According to the functionalist view, stratification is a necessary and inevitable consequence of the need to use the promise of financial reward to encourage talented people to pursue important jobs and careers.
According to conflict theory, stratification results from lack of opportunity and discrimination against the poor and people of color.
According to symbolic interactionism, social class affects how people interact in everyday life and how they view certain aspects of the social world.
The individualistic view attributes poverty to individual failings of poor people themselves, while the structural view attributes poverty to problems in the larger society.
