ABSTRACT
In a strong sense cultural stratification is not an exclusive category, and it is certainly not a well-insulated category, as a whole variety of notions of stratification permeate all of our discussions of the concept of ‘culture’. Throughout this current work we have repeatedly confronted the distinction between the idea of high culture as belonging to a privileged group and the idea of culture being that which defines the whole way of life of a people and we shall, no doubt, rehearse this distinction again. However there are many other dimensions, differentiations, hierarchies and rankings through which we might discuss this idea of cultural stratification, just as is the case in reference to an understanding of the totality of social life. These distinctions are no trivial matter; in each instance they divide lives and provide the grounds for contest. Let us look at a few important examples.
