But of course this tells us nothing, it only indicates that we are capable of using our own preconceived ideas about who fits into what category. We will then spend an eternity arguing with the other sociologists in the room about how and why we have stratified them the way we have. Individuals are stratified by the amalgam of their access to the economic process, the political process and the status which they receive through this access. And if that wasn t bad enough, in another corner we have the functionalists running on about the importance of every sector of society playing its role and knowing its place in order to maintain the status quo. Right, back to the party.
Lets go a bit deeper.
It s by going a bit deeper and finding out about the circumstances behind the social position of each individual that allows the sociologist to gain a better insight to the real dynamics in society. For example, there s Bob the College football star, who, although a brilliant athlete, is basically as thick as two short planks of wood, yet managed to go to university on a sports scholarship and scrap a lower third-class degree. It tells us that being intelligent alone is not enough to make it in a society which would place the sporting success of a College above that of the possible academic success of a truly gifted individual. It also says that society believes that access to education and knowledge is the privilege of the rich few and those lucky enough to gain rare and valuable scholarships. It can also look at the role played by the state and how power is unevenly distributed, and it can analyse the role of religion in society, that is, whether or not religion acts as a form of control, a form of social cement or a force of liberation.