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social stratification it is believed that society has four fundamental principles of stratification social stratification is considered as not just a characteristic of society due to individual differences but a social system which exists over several generations it is believed that most societies allow some sort of social mobility or changes in people's position in a system of social stratification social mobility within societies whether the caribbean europe or north
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america occurs and varies social mobility may be upward downward or horizontal social mobility determines social stratification social stratification is universal but varied it changes social mobility depends on beliefs equality and or inequality of the distribution of resources what is social stratification according to many sociologists social stratification is patterned social inequality it is also the unequal distribution of societal resources they suggest
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that inequality is patterned and indicates that the differences occur this difference is seen on a wide-scale basis with regularity and a long lines of certain specific identifiable characteristics such as race class and gender sociologist further suggests that society ranks people in categories referred to as in a hierarchy marxist considers these classes as the haves and the have not we will discuss this later social stratification according to many sociologists is usually based
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on three major premises these premise are power prestige and property power refers to the ability to impose one's will on others this may include the capitalist way of life according to functionalism conflict and marxist philosophies prestige refers to the respect given by others to another based on the own property or possession of an individual the ownership of property determines forms of wealth within a society it is with this viewpoint free slaves had no role in politics
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after the caribbean region began self-government it was a law that only persons with property was allowed to vote or have any saw in any policy decisions made by the assemble government forum it was based on the patterned social norms which led to the socialized ways of life of our ancestors and their generations to follow the word pattern suggest that if we knew whether a person or group possesses or does not possess certain traits then we should be able to predict
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with reasonable accuracy how this person or group is likely to fare in the social hierarchy this pattern helps to assume correctly the social level in which one exists within a particular society this is referred to as social hierarchy social hierarchy is therefore a set of ranked statuses this creates a class boundary one in which karl marx extensively discuss in his sociological theory a social of social classes marx echoed extensively that the existence of classes within
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the society encourages social inequality there is much talk about social inequality what is social inequality sociologists describe social inequality as the systematically experience of different people which allows them to have their basic needs while other have little or none of that which is needed to maintain need social inequality focuses on persons who are at a socially advantageous position and who are included amongst the ranks of the socially disadvantaged
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for example during the early years of the emancipation of slaves throughout the caribbean free slaves were not offered education beyond their elementary years primary school yet all children within the colonies someday would seek employment within the general society children of slaves were not given the equal opportunity to be numerate and literate as a result of this many children of ex-slaves held menial jobs throughout the varied caribbean societies the values and
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beliefs amongst varying sections of society during this era of caribbean history were different the wealthy knew they would be catered for throughout the society while the poor were doomed in poverty yet all were regarded as members of a caribbean society of better yet a specific country example trinidad or barbados the ranking of people within specific social groups as a result of social
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stratification predetermined the role members would play within the caribbean region as a result of social stratification employment was available for persons within specific class structure within many caribbean countries jobs in social institution were held by persons with high color brown or white these jobs included bank tellers pastors business operators school head masters and other social institution type jobs many free-colored children lost the inspiration
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to vigorously pursue their desire for a respectable job menial employment was offered to persons with color these included farmers household helper janitor and gardener social inequality is a structured and systematic issue which has affected societies from man's early civilization social inequality affects people in various social classes throughout their lives because of this pattern inequality social stratification affects people's life chances
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during the early years of education and throughout the caribbean only privileged were granted scholarships live chances for the lower class which existed in society were few only those brilliant colored sex slave children we got any life chances in many cases these children were even overlooked with the children of the plantocracy class the preferred class live chances meant opportunities were granted to individuals with or without the capability
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to achieve without assistance to engage in certain activities and the opportunities that may uplift or maintain their social status within the social hierarchy of any society within every society regardless of its status of developed or developing there exists a social caste system a caste and class systems refers to a system where people are divided into different groupings and their lives are structured according to these groupings there are certain things that
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some people cannot do simply because their station in life prevents them from being able to do them many persons throughout the caribbean experience a different social stratum as a result of social stratum they are able to do specific things because they occupy a more favorable position in the social hierarchy this social stratum depends on how much individual mobility is possible societies may be classified as either a caste system or a class
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system sociologists view a caste system means of social stratification based on description it can be argued that a caste system consists of a fixed arrangement of strata from the most to the least privileged with a person's position determined unalterably at birth in many caribbean countries the most extensive contemporary example of a caste system is found in trinidad and tobago and guyana especially in rural areas cast discrimination is officially illegal but exists nonetheless
