Social stratification according to class

 Class-Stratification on the basis of class is dominant in modern society. The lower class
The working class
The middle class
The middle class are the “sandwich” class. They divide into two levels according to wealth, education, and prestige. 
 The upper class
Property:Karl Marx assigned industrial society two major and one minor classifications: the bourgeoisie (capitalist class), petite bourgeoisie (small capitalist class), and proletariat (worker class). Marx made these divisions based on whether the “means of production” such as factories, machines, and tools are owned, and whether workers are hired. 
Income refers to the money that people receive over a certain period of time, including salaries and wages.
 Power: The second basis of social stratification is power, or the capacity to influence people and events to obtain wealth and prestige. That is, having power is positively correlated with being rich, as evidenced by the domination of wealthy males in high‐ranking governmental positions. Because wealth is distributed unequally, the same is clearly true of power. 
 Prestige:A final basis of social stratification is the unequal distribution of prestige, or an individual's status among his or her peers and in society. Although property and power are objective, prestige is subjective, for it depends on other people's perceptions and attitudes. And while prestige is not as tangible as money and influence, most Americans want to increase their status and honor as seen by others.

The lower class is typified by poverty, homelessness, and unemployment. People of this class, few of whom have finished high school, suffer from lack of medical care, adequate housing and food, decent clothing, safety, and vocational training. The media often stigmatize the lower class as “the underclass”.

The working class  are those minimally educated people who engage in “manual labor” with little or no prestige. 
Unskilled workers in the class—dishwashers, maids, and waitresses—usually are underpaid and have no opportunity for career advancement. They are often called the working poor.

Skilled workers in this class—carpenters, plumbers, and electricians—are often called blue collar workers. They may make more money than workers in the middle class—clerks ,teachers, and computer technicians; however, their jobs are usually more physically taxing, and in some cases quite dangerous. 

The lower middle class is often made up of less educated people with lower incomes, such as private company workers, small business owners, privates school teachers.

The upper middle class is often made up of highly educated business and professional people with high incomes, such as doctors, lawyers, stockbrokers, and CEOs.

This class divides into two groups: lower‐upper and upper‐upper. The  upper class are exceptionally rich. Both groups have more money than they could possibly spend, which leaves them with much leisure time for cultivating a variety of interests. They live in exclusive neighborhoods, gather at expensive social clubs, and send their children to the finest schools. As might be expected, they also exercise a great deal of influence and power both nationally and globally.
The lower‐upper class includes those with “new money,” or money made from investments, business ventures, and so forth. 
The upper‐upper class includes those aristocratic and “high‐society” families with “old money” who have been rich for generations. These extremely wealthy people live off the income from their inherited riches. The upper‐upper class is more prestigious than the lower‐upper class.

Estate system of medieval Europe provides another system of stratification which gave much emphasis to birth as well as to wealth and possessions. Each estate had a state.

Capitalists are those who own the methods of production and employ others to work for them. 

Workers are those who do not own the means of production, do not hire others, and thus are forced to work for the capitalists.

Small capitalists are those who own the means of production but do not employ others. These include self‐employed persons, like doctors, lawyers, and tradesmen.

 Slavery had economic basis. In slavery, every slave had his master to whom he was subjected. The master’s power over the slave was unlimited.

Wealth refers to the assets and income‐producing things that people own: real estate, savings accounts, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

Occupation is one means by which prestige can be obtained. In studies of occupational prestige, For example, being a physician ranks among the highest on the scale, whereas being a shoe shiner ranks near the bottom.The way people rank professions appears to have much to do with the level of education and income of the respective professions. As a result, individuals who experience such status inconsistency may suffer from significant anxiety, depression, and resentment.