Sociology #9 - Sociology Lecture#9(Nov 18/09 The functional Theory of Stratification o Some jobs are more important than others o o o Governments and

Sociology- Lecture #9 (Nov 18/09) - The functional Theory of Stratification o Some jobs are more important than others o Jobs that are more important require more training and sacrifice o To motivate talented people to undergo training and sacrifice, high rewards must be offered o Therefore, stratification is necessary; it performs a useful function - If you didn’t have inequality (e.g. people who get paid more than others), then who would want to undergo sacrifices - This theory forgets that there is a pool of people out there who can’t go to university because they can’t afford it - None of the “important” jobs will exist without the “non-important” jobs - Governments and religious authority throughout the ages used taxes, ties, etc, to sustain themselves - Historically, without people doing manual labour there won’t be universities which is where the lawyers, doctors, and etc - People can manipulate supply and demand - Inheritance - Carl Marx Theory of Stratification o