Social Stratification
In sociology, social stratification is the term used to describe the categorization of people within a society, where individuals are classified according to their socioeconomic level; based on aspects such as race, power, education, wealth and income (Jost, John, Danielle & Chadly 323). The social groups comprised of people along with the unevenly distributed resources allocated to the different social classes. Inherently, individual who own more resources are placed in the upper level within the social structure while those with fewer resource represent the lower class.
Closed and Open Social Structures
Conversely, the stratifications can be categorized into two systems, closed and open social structures. Closed systems are the structures which accommodate insignificant changes in the social hierarchy. In other words, the closed structure does not allow individuals to move from one class to the other or social relationships between the two levels. These positions and hierarchies usually are fixed at birth (Kerbo 2). Open social systems are founded on achievement facets, where individuals can move and interact with individuals from different social classes. Subsequently, it is understandable that the various systems only emphasize, foster and mirror specific individual beliefs and cultural values; which are stratified further into a meritocracy, caste, and class systems; on which the past societies have been stratified.
Caste Systems
Caste systems are essentially closed structures where people do nothing or very little to change their social statuses. In the structure, people maintain the hierarchy or class on which they are born, through their entire lives. Moreover, individuals in the system are assigned professions and occupations irrespective of their interests, talent or potential. Virtually, there are no opportunities on which individuals can improve their social positions. An excellent example of this structure is the Hindu tradition, where the society expects individuals to work and marry within their caste social positions (Chan, Tak Wing & John 176). Embracing and acceptance of the social standing were perceived to be a moral duty which was also reinforced with cultural values. A society founded on caste systems opposes aspects of freedom and thrives on beliefs such as destiny, belief and the will of a higher power.
Class Systems
The class system is however based on individual achievements along with social factors. Classes are constituted of a group of individuals who share similar social status; such as incomes, occupation, wealth and education. The structure is virtually an open system where people are allowed to improve their social standings regarding education, employment and wealth (Chan, Tak Wing & John 176). People are allowed to socialize, interact and even marry with other from other classes. Such aspects tolerate movement from one level to another based on failures and achievements. Although societal and family models significantly contribute to guiding a person towards a preferred social role and career, profession and nature of work are not fixed at birth (Kerbo 3). Marriages are founded on values such as compatibility and love as contrasted to social positions.
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, on the other hand, can be termed to be an ideal social structure which is founded on the certainty that social stratification is naturally controlled by outcomes of merit and personal effort; they determine a person's social status and position (Liu 109). Mostly, the shallow level of effort leads to lower social positions and the other way round. The argument that meritocracy is an ideal system is based on the fact that social ranks were purely determined by an individual's effort and hard work. However, other aspects of the societies, such as social standings, marriages, socialization, and interaction, together with the economic system were influenced by other factors and not merit alone (Liu 1012). In the past, meritocracy never existed, however, in these modern times and societies, it plays a significant role. For example, today, academic levels, career performance, and economic systems are purely rewarded and evaluated on achievement.
Social Class System in Britain
Historically, British society was influenced by the social class systems of stratification; the same structure has prevailed to shape the modern society today. Inherently, it is assertive to state the British systems have been constant regarding most aspect, though new factors besides birth, such as educations, have evolved to influence the identity of Britons. Classifying the UK to be stratified under the social class structure might be controversial, however, today, education, occupation and wealth are very influential within the British society. Considering the social positions, the British monarch represents the upper class. Nevertheless, the system has significantly evolved to embrace higher home ownership and education, changing roles of women in the society reinforced with a higher sense of individualistic culture (Li, Yaojun, Mike & Alan 26). All these highlighted aspects justify the categorization of Britain as a social class system. Nonetheless, critics have indicated that in the UK, social status is mostly influenced by corresponding social class.
Conclusion
To conclude, the British societal system can be asserted to be both open and meritocratic primary because it has embraced the expansion of several aspects such as increase home ownership and high education. Additionally, the system has shifted from being monarchical towards being a service-dominant society. In other words, the social positions are determined by achievement as contrasted to the previous hereditary transmission of social status, occupation, and power. The changing roles of women and the promotion of individualistic cultures, allows people to socialize and enhance their social ranks, making it an open system.
Work Cited
Chan, Tak Wing, and John H. Goldthorpe. "Social stratification and cultural consumption: The visual arts in England." Poetics 35.2-3 (2007): 168-190.
Jost, John T., Danielle Gaucher, and Chadly Stern. "The world isn’t fair”: A system justification perspective on social stratification and inequality." APA handbook of personality and social psychology 2 (2015): 317-340.
Kerbo, Harold. "Social stratification." The Wiley‐Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2017): 1-4.
Li, Yaojun, Mike Savage, and Alan Warde. "Social stratification, social capital and cultural practice in the UK." The handbook of research methods and applications on social capital (2015): 21-39.
Liu, Ye. "Meritocracy, Education Opportunities and Social Stratification." Higher Education, Meritocracy and Inequality in China. Springer, Singapore, 2016. 105-124.
