Theories of Social Stratification and Inequality

Research on stratification and inequality has been mainly preoccupied with differential resource allocation in a given society, thereby mainly assuming that class is the main predictor. In addition to class, more recent studies have turned their attention to multiple dimensions of inequality including gender, ethnicity/race, and age among others, thus using the term in the plural and investigating the processes leading to inequalities and stratification. Moreover, analysis of inequalities has usually been conducted within nation‐state frameworks, while contemporary transnational research argues for a deconstruction of territorialist and container thinking. This entry provides an analytical overview of a vast literature on the theories of social stratification and inequality while identifying the main arguments of classical and contemporary approaches.