Final answer:
The term “social stratification” corresponds to option b, which is the ranking of categories of people in a hierarchy. This involves an unequal distribution of resources, opportunities, and privileges based on wealth, income, education, and other socioeconomic factors.
Step-by-step explanation:
“Social stratification” refers to b. ranking categories of people in a hierarchy. This concept involves the categorization of people within a society into different levels based on various factors such as wealth, income, education, family background, power, and other forms of socioeconomic status. Social stratification leads to inequality as certain groups of people have more access to resources, opportunities, and privileges than others.
Factors like family ancestry, race, ethnicity, age, and gender can all influence one's social standing. Sociologists study this concept to understand the complexities and dynamics of stratification within different cultures and societies. In addition to these individual factors, global stratification looks at financial and economic disparities between nations, further highlighting the widespread nature of inequality.