Sociology

Every society is socially stratified. Social stratification is viewed in terms of the hierarchical arrangement that defines society. In most instances, the divisions are looked into in reference to wealth and power possession within society. Simply put, the term is used in regards to the concept of economic class.  The shared socio-economic conditions determine the classification of individuals. This basically presents a relationship characterized by inequalities in reference to the political, ideological, social, and economic dimensions (Barker, 2005).

In the present western societies, class divisions generally take three dimensions. The classes include the lower class, the middle class, and the upper class. Each of these classes may further be subdivided to smaller ones. This may take the form of occupational rankings. 

Cultural disadvantage as a concept is looked into in regards to the features that make a society or a culture lag behind others. Basically, one common feature is closely related to resource accumulation. Studies indicate that in some cultures like in the Khoisan culture no one is allowed to own property individually. This is reflected in egalitarian societies where each item belonged to the society. If items belong to the society, then it emerges that in such a community classes are not welcome.
Social stratification is viewed in different ways. In regards to this, the exponents of the structural functionalism believe that social stratification and cultural disadvantage exist in all societies (Holborn and Langley, 2004). On this basis, it is necessary to have a leadership hierarchy for social stability purposes.

Conflict theories, like Marxism look into scarcity of resources and the closed nature of social mobility in stratified societies.  In socio-economically stratified societies the upward mobility is highly limited. The wealthy class uses the control they hold to annul any potential class movements into the elite class. The increased demand for labour in modern society has led to the growth of the middle class (Lee, 1976).

Anthropologists seemed to favour social harmony as opposed to statuses in societies. This explains why they identified with kinship cultures. These earlier cultures stand contrasted with the economic oriented ones. They proposed reciprocal altruism as an antidote to the problem (Giddens and Carr, 2009).

Leisure and social stratification
Leisure forms an integral part of life to the well moneyed people. It is however held that leisure equally holds a big value in the lives of all people. For one to have meaningful leisure time, the individual must be in possession of cash to spare. This realization takes the issue further. In a sense, the amount of money available determines the options taken by individuals. The amount of money held by individuals is obviously a reflection of their classes in society (Barker, 2005).

People from the wealthy upper class can indulge in any kind of leisure as they may desire. This is premised on the fact that, to them money is never an issue, instead he issue always is how and where to spend the money. Basically, the top class has gathered enough and they can safely pass as a consumerism group. This class does not have to work to enjoy any desire (Barker, 2005).

The middle class forms the bulk of the society and presents the category of individuals obsessed with nice things in life. In this light, leisure is hotly pursued. It is an aspect that adds to the self esteem of individuals in this group (Giddens and Carr, 2009).

Individuals from this group harbour aspirations to make upward movements and join the upper class of the wealthy. However, this s a tricky proposition and only few people make it. The bulk which fails to make it, remain pretenders to the group. In order to feel good and part of the elite group, a host of individuals from the middle class copy the behaviours of the wealthy class. In this regard, the leisure time is spent in the same or copied manner as that of the elite group. This is the group that works hard to advance and as a result most of the time is spent at work. It is only during offs that the group goes for leisure (Giddens and Carr, 2009).

The lower class captures the members of society who struggle to earn a living. Usually, leisure is taken to mean time away from work. In light of this, this group of individuals cannot be assumed to have a leisure time. The immediate concerns of this group are to raise money for basic needs. However, leisure should not be looked into from the money perspective alone.   But due to the nature of leisure, resources play a crucial role in its indulging (Holborn and Langley, 2004).

It should be noted that in classless societies, the indulgency in leisure was done communally. Members could gather after the days or weeks activities to take part in proceedings. In this scenario, there was equality and leisure time was enjoyed uniformly.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it is observed that social stratification pervades the modern society in a manner hitherto unprecedented. This nature of stratification has affected the way in which people spend leisure time. It is finally held that each social stratum spends its leisure differently.