A Theory of Ethnic Stratification: An Exploration and Some Problems

Abstract

As yet, in sociology, there is no rigid theory which is applied to various ethnic phenomena. We are seeking to formulate a theory of ethnic stratification in this paper. Compared with the theory of modernization, the theory of ethnic stratification should have two factors, multi-ways social change theory and particularism, including ethnicity. Our theory of ethnic stratification suggests three formations of social stratification: the two-strata model, the three-strata model and the dual-strata model. These formations are not created by the linkage between economy and universalism. Particularism of ethnicity has played and continues to play an important role in economic activity.