The purpose of this paper used to fulfill one assignments for the sociology class.

I will compare the difference in stratification between the core country (United States) and several periphery countries. I will also include an evaluation between the richest countries and the poorest countries for comparison purposes Stratification between the various countries within the world depends primarily on power and economic capabilities. Table 1 shows both the top 10 economies of the world and also the 10 worst economies of the world. (Data from Articles in 24/7 Wall St.; September 2013) This table includes the GDP per year, the debt, and access to the Internet. The most difficult problem facing each country with respect to doing business is also presented. The biggest difficulty with all the countries appears to be primarily was the ability to gain financing, and in some cases distributing it appropriately within the county. Great Britain at number 10 is included with difficulty in obtaining financing along with most of the worst economy some world. The other factor that appears to affect the ability of the poorer countries to move forward is within the political systems within each country. These problems included corruption and instability within the police and regulatory systems. The issues with the better economies is in the fact that they do not have many natural resources to move forward with their economies, Britain, Hong Kong, and Singapore; all of which are, or can be considered island nations with limited land and resources to generate monetary goods internally. One of the major factors affecting these lower economically disadvantaged countries is that they do not have sufficient resources; such as mineral and or energy resources to begin the climbed out of poverty. The majority of the income within these countries is generated through the aid programs from the core countries.

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Table 1 Worlds Best and Worst Economies

PERCENT of Debt as residents PERCENT using of GDP Internet Biggest problem in doing business: 90.3% 237.9% 71.7% 32.4% 38.0% 106.5% 82.0% 53.5% 111.0% 49.1% 87.0% 79.1% 93.0% 72.8% 94.0% 81.0% 84.0% 91.0% 74.2% 85.2% Access to Financing Tax Rates Access to Financing Insufficient capacity to innovate Restrictive labor regulations Tax regulations Tax regulations Restrictive labor regulations Restrictive labor regulations Inadequately educated workforce

> GCI score Best Economies 10. United Kingdom 9. Japan 8. Netherlands 7. Hong Kong (SAR) 6. Sweden 5. United States 4. Germany 3. Finland 2. Singapore 1. Switzerland 5.37 5.4 5.42 5.47 5.48 5.48 5.51 5.54 5.61 5.67 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

GDP per capita 38,589 46,736 46,142 36,667 55,158 49,992 41,513 46,098 51,162 79,033

Worst Economies 10. Myanmar 9. Burkina Faso 8. Mauritania 7. Angola 6. Haiti 5. Sierra Leone 4. Yemen 3. Burundi 2. Guinea 1. Chad 3.23 $ 3.21 3.19 3.15 3.11 3.01 2.98 2.92 2.91 2.85 $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ 835 835 1,157 5,873 759 613 1,377 282 519 1,006 47.5% 27.7% 79.7% 29.3% 15.4% 44.5% 46.7% 32.0% 43.0% 34.5% 1.1% 3.7% 5.4% 16.9% 10.9% 1.3% 17.4% 1.2% 1.5% 2.1% Access to financing Police instability Access to Financing Access to Financing Corruption Access to Financing Access to Financing Police instability Access to Financing Corruption Access to Financing

STRATIFICATION The periphery countries are primarily those countries which have natural resources and other goods which they can harvest and supply to the core countries. Within the individual periphery, or industrializing, countries there are similarities that occur. In 1978 Bangladesh was coming back from a civil war with Pakistan. The country and governments were

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beginning

to

develop

resources

and

infrastructure

within

the

metropolitan areas and business activity elsewhere in the country. Within

Figure 1 Bricks being crushed for road base in Bangladesh

this country there were limited resources. The couple examples of how this country managed to develop infrastructure is in how they did their road and building constructions. Bangladesh does not have soils that produce gravel and road base materials. The way they overcame this issue was to form bricks from the sandy soils, transport them to the construction site, and then have individuals break these bricks back into the form that could be used as the road base (see attached picture). This particular picture was obtained from the Internet and shows that this procedure is still being continued to this to this day. The second area was in the construction a multistory buildings. The construction groups over there did not have scaffolding and other materials that we see used within the United States and industrialized nations. They would build the apartment

complexes using cement, because there were few other alternatives. They would then finish the building with a brick

Figure 2 Boats used to transport materials in Bangladesh

faade. At the facility I saw they transported bricks using small boats that the labors would propel up the river. Other laborers then would carry these bricks from the river to the construction site (about 50 cents a day labor rate). To place the bricks on a three story building they would begin at the bottom and

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then as they got higher up they would construct the bamboo walk way around the building that was anchored to the building in various spots than as it and progressed higher. Transportation within these countries consists of motor vehicles, trains, and animal driven carts. These transportation systems include countries such as Bangladesh, China, Chile, and many other periphery countries. In Bangladesh for instance the trains
Figure 3 Typical Train Depot in smaller cities and towns in Bangladesh

were the high tech option in 1978. For those with power and authority oftentimes they would put the private car on the end of

it train, providing them was privacy and comfort as they traveled. The common person, or the proletariat, would push their way onto the train to secure a seat, or to stand within a compartment for the trip. In many cases the train would be overloaded and the people would climb on top of the train. The train yards would be relatively small and was that the sophistication that you would see in the United States for the core countries. The toilet facilities on these trains were also primitive compared to Core countries. The bathroom was a hole on the floor in the bathroom that allowed the human discharge to drop onto the tracks; compared to the enclosed and contained facilities in the United States. The lower classes in many of these periphery countrys often have very limited housing and personal property. In Chile many of the homes are small with the facilities, and lodge large families

or many individuals. In the Atacama Desert there were people living in a 4 m by 4 m structure with 10 to 12 individuals living together.

