Why is it important for a society to have social classes?

Answer 1

Stratification is inevitable as far there will be unequal distribution of wealth and resources in society. If people are not different, how would they need each other? If there is no poor people, rich people would not feel rich. The concept of relativity in terms of poverty is an important matter to consider.

Answer 2

There are lots of people who do not think that social stratification is necessary. It might be better to ask what purpose is served by social stratification. The establishment of different social strata allows people of varying ability, accomplishment, and wealth, to function in ways that are appropriate for them. Under the law, all citizens are equal, but in a more fundamental sense, people are not all equal, and society can be subdivided accordingly.

Answer 3

The word social actually means of, or about society. By definition, social stratification is a characteristic of society. Whereas, if you were talking about the stratification of rock formations, that would be a characteristic of rocks. It's a tautology.

OK, but maybe you intended to ask why societies tend to become stratified. That would be a more interesting question. The world of nature is competitive. Organisms compete with other organisms. This is a product of evolutionary Biology, because non-competitive organisms tend to be defeated by competitive organisms and therefore the genetics that would cause an organism to be non-competitive, tend not to be reproduced in future generations. Human beings are also subject to this. We constantly compete with other human beings. Whether for jobs, housing, mates, prestige and power, etc., we compete. Those who win the competition are more likely to have offspring who survive and reproduce. As a side effect of all this competition, we find that soceity tends to become organized in terms of classes, lower, middle, upper middle, and upper, and the super rich, because people tend to be classified on the basis of the obvious indicators of their relative success.

Incidentally, I also believe that all people have inherent value and deserve to be respected, regardless of how successful or unsuccessful they may be in economic or political terms. Stratification does exist, but we do not have to accept it as the measure of someone's worth. And in a kinder world, there would be less stratification. Whether the human race will ever evolve in that direction, remains to be seen.

Answer 4

Social classes help to distribute resources and opportunities more efficiently, promote specialization of labor, and provide a sense of social structure and order within a society. Additionally, social classes can act as a means of social mobility and enable individuals to aspire to higher levels of success and achievement.

Answer 5

Social Stratification is an inevitable and necessary evil.

Answer 6

A division of society into rich and poor is not necessary.