ABSTRACT
The Davis-Moore position stated in its simplest terms stresses the functional necessity of social differentiation and therefore, the limits to any trend towards equality. Stratification systems are influenced too, by ideologies, which generate purposive social action. The ‘deviants’ differed greatly from the ‘normal’ in their criteria for judgment, all but one giving ‘social contribution’ as the basis for elevating or depressing the prestige of an occupation. Inconsistency between subjective and socially ascribed status could also be expected to be associated with political radicalism. Traditional manual-workers live in relatively stable communities, characterized by a close-knit social network. Less is know about the mobility process, and the actual mechanisms by which individuals move up or down the social ladder and the consequences of such movement. To sum up, the functionalist debate has to a considerable extent developed out of a semantic confusion between social differences, social strata, and classes.