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the traditional castes of trinidad include negroes and indians a caste system may be determined by many ethnic and cultural factors european imperial powers in africa imposed a caste system based on skin color all whites were in a higher position or cast than any non-white caste systems shape people's lives in four crucial ways these include the ability of the caste system to largely determine occupation of members of each caste system it is interesting to note that caste
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systems largely mandate endogamy most importantly powerful cultural beliefs underly caste systems finally caste systems limit out group social contacts although cast influences remains guyana and trinidad the situation is changing due to communication transportation industrialization and the growth of a middle class and the regional integration policies being introduced throughout the caribbean in a class system social stratification is based on individual achievement
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in a class systems persons can be considered peers in society because of their similar life chances similar life circumstances and similar opportunities constitute a social class it is also important to note that in a class system social standing is determined by factors over which people can exert some control and some mobility does take place in a class system status inconsistency the degree of consistency of a person's social standing across various
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dimensions of social inequality is lower than in a caste system structural social mobility also occurs within many caribbean societies structural social mobility refers to a shift in social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than individual efforts social stratification persists in societies because it is backed up by an ideology this ideology may be related to cultural beliefs that directly or indirectly justify social
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stratification ideological support for inequality exists in many societies even within the caribbean an ideology or pattern of beliefs justifies social inequality in the united states which legitimizes or justifies a particular societal arrangement example in jamaica it is the ideology of the upper class that inner cities are filled with gangsters and half-naked women who attend dances every night
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thus if the police carries out any operation and kill a few resident from an inner city community this is not a big deal throughout the caribbean it is believed that ideological hegemony exist ideological hegemony refers to the control over the production of cultural symbols in jamaica most if not all large businesses or agencies are controlled by families with strong economical and political association one of karl marx's famous quotes is the ruling ideas of any
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epic are the ideas of the ruling class because they control the mental means of production karl marx suggests that the elite have many weapons at their disposal in order to keep society and the lower classes under control two of the main ways are the use of force and the mass media just evaluate the jamaican society the azans issa and hannah own a large percentage of the country's production force bush stewart is not considered in this category his reign as a financial mogul
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has been short and this status requires a longer run within this category of social caste system in jamaica over time legitimacy of his place in the listed group of moguls will occur thus the maintenance of the social order and class system will be well deserved there is a belief that social stratification maintains a balance within every society this is not an issue agreed upon by many sociologists including karl marx the belief
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that all ruling elite uses their position at the top of society to create an ideology is complex the complexity of this ideology rests in the set of beliefs values and norms which rationalize and support the elites power and privileges which exist within any one society the dominant or most important and valued ideas in history have been the ideas of the ruling class indeed the ruling class ensures the organization of society they influence the framing of the constitution
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and the civil laws of the land in which they occupy the ideology is of the ruling classes to minimize the increase of persons within this social caste system to a great extent the ruling class controls the production of cultural symbols it is believed by sociologists that the mass media serves in this capacity to control the production of cultural symbols the mass media influences the kind of kind of information we get and what kind of ideas we listen to it is believed that the
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mass media and the ruling class has a closely knitted relationship with political leaders as a result of this relationship anti-government and anti-business views are rarely expressed most of the media gives the same messages of free enterprise equality of opportunity individualism hard work and consumerism it is believed that this ideology taught and shared through the mass media is a means used by the elite to confuse distract and divide the lower classes marx in his writings
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commented on this ideology which coincidentally existed during his time marx argued that the class in power imposes its ideology on the entire society and that false consciousness occurs when people in a class accept an ideology that is contrary to the best interest of that class marx in his essay argued that false consciousness will exist until the exploited stratum develops a sense of class consciousness at which time the stratum will become a true social class and begin
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challenging the ruling class in contrast to marx's ideology of a class-less society many sociologists like davis moore asserts differently davis moore suggests that social stratification has its place function in every society it was suggested that social stratification is a universal pattern because it has beneficial consequences for the operation of society it also implies that societies become more productive as they approach meritocracy a system of social stratification
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based on personal merit regardless of the merit to the arguments shared there is several criticisms of davis more ideologies many sociologists found that it is difficult to specify the functional importance of a given occupation it is being suggested that some are over under rewarded ex baseball player entertainer vs teacher garbage collector other argument which discredits davis mora's ideology is that it ignores how social stratification can prevent the development of
