SOCIAL STRATIFICATION AND THE FUNCTIONAL THEORY OF SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION.

There has been no dearth of criticism of the theory of social stratification since its publication over a decade ago as of August 1958. Particularly disturbing is the fact that what this theory views as virtues are the very factors that others overwhelmingly see as vices. The former characterize it in terms of competitive achievement of position, a close correlation between superior capacities, importance of position, and high rewards and its functional necessity to maintenance of the social system. The critics associate the theory with role-ascription and restriction of opportunity absence of correlation between superior capacities, rewards, and positional importance and disruption or discontinuity of the society. This gross difference of views has led several sociologists to seek out and find deficiencies in the functional theory. The present article is concerned, not to review or revive earlier criticisms, but to point out what we believe to be a heretofore neglected basic conceptual flaw in the current functional theory of stratification and a problem focus that has still to be faced by an adequate theory.