Social stratification in colonial Zambia

Abstract

A conflict approach is used in this study for refuting/accepting race as a base for social stratification in colonial Zambia; for identifying the main form of social stratification in the colonial society and for identifying causal relations among racial', class, and status forms of social stratification in the society. The main findings are that race was not a base for social stratification, rather it was a status symbol; that the main form of social stratification was status; and that this form gave rise to class stratifications in the mining industry. The study as a whole indicates that when a group of people assumes a concentration of political power through a struggle with another group, a status stratification emerges. This, in turn, gives rise to status-based political struggles.The study being of only one case, it is finally suggested that this inference be tested with empirical material from many different societies.