Running head: THE HOMELESS AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Social Stratification

Submitted By:

Amanda Nicholson

0242078

Kimberly Nelson

0241236

A paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the

course requirements of Sociology 160

Shaylene Wall

LethbridgeCollege

March 7, 2008

Social Stratification

Social stratification is present in every society. Each person’s position in the hierarchy can influence their education, overall health, life expectancy, wealth, and power in society. “Social stratification links almost all aspect of a society together,therefore understanding what is happening to social stratification helps us understand a wide range of other changes in society” (Siroskey, C., n.d.). This paper will explore two approaches to social stratification: Structural Functionalism, and Social Conflict.

Social Conflict

Karl Marx

Karl Marx had a large influence on the sociological world. Marx thought a person’s social stratification is rooted in their relationship to their means of production. People either owned property and had others working for them or were working for someone who had more wealth and power than they did (Macionis, J.,Jansson, S., & Benoit, C., 2008). Marx separated reward from performance and based his principle on “from each according to ability, to each according to need” (Marx & Engels, 1972:388, orig. 1848, as cited in Macionis, J.,Jansson, S., & Benoit, C., 2008 pg. 206). Marx’s ideas about the capitalist society being overthrown made his work highly controversialbecause he believed the working class would overthrow the capitalist government. The workers continued to become poorer and had little control over their choices pertaining to their job which produces alienation. The Marxist approach ignores the main idea of the Davis-Moore theory: “that a system of unequal rewards is needed to motivate people to do their work well” (Macionis, J. et al, 2008, pg. 206). This was most likely the cause of the low productivity in the former Soviet Union. If people do not reap the benefits when they work to their full potential, then they are less inclined to have the incentive to work harder. Therefore, the overall production of the company decreases.

Potential Implication of Poverty and Homelessness

Education

In Canada, education is highly valued and seen as a necessity in order to receive and maintain a stable job such as a job in the trades or medical field. Poverty influences are a key barrier to education within the country. The negative evidence poverty has on education shows through a person’s socioeconomic status.Socioeconomic status can judge how much schooling a student will obtain, how well they will do, and what they will achieve when they finish (Levin, 1995). Schooling affects the occupation a person has which also determines the income they receive. People consideroccupations that require advanced training, more education, and a higher income to be more essential to society. Less prominent work requires not as much schooling, generates a lower income and is seen as less important. In relation to income and occupation, education also applies to whether or not you have a job at all. People with less education are more likely to be unemployed or take home less money than those with more education. “In any society, high prestige occupations go to the privileged categories of people. Many of the lower-prestige jobs are commonly performed by people from visibly minority groups” (Macionic, Jansson & Benoit, 2008, pg 212).

As seen in the social-conflict approach, some members of society are benefiting at the expense of others. Most of the education and wealth lies within the upper and upper-middle classes. The power comes from elite, high paying jobs that demand further education. The families that control the wealth also have the ability and power to shape the entire society, which then creates social stratification.The social-conflict approach points out such cultural problems that do not dispense human needs equally (Macionic, Jansson & Benoit, 2008). The richer familiestend to have most of the money which entitles them to have a greater access to healthcare, goods, services, education and reap most the benefits from society.On the other hand the homeless are seen as undeserving and not able to receive the same benefits, heath care, and education as the wealthy (Macionic, Jansson & Benoit, 2008). The social conflict approach explains how some members of society are benefiting at the expense of others. Instead, it shows how some people, like the wealthy, dominate over the homeless and people in poverty simply by the means of education, power and wealth. Sociologists argue that such concentrated wealth weakens social equality because the rich are seen as more important and are served before people in the society with less wealth (Levin, 1995).

Government Funding

In Toronto, the local government announced a cut on non-profit housing. At the time the vacancy rate in the current housing was at 1%, which means they need more housing built, not the funds cut. A total of 385 projects or 16,732 units were unable to be built because of this funding slash. As well as cut the non-profit housing section, the government decided to reduce the welfare checks given by 21.6% (City of Toronto Housing Department, 1995, as cited in Morrell-Bellai, T., Goering, P., & Boydell, K., 2000). Morrell-Bellai et al. (2000) also points out that homelessness is not a large problem in countries such as the Netherlands because social housing is easily accessible. This shows the structural-functional approach does not suit this problem. Most homeless people do not benefit society, many homeless people do not have a job, have little education, lack of working skills, have a physical or mental disability, and/or have substance abuse problems(Morrell-Bellai, T., Goering, P., & Boydell, K., 2000).

There are many different securities in place by the government to help seniors not become homeless. There is Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Spouses Allowance, and Canada/Quebec Pension Plans. On the opposite side of the age scale, the population of children who are homeless or in poverty has gone up in the past few years. This shows the social-conflict theory applies. The seniors who are receiving the various benefits from the government are benefitting from the social stratification and receiving cash benefits because they are in poverty and not working any more. Currently the younger tax-payers are giving up part of their pay to help the seniors. This is not benefitting the younger generation. These securities help the older generation avoid homelessness, however many seniors are still in poverty in many cities in Canada (Kim’s article PDF one).

Child poverty

Among the world’s wealthiest nations, Canada comes close to the bottom when graded by its level of child poverty. Canada is 19th out of the 26 countries that are ranked according to their standings of child poverty. Child poverty accounts for 32.8%; however children are not expected to produce an income because they are most likely to be in school. Some youth are holding a part time job during the school year, therefore keeping their income below the poverty live. Although we use the term “child poverty,” the poverty of children is most always a result from the poverty of adults taking care of them. However, the term should be “children living in poor families.” The majority of poor children are living in families with parents that have an education of high school or less (Levin, 1995).Child poverty is more or less a relative measure because it is calculating the percent of poor children in the families’ whose income is below the poverty norm for the country (Philip, 2005). The chance a child will live in poverty is highly determined by what type of family they grow up in and in which area of Canada they reside.

Children who live in poverty do not benefit society because they are unable to obtain education and achieve financial stability in order to overcome poverty. Society does not benefit from children being in poverty

Marriage Breakdown

A major source of poverty is marriage breakdown such as separation or divorce. The financial implication for women after a divorce or separation is severe and negative. It is estimated that divorce can result in approximately a 40% decrease in a yearly income, and continues for several years. However, males’ income will increase after one year of a divorce.

The social-conflict approach benefits some people at the disadvantage of others. In a marriage breakdown, females are at the disadvantage because their income decreases, while the male stays the same and eventually increases. From this point of view, because of a marriage breakdown the males in society benefit at the expense of females leaving them in poverty because of the sudden drop in income.

References

Macionis, J., Jansson, S., & Benoit, C. (2008). Society the Basics. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Pearson Education Canada.

Morrell-Bellai, T., Goering, P., & Boydell, K. (2000). Becoming and Remaining Homeless: A qualitative Investigation. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 21(6). 581-604.

Siroskey, C. (n.d.). An Overview of Social Stratification. Retrieved from:

In-text Citations:

Macionis, J.,Jansson, S., & Benoit, C. (2008)

Morrell-Bellai, T., Goering, P., & Boydell, K. (2000).