stratification

In all complex societies, the total stock of valued goods is distributed unequally, with the most
privileged individuals and families enjoying a disproportionate share of income, power, and
other valued resources. The term “stratification system” refers to the complex of social
institutions that gene rate observed inequalities of this sort. The key components of such systems
are (1) the institutional processes that define certain types of goods as valuable and desirable, (2)
the rules of allocation that distribute these goods across various positions in the division of labor
(e.g., doctor, farmer, “housewife”), and (3) the mobility mechanisms that link individuals to
positions and thereby generate unequal control over valued resources. It follows that inequality
is produced by two types of matching processes: the social positions in society are first matched
to “reward packages” of unequal value, and members of society are then allocated