Causes and outcomes of social class

In class society class is a key feature of life, and the cause and consequence of an individual's class often deeply scores their life.

Determinants of class position

In so-called non-stratified societies or acephalous societies, there is no concept of social class, power, or hierarchy beyond temporary or limited social statuses. In such societies, every individual has a roughly equal social standing in most situations.

In class societies a person's class status is determined by membership in a group. Theorists disagree about the determining elements, but common shared features appear in many accounts. Key shared group relationships include:

• relationships of production, ownership and consumption
• a common legal status, including ceremonial, occupational and reproductive rights
• family, kinship or tribal group structures or membership
• acculturation, including education

The most powerful class in a society often have a distinct lifestyle that emphasize their prestige. This culture often includes markers such as intensive costume and grooming; manners and language codes that mark insiders and outsiders; unique political rights such as honorary titles; and, concepts of social honour or face that are claimed to only be applicable to the in group. These expectations can be inverted, and low-class shared group behaviour can also be observed, and often becoming defining elements of personal identity and uniting factors in group behaviour. Bourdieu suggests a notion of high and low classes with a distinction between bourgeois tastes and sensitivities and the working classtastes and sensitivities.

Fluid notions such as race can influence on class standing. The association of particular ethnic groups with class statuses are common in many societies. As a result of conquest or internal ethnic differentiation, a ruling class is seen to be ethnically homogenous. Similarly, particular races or ethnic groups may be legally or customarily restricted to occupying low class positions. Which ethnicities are considered as belonging to high or low classes varies from society to society. In modern societies strict legal links between ethnicity and class have been drawn, such as in apartheid, the Caste system in Africa, and in the position of the Burakumin in Japanese society.

Defining Ascribed status versus Achieved status deals with the actual individual person's role in class identification, and on whether or not one's social standing is determined at birth or earned over a lifetime. Achieved statuses are acquired based on merit, skills, abilities, and actions. Examples of achieved status include being a doctor or even being a criminal—the status then determines a set of behaviors and expectations for the individual.