Figure 4 Homes in Chile

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The people also have to use the available materials two construct their homes. The picture on the left shows a stone house that was constructed in Chile.

Figure 5 Stone House in Chile

The picture on the right shows dwelling that are used by the poorer

people in Chile. Similar construction occurs in many of the periphery countries throughout the world. In many cases the use corrugated steel, plastic or aluminum sheets for walls. The apartment picture on the left is residences of the professional or upper middle class in Chile. These are the type of facilities that Foreign visitors would be housed in. In the smaller cities, such as Calama, the hotels have extremely small rooms, about the size of walk
Figure 6 Dwelling constructed by poor in Chile

Figure 7 Middle Class Dwelling and Visitor Accomadations

in closets. The beds are smaller than the single beds in the United States.

The picture to the right shows a dwelling that is constructed of hides and other materials in a remote location on China. The large building in this picture is the industrial headquarters for the mineral recovery operation that is occurring in this location. Many of the laborers live within the steps of dwellings near the facility. The professional people travel about 30 to 40 minutes, by vehicle, back into the metropolitan area where they live. This demonstrates another aspect of class
Figure 8 Far dwelling is resident for local people, Large dwelling is business office/cafeteria for workers at Salt Plant.

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stratification within the periphery countries, with the middle and higher class individuals being able to travel back and forth to their homes and apartments. As is demonstrated here there are similarities between countries of similar economic capabilities. Another area of stratification that occurs within these countries, other than housing and transportation methods use within the education system. In Bangladesh who was escorted by the professor from local university that was associated with

Figure 9 University Complex in Periphery Country

the company was working with. When we visited the job site were entitled to a private room, commissary privileges and

other privileges associated with our higher status. Before I left Bangladesh who visited a street vendor area and saw the lower classes bargaining for their food and clothing. The individual was escorting me had a nice apartment, good food, supportive family, and many luxuries for the country that he lived in. Because of his higher status he was elevated of many of the lower class people within this country. The same kind of relationship exists in other countries such as China or Chili. The individuals that have power, prestige, education, or money to the opportunity to purchase and obtain more material goods better housing, better food, and better education. These periphery countries also have other areas where stratification that occurs compared to countries such as the United States. These areas exist within the corporate structures of the national and multinational companies. They also exist within the infrastructure within each country. In Bangladesh the water supply for various localities as in many cases hazardous. The Meghda River is a major tributary within this country. Problem is that because its a transportation method and many people live near it, results in it being contaminated was biological wastes. Wells are generally drilled deep into the ground to obtain the water source that is free from biological contamination. At the commercial site

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this had been accomplished, however, the water source contained soluble iron, which was stored in the cistern located on top of the apartment buildings he would oxidize and form suspended particles. These problems with the biological contamination and the chemical contamination demonstrate the technology stratification that occurs between developed nations, or core countries with respect to the infrastructure and treatment of basic necessities such as water. Similar issue existed in Chile. In 1985 it was necessary to drink bottled water and refrain from eating fresh vegetables because the water supplies were contaminated. Although there will exist similar types of programs within the United States, generally the water supplies are safe in most developed areas. There would still be some areas were the water supplies are not treated in the United States. An example of this would be in a farming community in Northern Utah. The water supply comes from a freshwater spring is transported by a pipe to a cistern and ultimately delivered to the homeowners. The basic differences most individuals within the United States are where the hazards and will take appropriate action. During our class discussions we also discussed the concept of colonialism. We also talks about

neocolonialism. Within the 20th century this concept applied primarily to the African nations with a control from the European countries. The other major area of colonialism occurred at the end of World War II. The control of Eastern Europe by the USSR resulted in a form of colonialism. The communist government controlled these nations, limited their economic growth, and the development their technical expertise. This compares with the way that the United States treated Japan, under General Macarthurs leadership. In many cases these countries that existed under a colonial power continue to emerge slowly that require technical assistance and financial assistance from the core countries. An example of this is the construction and retrofit of a scrubber system for a coal fired power plant in Lithuania. The design and technical expertise came from the Norwegian countries, much of the labor came from Soviet Union, the technical equipment came from other core countries such as France and the United States, and there was limited material supplied from within Lithuania. This is an example of

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stratification the core countries keeping those in the periphery in the lower classes, and maintaining them within a subservient role because they dont have the training to perform the activity, produce the equipment/technology. The result is that financially the funds that could remain within a country go back to the core countries.