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How the Corona Virus-19 pandemic affected society’s stratification and social classes
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus resulted in a global disruption of economies and social interaction. Coronavirus crisis resulted in hundreds of millions of people affected worldwide, with several million deaths from the complications of this disease. The pandemic resulted in developing strict regulations for face covering, sanitation, and social distancing worldwide, leaving people in a lockdown for several months.
Human beings are social creatures organized in specialized groups, and these radical isolation measures severely affected many aspects of people’s lives. A social institution is an organized way for a society to achieve specific goals and establish particular norms of behavior (Henslin 104). For example, family, economy, politics, education, medicine, and the military are all social institutions created to meet specific needs (Henslin 104). Indeed, every social institution was affected by this pandemic, exposing more profound issues of social stratification.
Social stratification divides people into groups based on wealth and the power they possess. Sociology distinguishes four major stratification systems that include slavery, caste, estate, and class (Henslin 231). The first three stratifications are rare now, but class is an essential component of modern society. Class is a social stratification system that divides people into groups based on financial resources, allowing for social mobility (Henslin 237). However, class stratification still creates significant discord between the wealthiest and most impoverished people. For example, 10% of the world’s most affluent population possess 86% of the planet’s wealth, and 46% of all wealth belongs to the top 1% of the global superclass (Henslin 237).
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to isolate themselves, causing the bankruptcy of many companies and millions of jobs lost, class stratification exposed the immense difference between rich and poor. Wealthy people could afford long-term self-isolation due to sufficient financial stockpiles, whereas the lower classes had an arduous journey to survival during the lockdown. Despite some monetary support from governments during the quarantine, there was a growth in suicide and homicide rates as a result of unemployment.
A major problem in politics that politicians faced; how it affected people during the Corona Virus-19 pandemic
Many social institutions were faced with difficulties in decision-making, and one of them was politics. Politics is power relations on small and large levels known as micropolitics and macropolitics (Henslin 429). The government, an example of macropolitics, needs to possess the legitimate authority to rule the country (Henslin 429). There are four types of governments which are democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, and oligarchy (Henslin 433). All four governance forms can be found across the world. Different leaders choose unique directions in the internal and external policies. However, the coronavirus crisis caused everyone to unite to prevent the spread of the virus, find treatment methods, and develop vaccines.
Political leaders had to admit the inadequacies of the economies and healthcare systems of their countries. They found themselves powerless against the novel coronavirus, which continues to infect thousands of people worldwide daily. The initial spread of the infection was not prevented because global leaders failed to recognize and stop the threat of this deadly infection in time. Therefore, politicians had to make hard choices to introduce strict regulations of isolation that resulted in many businesses, schools, and universities being closed, affecting citizens’ financial state and physical and mental health. International travel had to be placed on hold at the beginning of the lockdown.
All the resources had to be rearranged to help healthcare systems to provide appropriate care to affected patients. Furthermore, governments had to alter legislation to allow scientists, who worked extremely hard to understand the virus and the disease, to start clinical trials for the developed vaccines sooner than usual. Some of these decisions reduced social trust in government, but these measures were vital for stopping losing lives to COVID-19.
Social problems families and marriages faced apply that to today’s pandemic
Family is a vital social institution that plays a role in different aspects of the state’s life. It consists of a group of people related to each other by blood, adoption, or marriage (Henslin 481). Marriage creates a socially recognized group after a specific ritual approved in that society (Henslin 482). Family life can be filled with happy and tragic moments for the couple and their children. Some families develop stronger bonds when they undergo life challenges, while others collapse, resulting in divorce and separation. Social isolation during the ongoing pandemic was a challenging period for many families around the globe.
The lockdown, due to the coronavirus pandemic, markedly affected families and marriages. Many couples had to cancel formal wedding ceremonies delaying them from adopting official social statuses. Moreover, all families had to remain in enclosed spaces of their houses and apartments because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For some families, the pandemic required all family members to be careful in some necessary social appearances to avoid being infected and prevent imposing danger on their families. However, the isolation turned into the horror of domestic violence, homicides, and suicides for other families. Although online social support groups and mental health services were available since the beginning of the lockdown, the future of many families was ruined during the COVID-19 crisis.
Major problems in education that students faced, as it related, to the Corona Virus-19 pandemic
Although the pandemic affected students worldwide, online education allowed them to avoid complete interruption in teaching and learning. Education is a social system that teaches knowledge, skills, and values to people (Henslin 495). Ancient education was more focused on providing information about survival skills (Henslin 496). This social institution transformed dramatically during global industrialization, allowing more people to gain literacy and professional education (Henslin 496).
Although primary education is accessible practically to everyone nowadays, a college education is still relatively expensive and unavailable in many developing and developed countries. Education became a crucial funneling method to distribute roles at workplaces and in society. Advancement in technology altered the way how knowledge and skills can be learned. Innovation of modern computer hardware, software, and the Internet allowed people to receive an education without leaving their houses (Henslin 517). Technology was the reason why social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect education significantly.
Despite schools and colleges had to be closed at the initial stages of the global lockdown, students could continue their courses at home. It could affect the quality of learning because online education limited students’ access to laboratories and practical exercises. Nevertheless, students still could participate in lectures, group discussions, make presentations, and test their knowledge. However, the lack of control may have resulted in cheating during college exams and failure to understand school material properly, reducing the overall quality of education.
However, prevention of the infection spread and people’s lives were the priority; therefore, some temporary complications in the traditional delivery of knowledge will not lead to drastic outcomes. Technological advancement prevented the education process from being disrupted by the pandemic, allowing students to obtain their degrees and move to the job market or continue their paths in academia.
Works Cited
Henslin, James M. Sociology: A Down to Earth Approach. 13th ed., Pearson Education, 2017.
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