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individual talents the theory also ignores how social inequality may promote conflict and revolution instability for karl marx social stratification was the influencing factor for the ideology of a classless society karl marx saw classes as defined by people's relationship to the means of production he had distaste for capitalism according to marx capitalists bourgeoisie are people who own factories and other productive business he suggested that the proletariat working
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class is people who sell their productive labor to the capitalists in his critical evaluation of this system of production and survival the system of capitalism marx regards this system as a means of exploitation of the real production unit of society he describes the system which existed then as a system which saw the owners of production doing little to produce while the laborers produce
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yet according to marx the laborers reap the least of the profit gained by the owners of production marx's theory has been enormously influential in the socialist and communist system of governance in these system of governance the people benefits more from production his work has been criticized for failing to recognize that a system of unequal rewards may be necessary to motivate people to perform their social roles effectively the theoretical framework has been stoutly rejected
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by western capitalist western capitalist has not experienced a marxist revolution according to the capitalist philosophy the capitalist class has fragmented and grown in size giving more people a stake in the system it is believed that the proletariat has also changed it is believed that blue-collar occupations lower prestige work involving mostly manual labor have declined white-collar occupations higher prestige work involving mostly mental activity
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have expanded according to the capitalist workers are better organized than they were in marx's day their unions have been able to fight for reform it has been further argued that government within capitalist societies has extended various legal protections to workers regardless of the above response from the capitalist there has been counter-argument from supporters of the marxist ideology according to these supporters wealth remains within the ruling class
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they also suggest that white-collar jobs offer no more income security satisfaction than blue-collar jobs did a century ago they further argue that class conflict continues between workers and management they further suggests that the laws still favor the rich to an extent max weber agreed with marks and identified three dimensions of social stratification which exist within societies these dimensions were listed as class status and power max weber argued that social
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standings consisting of class which he regarded as determined mainly by economic standing or wealth to a great extent weber suggests that this is partly predetermined by political party power he suggested that social prestige and power including status is derived from political power following weber's pronouncement of his ideology many sociologists use the term socioeconomic status this is a composite ranking based on various dimension of social inequality separated
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by education occupation and income education occupation and income are used to determine socio-economic status contemporary sociologists often use the broader concept of socio-economic status to refer to a person's ranking along several social dimensions particularly education occupational prestige and income based on weber's ideology education can lead to incontainment but the benefits are not equally shared by racial and ethnic minorities or by women weber further
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postulate that wealth consists of consists of the total amount of money and valuable goods that a person or family controls he suggests that it is more unequally distributed than income weber suggested that assets such as real estate and jewels and income consist of occupational wages or salaries and earnings from investments in the jamaica below 10 of the population has assets with a value of more than 2 million dollars the average income per household in the caribbean is
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equivalent to less than ten dollars united states dollars per day throughout the world there is occupational prestige many occupational options warrant respect and acclamation by family members some occupations are regarded as shameful and are deemed as disgraceful there are no prestige in performing some occupations throughout the caribbean example janitorial and sewage laborers on the other hand other occupations are viewed as good and are held in high regards
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these occupations warrant prestige these occupations may include medical doctor teacher and a lawyer occupations regarded as prestige serves as a key source of social prestige since we commonly evaluate each other according to what we do because there are so many specific occupations sociologists often categorize occupations into a smaller number these may include one white collar which may include professionals manager and administrator technical personnel clerical another
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category is the blue-collar worker these include craft precision production and repair personnel operative engineer labors labor excluding farm and farm worker some sociologist includes a pink collared dimension within the category of work suggested by weber they refer to this additional category as pink collar the pink collar is a category that reflects the segregation of women into certain occupations such as kindergarten teachers and secretaries high incomes usually
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are associated with high prestige occupations but there are exceptions sociologists sometimes use the term prestige to mean the honor associated with an occupation or other position in the social system and esteem to mean the honor that o crews to the individual filling the position webber's views have been critically evaluated by many sociologists but on the contrary it has been widely accepted in the united states and other parts of the developed world the harsh economic
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times of the developed world may lead to a renewed emphasis on the importance of economic classes and the call by sociologists to review inequality within developed countries in the united states of america there is a high rate of inequality the united states of america is considered highly stratified many people underestimate the extent of structured inequality in countries such as the
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united states and canada in countries like these it is evident that power is unequally distributed the ruling class owns or influences the means of production the children of the ruling class get the best education the question of ancestry race and gender still remain significant in many universities workplaces and professions sociologists usually conceptualize the north american society as consisting either of three or nine distinct social classes in the
