Universality of social Stratification:
1. Is social stratification universal? Sociologists point out that simple societies of hunters and food gatherers usually do not have groups, which are ranked one above the other. Differences of power, wealth and prestige do not exist at the level of groups. All clans are equally placed. No ranking exists between them. All members of these communities have equal access to resources. As a result, there are no rich or poor people among them. Whatever inequality exists between them is at the level of sex and age.
2. Women (or men) may have more or less prestige in different societies. Elders may be respected. The solutions they offer in matters of conflict may not be binding on the individuals involved, yet they are respected and followed. From this we may conclude that although social inequality may be found in all societies, social stratification may not be universal.
3. That is why sociologists today no longer support the idea of 'primitive communism', where it was believed there were simple societies marked by a state of complete equality between the individual members. On closer observation, it was found that while these societies lacked stratification, they still had inequality on the lines of gender and age. They also had the concepts of 'best hunters', 'best craftsmen', 'best magicians', who commanded more respect than the others.
4. All adult men knew the techniques of hunting, but some excelled over others. Thus, they were the ones who enjoyed more prestige than the others. The point to be kept in mind is that even in simple societies, an individual may carry more respect or may be richer than others.
Example: For instance, the chief may be the richest man because he receives gifts from the subjects. But prestige or wealth is not necessarily associated with a group. It may be associated with an individual. From this, we may repeat our conclusion that stratification is not universally found to the same extent and in the same sense. What is found, however, is some form of social inequality.
