Answer to Question 1
According to sociologist Max Weber, no single factor (such as economic divisions
between capitalists and workers) was sufficient for defining the location of categories
of people within the class structure. Weber stated that the access that people have to
important societal resources (such as economic, social, and political power) is crucial
in determining people's life chances.
Weber developed a multidimensional approach to social stratification that reflects the
interplay among wealth, prestige, and power. Wealth is the value of all of a person's
or family's economic assets, including income, personal property, and incomeproducing
property. Weber placed categories of people who have a similar level of
wealth and income in the same class. He identified a privileged commercial class of
entrepreneurswealth y bankers, ship owners, professionals, and merchants who
possess similar financial resources. He also described a class of rentierswealthy
individuals who live off their investments and do not have to work.
According to Weber, entrepreneurs and rentiers have much in common. Both are able
to purchase expensive consumer goods, control other people's opportunities to acquire
wealth and property, and monopolize costly status privileges (such as education) that
provide contacts and skills for their children. Weber divided those who work for
wages into two classes: the middle class and the working class. The middle class
consists of white-collar workers, public officials, managers, and professionals. The
working class consists of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers. The second
dimension of Weber's system of stratification is prestigethe respect or regard that a
person or status position is given by others. Fame, respect, honor, and esteem are the
most common forms of prestige. A person who has a high level of prestige is
assumed to receive deferential and respectful treatment from others. Weber
suggested that individuals who share a common level of social prestige belong to the
same status group regardless of their level of wealth. They tend to socialize with one
another, marry within their own group of social equals, spend their leisure time
together, and safeguard their status by restricting outsiders' opportunities to join their
ranks. Style of life, formal education, and occupation are often significant factors in
establishing and maintaining prestige in industrial and postindustrial societies. The
other dimension of Weber's system is powerthe ability of people or groups to
achieve their goals despite opposition from others. The powerful can shape society in
accordance with their own interests and direct the actions of others. Weber stated
that wealth, prestige, and power are separate continuums on which people can be
ranked from high to low. Individuals may be high on one dimension while being low on
another. In Weber's multidimensional approach, people are ranked on all three
dimensions.
Answer to Question 2
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well-being. Health involves not only the absence of disease, but also
a positive sense of wellness. Health is a multidimensional phenomenon: it includes
physical, social, and psychological factors. Illness refers to an interference with health
like health, illness is socially defined and its definition may change over time and
between cultures. Therefore, illness is socially constructed.
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