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three-class model society is divided into a lower class a middle class and an upper class in the nine-class model each of these classes is further divided into three subclasses lower lower middle lower lower middle and middle middle to name a few to measure social class standing sociologists have developed three main methods the objective method ranks individuals into classes on the basis of measures such as education income and occupational prestige the reputational method
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places people into various social classes on the basis of reputation in the community class and self-identification allows people to place themselves in a social class here are detailed descriptions of the classes stated above the upper classes these are elite families with great wealth who dominate the economic system of elite status is ascribed and many of this groups members are friends who have been socialized into a upper-class world ranking below the elite is the
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lower upper class a group of people who recently have achieved success and wealth but whose lack of an established family name may preclude them from full acceptance into the upper upper class the middle classes the upper third of the middle class forms the upper middle class a group that consists mostly of professionals and others with well-paying respected occupations the upper middle class collectively exerts power because its members participate in political affairs and
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support various causes but they do not have as much direct access to powerful individuals nor do they have the time and the wealth for extensive political activity.the other part of the middle class consists of the lower middle a group that is less educated and have relatively few assets the lower classes the upper lower class also called the working class consists of service personnel semi-skilled operatives and other blue-collar workers who do not earn enough
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to accumulate substantial savings these people are vulnerable to disruptions in their income the lower lower class is made up of people who lack education and live in the most dilapidated sections of the community and in substandard housing the lower lower class may be divided into two subgroups the working poor are lower lower class people who have jobs but who simply cannot earn inadequate income and the chronically poor are mostly unemployed or work only occasionally
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in addition to race and gender social class plays an integral role in the stratification of a society these three dimensions often interact to produce a person's place in society the manner in which people are treated and their self-identify according to sociologist class makes a significant difference within any society sociologists consider whether or not it is a myth or reality of social mobility within a socially stratified society throughout the caribbean sociologists
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frequently focus on the intergenerational mobility of individuals upward and downward movements in socioeconomic status measured between the standing of children compared to that of their parents there is a debate whether there is myth versus reality regarded to the above stated regarding social mobility here are four general conclusions regarding social mobility throughout the caribbean one social mobility at least among men has been high too the long-term trend in social
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mobility has been upward three within a single generation social mobility is usually incremental not dramatic four the short-term trend has been stagnation with some income polarization it should be noted that social mobility varies based on income levels importantly social mobility throughout the caribbean also varies based on nepotism race ethnicity and gender throughout many societies there are several determinants which influence social mobility
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social mobility refers to the movement of persons and groups within the stratification system the steepness of the economic pyramid or the availability of jobs to satisfy everyone within the society determines the mobility of persons within a society the starting position on the socio-economic ladder also determines mobility within social classes it is important to note that the position you start at within a particular job is based on qualification social connection
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and the availability of job opportunity some people begin closer to the top than others thus their chances of upward mobility are greater than those who may have begin at the bottom of the social ladder structural mobility is a possibility within any society including the caribbean this is when the movement of entire categories of people due to changes in society itself example of this
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could be the discovery of precious minerals like gold fossil fuel and bauxite within a particular community this may influence the gross domestic product which improves the country's income status the value of production would increase thus improving or elevating a set group of people throughout the caribbean and other societies there are both upward as well as downward social mobility mobility of individuals may change several times within a person's lifetime
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social mobility can be determined by a number of variables each of which can cause someone to be advantaged or disadvantaged compared to others in society however it is not necessarily the impact of any one variable which results in social stratification within any given society it's a given that a unique combination of stratification-related factors that determines how one succeeds in society some of these traits are within our control others we
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have little control over ascribed versus achieved example of major ascribed social stratifiers are race sex and age some major or achieved social stratifiers are education income occupation and religion to name a few according to sociologists achieved stratifiers are those traits which affect our position within the social hierarchy these are social stratifiers in which we have some degree of control many persons throughout the caribbean have yet to realize an upward mobility
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the reasons which best explain this could be 1. unemployment has placed them at a gross disadvantage 2 the decrease in manual labor and production has led to a decrease in income 3 nepotism within the workplace and the situation where one person holds multiple jobs decreasing the opportunity of many unemployed persons from actually securing employment thus has no income.4 many job opportunities exist within the caribbean however the available jobs offer little income
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this has daunted many job seekers to secure such jobs would be uneconomical since in many cases it cost more to go to work than they receive as income.5 as a result of the unavailability of jobs many skilled and professional young people are opting to stay at home this has created a problem for many would be college attendants since many unemployed youths are unable to secure student loans because the revolving student loans now in existence has not been deemed bankrupt the
