Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore are well known for their functionalist analysis of social stratification. However, there are many who challenge their ideas. Provide a summary of Davis and Moore's theory as well as a critique of its weaknesses.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Davis and Moore: Some positions, the most "functionally important" positions, require more skill, talent, and training than others. These positions are difficult to fill and may suffer from a "scarcity of personnel." To ensure they get filled, societies offer valued rewards, such as money, prestige, and leisure, to induce the best and brightest to make "sacrifices," such as getting a higher education, and to do these important jobs conscientiously and competently. Critique of Davis and Moore: Difficult to argue that the actual difference in rewards between positions is necessarily a measure of their relative worth to society. When people acquire socially important, higher-status positions by virtue of their skills and efforts, they are able to pass along economic privilege, educational opportunities, and social connections to their children, even if their children are not bright, motivated, or qualified. Stratification may limit discovery of talent in society, rather than ensuring it, by creating a situation in which those who are born to privilege are given fuller opportunities and avenues to realize occupational success while others are limited by poor schooling, little money, and lack of networks.