Social Stratification Systems

Every known society has some form of social stratification — a system by which people are ranked hierarchically based on factors like wealth, power, and prestige. Stratification determines who gets access to resources, education, healthcare, and justice. Closed systems like the Indian caste system or feudal estates assign rank at birth with little possibility of movement. Open systems like modern class-based societies theoretically allow mobility through effort and merit, though in practice, the family you are born into remains the strongest predictor of where you end up. Understanding stratification is essential because it shapes every dimension of human experience, from life expectancy to educational attainment to mental health.