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Comparative Stratification and Mobility

Comparative Stratification and Mobility Comparative Stratification and Mobility ALBERT A. SIMKUS The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A. SOCIAL INEQUALITY invites comparisons. If inegalitarian social orders are justified by arguments that inequality is functionally necessary or in- evitable, the existence of egalitarian societies challenges the legitimacy of such orders. In general, the issue involves matters of degree. Hozv much inequality is necessary? How great are the tradeoffs between equality and aggregate benefit in calculations of social justice? For those who benefit from inequalities and those who wish to decrease them, cross-societal comparisons of social stratifica- tion promise instruction by example. Unfortunately, while cross-national comparisons are common in lay political rhetoric, comparative research on stratification has been less abun- dant. Much of what we know is based on analyses of crude data of questionable comparability, secondary analyses of data whose methodological bases are poorly documented, and impressionistic contrasts between studies of in- dividual societies. Edited volumes and conferences dealing with "comparative stratification" often involve collections of studies of individual societies, with editors, discussants, and audiences left to draw comparative conclusions. This situation is not due to laziness on the part of students of comparative stratifica- tion. The difficulties and costs of primary comparative http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Comparative Sociology (in 2002 continued as Comparative Sociology) Brill

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1981 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0020-7152
eISSN
1745-2554
DOI
10.1163/156854281X00127
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Comparative Stratification and Mobility ALBERT A. SIMKUS The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, U.S.A. SOCIAL INEQUALITY invites comparisons. If inegalitarian social orders are justified by arguments that inequality is functionally necessary or in- evitable, the existence of egalitarian societies challenges the legitimacy of such orders. In general, the issue involves matters of degree. Hozv much inequality is necessary? How great are the tradeoffs between equality and aggregate benefit in calculations of social justice? For those who benefit from inequalities and those who wish to decrease them, cross-societal comparisons of social stratifica- tion promise instruction by example. Unfortunately, while cross-national comparisons are common in lay political rhetoric, comparative research on stratification has been less abun- dant. Much of what we know is based on analyses of crude data of questionable comparability, secondary analyses of data whose methodological bases are poorly documented, and impressionistic contrasts between studies of in- dividual societies. Edited volumes and conferences dealing with "comparative stratification" often involve collections of studies of individual societies, with editors, discussants, and audiences left to draw comparative conclusions. This situation is not due to laziness on the part of students of comparative stratifica- tion. The difficulties and costs of primary comparative

Journal

International Journal of Comparative Sociology (in 2002 continued as Comparative Sociology)Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1981

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