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large percentage of unemployment throughout the caribbean region has led to an increase in poverty many caribbean countries are now instituting welfare programs so as to manage the needs of the unemployed a clear example of this can be seen in jamaica jamaica in an effort to manage the rapid growth of poverty and its impact on children have instituted a program partly funded by the european
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union referred to as p-a-t-h-e this acronym means poverty alleviation through health and education regardless of the prosperity which seems to be occurring within any society poverty usually exist regardless of the minimum percentage of the general population currently haiti is the poorest caribbean country oil-rich country trinidad and tobago also has a percentage of its population affected by poverty what is poverty poverty may be defined in two ways a relative poverty
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people are poor only in comparison to others therefore there will always be some group at the bottom of the hierarchy relative poverty refers to the deprivation of some people in relation to those who have more absolute poverty this is the inability of people to maintain a certain standard of living absolute poverty is a deprivation of resources that is life-threatening the poor are primarily responsible for their own poverty culture of poverty poverty usually
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a long-term phenomenon which is determined by one's inherent culture this is termed by some sociologist as culture of poverty some sociologists believe that the culture of poverty blames the poor for their plight when in fact the causes of poverty lie in society this raises a question which to evaluate whether or not society is responsible for poverty most evidence suggests that society rather than the individual is responsible for poverty
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karl marx would agree with the above thus to suggest that there exist a working poor within our society would not be far-fetched these working poor are considered truly disadvantaged this group consists of people who live predominantly in the inner city and who are trapped in a cycle of joblessness deviance crime welfare dependency and unstable family life it is a given that poor economic conditions are the main problems facing the truly disadvantaged however it
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should be noted carefully that only some people drift into a life of dependency or deviance because they cannot find work throughout every society including the caribbean the poor exist persons are regarded as poor once they are unable to sustain their basic needs these are food shelter and clothing factors which may encourage persons to be poor are one age once individual arrive at a particular age having no one to take care of them especially if they are senile they
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are placed in the category of being poor who is poor is usually determined by the society in which you live in 2 race and ethnicity can determine whether you are poor or not in some society example europe and north america regardless of your wealth once you're from a particular ethnic group or race you will always be considered as poor three gender and family patterns also determine whether you are poor in india there are several categories of indians
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it is very difficult for you to experience upward social mobility the movie slumdog millionaire demonstrates this scenario quite adequately many asian countries has shows little regards to the female gender the social hierarchy of the family is determined by the position in which the husband holds in society the woman has little or no access to claim assets or social mobility the above stated situation encourages an argument regarded as the feminization of poverty
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this is an argument which suggests that women represent an increasing proportion of the poor the argument suggests that the women increase the rate of poverty with their continued addition to the size of the population this argument however is held by persons depending on their social class finances politics and values in conclusion we have explored the meaning of social stratification we now know that social stratification is usually considered the study of classes in a society
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generally social stratification exists in all societies regardless where you live the caribbean stratification system has been influenced by its history of colonialism plantation slavery and in dentureship although most of these territories are currently politically independent nation states it can be said that the legacy of their history have continued to impact upon their individual social structure it is the belief
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of many caribbean sociologists that european powers are the main contributor towards social stratification in the caribbean the blacks are placed at the bottom of the stratification table just behind the milados the blacks were used as slaves by the europeans to run their plantations such as those for sugarcane the families with the most cloud throughout the caribbean region are predominantly mixed in ethnicity or have their roots in countries outside of europe
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rather than african we have discovered that during the era of slavery caribbean society was a closed system of stratification based on race and color the society was termed as a plantation society we also discovered that cultural pluralism is still evident throughout the caribbean region certain ethnic groups may be found in specific geographical locations in certain occupations and in certain clubs and associations throughout the caribbean this encourages cultural pluralism
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cultural pluralism describes a situation where different cultural or racial groups in a society mix only to a certain extent with limited social and cultural integration trinidad and guyana it is believed that society and culture today are not as stratified as plantation society largely due to the social mobility brought about through education social mobility is the movement of persons from one status position to another
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in contemporary caribbean social classes used to distinguish between those who have the same social and economic resources and therefore the same social status and those who do not throughout this paper we have identified varied social classes which exist throughout the caribbean we now know that a social class is a group of people who share a similar position in the stratification system the typical social class divisions in contemporary caribbean are upper middle and
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lower these divisions are in line with weber's categorization of class that is based on power prestige or status in the caribbean context social class is the key ingredient in the stratification of society rather than the strict description of race and color that typified plantation society
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