The Stratification of Societies

Many would not agree to the idea that biological process like evolution can significantly provide insight as to the development of modern society. In fact, many social realities and phenomena are best explained using the said processes. It can be said that the progression from a paramecium or amoeba into the many diverse species on the planet, man included, is the same process in terms of how primitive societies were transformed into the collective of individuals in the 21st century. The dynamics are the same the context and actors are the only differences. It can be further argued that the stratification of the society can be attributed to the forces of social evolution.

At the present, the demography or the foremost means in terms of looking society forwards the insight that though it is a collective it is a tapestry of many colors, patterns and intricacies. The natural social forces that pushed society out of primal chaos instilled in it a shared drive to function as a whole and not as a myriad of individuals. This means that a society cannot be such if it lacked organization, cohesion and harmony among its sectors. Human history is full of manifestations of the struggle and violent pursuit for these ideals. Countries and civilizations have been established around such goals. China's Warring States Period, the German Unification, the Roman Conquests as well as the foundations of many modern states are some examples.

However, being a collective, especially of many individuals, there is the need for stratification. By breaking down a community into parts with specific roles and functions is often the social approach to this concern. This often resulted to the creation of specific relationships and hierarchies. The formation of levels or classes in a community does not necessarily go hand in hand with utility. It is not clear but societies by a nature results to such. At the base of the structure are the common parts of the whole. The importance and influence become greater as they are higher in the community. At the same time, they become fewer in number. Those who lead the whole are the least in number. They lie at the pinnacle or apex of the organization.

This is no different from how a human being is a far more complex organism than its single - celled predecessors in the planet's ecology. The human physiology is built on similar dynamics. It is also hierarchal. Various parts of the body are controlled by organ systems. These in turn are dependent on the continual operation of specific organs. Among the organs, their value is determined by their role in keeping a human alive. Moreover, organ systems also operate in terms of a top-down order. The human nervous system with the brain at its apex is the foremost in the human body. It is irreplaceable and its cessation would mean the certain end of the human being.

At the genesis of humans, they were still living in simple and less populated communities. As their society developed, they became stratified. This is clearly no different from when simple organisms become more complex and have to stratify to continue existing.

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