Social Stratification free essay sample

Good afternoon Madam Chairperson, ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow opponents a warm welcome to you all. The topic for our debate is â€Å"social stratification is an inevitable and necessary evil†. Before I get into the moot for our debate let me firstly define social stratification, according to the literature; Browne stated and I quote â€Å"it refers to the division of society into pattern of layers or strata made up of a hierarchy of unequal social group† end quote. (campus 2013) We the opposing team strongly believe that social stratification is not an inevitable and necessary evil because according to Karl Marx, who argues and I quote â€Å"social stratification is dysfunctional and harmful in society; also that social stratification benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor. Thus, it creates a system of winners and losers that is maintained by those who are on the top† end quote. My fellow opponents, Marxist also argued that there are inevitable conflicts of interest between the major social classes in society derived not entirely from their functional usefulness but to a considerable extent from their power to exploit the property-less Proletariat. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Stratification or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The people who are losers do not get a fair chance to compete, and thus are stuck on the bottom. For example, wealthy families pay low wages to nannies to care for their children. These low wage workers do not make enough to move beyond paycheck-to-paycheck and which give them limited means of moving ahead. Therefore, conflict theorists believe that this competitive system, together with the way the game is fixed, end up creating and perpetuating stratification systems (The Functionalist Theory of Social Stratification 2013). Madam Chairperson, ladies and Gentlemen my fellow opponent, How is social stratification is a nessary evil, when all it does is ultimately acted as a catalyst to social disparity an inequality which creates a social hierarchy that stifles potential economic gain and social mobility? Bibliography campus, Uwi open. unit 5 Stratification and Mobility in Caribbean Society. In Social Stratification, by James, 196. Phyillse Flemings -Banks, 2013. GROUP, The DAWN MEDIA. Social stratification negative impact. 2013. http://beta.dawn.com/news/627362/social-stratification-negative-impacts (accessed Octo 2013). The Functionalist Theory of Social Stratification. June 07, 2013. http://www.earlhamsociologypages.co.uk/functheorysocstratsummi.htm (accessed October 13, 2013).