Social stratification is a society's categorization of people into
socioeconomic strata, based upon their
occupation and
income,
wealth and
social status, or derived
power (social and political). As such, stratification is the relative social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic region, or
social unit. In modern
Western societies, social stratification typically is distinguished as three
social classes: (i) the
upper class, (ii) the
middle class, and (iii) the
lower class; in turn, each class can be subdivided into strata, e.g. the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum. Moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of
kinship or
caste, or both.