Class stratification is one of many systems of societal stratification that place people into ranks. Class stratification, or usually referred to as class systems, determines social ranks/classes based on one’s net worth (the amount of money and assets they own), power, education, and social status. Personal decisions, opportunities, and the class one is born into all play a part (Nickerson, 2025).
Framing & Perspectives
For social stratification to exist, there must be an existing ranking or ordering of social classes or strata. Capitalism transformed old structures and strengthened the idea of social class, which remains persistent in many parts of the world (Cole, 2019). Furthermore, the word “class” now most often refers to social class rather than a group of people or things that have something in common. Social class includes the social and cultural aspects of a person’s life, shaped by their family’s socio-economic status, traits, values, actions, opportunities, or educational level. This is why words such as “lower,” “working,” “upper,” or “high” can add social as well as economic meaning to our understanding of the people they describe.
The functionalist theory provides a distinctive prism through which to better understand the reason for class stratification’s existence. According to functionalist sociology, income, wealth, class, and power differences are critical for a society to be stable (Jose, 2024). Within this understanding, justifications for differences are that salary disparities between occupations are related to their functional importance. Further, they are related to the scarcity of individuals with the required skills to perform these roles. Individuals are motivated and compensated with pay and promised a better future, and are led to accept their role in society (Costandachi, 2009). In summary, functionalists rationalize income and status disparities as both desirable and unavoidable by emphasizing the functional significance of various jobs.
Conflict theory, based on Karl Marx’s writings, has a different view on class stratification than functionalists do. Much of our current understanding of the term class, and thus class stratification, originates from the writings of the German sociologist Karl Marx (Christensen & Levinson, 2003). He divided society into two classes: the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production, such as land, factories, and capital) and the proletariat (the workers). Conflict theorists see class stratification as a system that benefits the powerful and disadvantages everyone else. Consequently, they conclude that class stratification is based on inequality created by domination, exploitation, and control over resources, rather than a functional necessity. Conflict theorists emphasize that inequality is actively reinforced through institutional power structures (workplace policies), socialization (learned occupational aspiration), and education (unequal school funding) to maintain imbalances of occupations and salaries (Nickerson, 2025). The material conditions in which one grows up and lives impacts whether they will take advantage of job and education opportunities that could help them move up in the social hierarchy (Manstead, 2018).
Relevance
In capitalist systems, economic inequalities will exist in society. However, they must be controlled through policy making to create more equal social relations and prevent second- and third-class citizens, who are perceived or treated as “less worthy” (Hund et al., 2022). For example, whether or not economic inequality harms health depends on the policies in place. During the COVID pandemic, there was a connection between the income level and rates of infection and death from the virus. Essential workers, who are often paid the minimum wage, were more likely to catch the virus because they still had to be physically present for work (Finch & Hernández Finch, 2020). There was also an overlap between income level and race, where communities of color, specifically African Americans, who are more likely to work in low-paying jobs (Chakrabarti, 2022), had higher cases and deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. As previously mentioned, conflict theory explains that stratification exists due to a lack of opportunity, as well as discrimination and prejudice. These factors primarily affect marginalized groups in society, such as people with a lower socioeconomic status, women, and people of color. From this perspective, class stratification is neither necessary nor inevitable.
Class stratification is only possible with the presence of inequality. In order to reduce inequality, resources need to be shared fairly, money invested towards education and skills development, and social protection measures must be implemented (United Nations, 2025). Securing every person the right to a quality education, regardless of their background, would give those students from disadvantaged areas more career options (Higgins, 2019). For people to change their financial standing, policies that redistribute wealth are needed to break the cycle of poverty that is active in society (Manstead, 2018).
Keywords: Class System, Conflict Theory, Functionalism, Unequal Resource Distribution, Status, Power, Economic Inequality
Connected terms: Xenocentrism, Intersectionality, Austerity Policies, Bourgeoisie, Job Polarization
References
Chakrabarti, P. (2022). Status and development: How social hierarchy undermines well-being. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 8(6), 28–49. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2022.8.6.02
Christensen, K., & Levinson, D. (Eds.). (2003). Class, social. Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412952583.n77
Cole, N. L. (2019). What is social class, and why does it matter?. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-social-class-and-why-does-it-matter-3026375
Costandachi, G. (2009). The Scientific Definition of Social Stratification, as a Historical Process Objective.
Finch, W. H., & Hernández Finch, M. E. (2020). Poverty and covid-19: Rates of incidence and deaths in the United States during the first 10 weeks of the pandemic. Frontiers in Sociology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2020.00047
Higgins, C. (2019). Dismantling stratification: Equal Education for all. Georgetown Law. https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-journal/blog/dismantling-stratification-equal-education-for-all/
Hund, J., Gutierrez, E., Johnson, S., Ramos, C., Rodriguez, L., Tsuhako, J., & Sonier, K. (2022). Race and ethnic relations in the U.S.: An intersectional approach. LibreTexts.
Jose, N. (2024, September 18). The Functionalist Theory of Social Stratification: A Comprehensive Analysis. Socjournal. https://sociology.org/functionalist-theory-social-stratification-explained/
Manstead, A. S. (2018). The psychology of social class: How socioeconomic status impacts thought, feelings, and behaviour. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), 267–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12251
Nickerson, C. (2025, August 13). Social stratification: Definition, types & examples. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/social-stratification-definition-types-examples.html
