Social Stratification and the Symbolic Significance of Non-Material Incentives
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines the phenomenon of non-material incentives as a significant mechanism for maintaining and reproducing social stratification. It explores forms of symbolic rewards, including public recognition, honor-ary titles, and cultural rituals, and their role in consolidating social status, shaping identity, and sustaining the social hierarchy. The methodological basis of the study relies on qualitative analysis of scholarly literature and a comparative-analytical approach, which made it possible to identify the logic of non-material incentives’ func-tioning within the framework of theories of stratification, symbolic capital, and cultural reproduction. Particular attention is paid to the interaction of elite, middle, and marginalized groups in the struggle for access to symbol-ic resources, as well as to the processes of redefining meanings in the context of social dynamics.
Author: Yuejiao Dong
Language: English
Topic: Social and Cultural Dynamics
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414610033