Outline sociologist Max Weber's multidimensional approach to social stratification, and explain how people are ranked on all three dimensions

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

According to sociologist Max Weber, no single factor (such as economic divisions

between capitalists and workers) was sufficient for defining the location of categories

of people within the class structure. Weber stated that the access that people have to

important societal resources (such as economic, social, and political power) is crucial in

determining life chances. Weber developed a multidimensional approach to social

stratification that reflects the interplay among wealth, prestige, and power. Wealth is

the value of all of a person's or family's economic assets, including income, personal

property, and income-producing property. Weber placed categories of people who have

a similar level of wealth and income in the same class. He identified a privileged

commercial class of entrepreneurs—wealthy bankers, ship owners, professionals, and

merchants who possess similar financial resources. He also described a class of

rentiers—wealthy individuals who live off their investments and do not have to work.

Weber divided those who work for wages into two classes: the middle class and the

working class. The middle class consists of white-collar workers, public officials,

managers, and professionals. The working class consists of skilled, semiskilled, and

unskilled workers. The second dimension of Weber's system of stratification is prestige

—the respect or regard with which a person or status position is regarded by others.

Fame, respect, honor, and esteem are the most common forms of prestige. A person

who has a high level of prestige is assumed to receive deferential and respectful

treatment from others. Weber suggested that individuals who share a common level of

social prestige belong to the same status group regardless of their level of wealth. They

tend to socialize with one another, marry within their own group of social equals, spend

their leisure time together, and safeguard their status by restricting outsiders'

opportunities to join their ranks. The other dimension of Weber's system is power—the

ability of people or groups to achieve their goals despite opposition from others. The

powerful can shape society in accordance with their own interests and direct the

actions of others. Weber stated that wealth, prestige, and power are separate

continuums on which people can be ranked from high to low. Individuals may be high

on one dimension and low on another. In Weber's multidimensional approach, people

are ranked on all three dimensions.