Stratified?
for limited resources. Gerhard Lenski suggested a synthesis be-
tween the functionalist and conflict perspectives. Pp. 199–202. Discuss how colonialism and world system theory explain
7.7
how the world’s nations became stratified.
How Do Elites Maintain Stratification?
The main theories that seek to account for global stratifica-
tion are colonialism, world system theory, and the culture
7.4 Discuss the ways that elites keep themselves in power.
of poverty. Pp. 210–216.
To maintain social stratification within a nation, the ruling
class adopts an ideology that justifies its current arrange- Maintaining Global Stratification
ments. It also controls information and uses technology.
When all else fails, it turns to brute force. Pp. 202–204. Know how neocolonialism, multinational corporations, and
7.8
technology help to maintain global stratification.
Comparative Social Stratification
How do elites maintain global stratification?
There are two basic explanations for why the world’s coun-
7.5 Contrast social stratification in Great Britain and the former
tries remain stratified. Neocolonialism is the ongoing
Soviet Union.
dominance of the Least Industrialized Nations by the Most
What are key characteristics of stratification Industrialized Nations. The second explanation points to the
systems in other nations? influence of multinational corporations. The new technol-
ogy gives further advantage to the Most Industrialized Na-
The most striking features of the British class system are speech tions. Pp. 216–217.
and education. In Britain, accent reveals social class, and almost
all of the elite attend private schools. In the former Soviet Strains in the Global System
Union, communism was supposed to abolish class distinctions.
Instead, it ushered in a different set of classes. Pp. 204–206.
Identify strains in today’s system of global stratification.
7.9
Global Stratification: Three Worlds
What strains are showing up in global
stratification?
7.6 Know how neocolonialism, multinational corporations, and
All stratification systems have contradictions that threaten
technology help to maintain global stratification.
to erupt, forcing the system to change. Currently, capitalism
How are the world’s nations stratified? is in crisis, and we seem to be experiencing a global shift in
economic (and, ultimately, political) power from the West to
The model presented here divides the world’s nations into
the East. P. 218.
three groups: the Most Industrialized, the Industrializing,

Thinking Critically about Chapter 7

1. How do slavery, caste, estate, and class systems of social 4. What shifts in global stratification seem to be taking
stratification differ? place? Why?
2. Why is social stratification universal?
3. How do elites maintain stratification (keep themselves in
power)?