Social Inequality: The Heart of Sociology


 Patterns of unequal access to social resources are
commonly called ‘’Social Inequality and Social
Stratification”
 Social Inequality

 Social Inequality is a desirable attributed in a
democratic and civilized society. Unfortunately,
there are just so many sources of inequality. Social
inequality reflects innate differences between
individuals for example their varying abilities
efforts. Someone may be endowed with exceptional
intelligence or talent or may have worked very hard
to achieve their wealth and status.
 Social Stratification

 It looks as people as
belonging and
occupying specific
layer or stratum in the
social hierarchy the
layers are neither
innocent nor neutral
positions simply
because it is the
persons` actual social
location
 The Context of Social
Desirables

 Any rational individual in a human community will
always aspire for things bestow wealth, power and
prestige. Unfortunately the ability of individuals to
realize such aspiration is severely constrained by
situations where one is born into people are born
with certain characteristics, called ascribed traits.
 The Types of Social
Mobility

1. Horizontal Mobility
2. Vertical Mobility
3. Upward Mobility
4. Downward Mobility
5. Inter-Generational Mobility
 1. Horizontal Mobility

 Under this type of social mobility, a person changes
his or her occupation but the overall social standing
remains the same. Certain occupations like Doctor,
Engineer, and Professor may enjoy the same status
but when an engineer changes his occupation from
engineer to teaching engineering, he has horizontally
moved from one occupational category to another.
But no change has taken place in the system of social
stratification.
 2. Vertical Mobility

 Vertical mobility refers to any change in the
occupational, economic or political status of an
individual or a group which leads to change of their
position. In the words of Sorokin, by vertical social
mobility is meant the relations involved in transition
of an individual (or a social object) from one social
stratum to another. Vertical Mobility has movement
up level and lower level.
 3. Upward Mobility

 When a person or a group of persons move from
lower position to upper position it is called Upward
Mobility e.g. a person belonging to a lower caste and
occupying a lower position after winning elections
becomes a Minister and occupies a higher position.
He may not be able to change his caste but with his
economic and political power he may move upward.
For example, Yadavs in India stand as a testimony to
this fact
 4. Downward Mobility

 Downward mobility indicates that one loses his
higher position and occupies a lower position. We
can take the example of an individual, who is an
Engineer and occupies a respectable position in the
society because of his occupational position,
education and may be caste.
 5. Inter-Generational
Mobility

 This type of mobility means that one generation
changes its social status in contrast to preceding
generation. However, this mobility may be upward
or downward e.g. people of lower caste or class may
provide facilities to their children to get higher
education, training and skills.
Social Desirables: Availability
And Accessibility

 Inequalities among people are anchored on the
presence of social desirable, which are defined as
resources considered valuable by societies these
resources may be tangible or intangible.
 Availability and accessibility are two different
issues that need to be clarified at the onset as they
define the core of inequality as a social issue.
Availability refers to the presence absence or
scarcity of the social desirables while Accessibility
refers to the actual ways and means of availing the
resources.
 Forms of Capital And
Inequalities

 The previous statements can also be assessed in
terms of social resources in every society some
people have a greater share of valued resources (
money, property, education, health, and power) than
others.
 Social Mobility And
Inequality

 One of the important aspiration of individual in a
society is to move outside the confines of the
conditions of their birth. This is most glaring on the
issue of social class.
 Social Mobility has been largely seen as the ability of
someone to go up the social ladder or to break loose
from the confines of a marginalized group.
 Global Inequality

 Inequality does not exist only in societies and states.
But also among states. There are states that are
wealthier and more powerful than other states, and
the former end up being more influential in the
global community this leads to a situation of global
inequality.