In all societies, people receive different shares of what is valued and scarce. This unequal distribution of societies resources creates a system of stratification. People are grouped on the basis of how much of the society's rewards they receive, and these groups, are then arranged in a rank order. The group that has the highest rank has all the power. Power underlies all forms of stratification. The power of the ruling class is not only a powerful force, but also has the power to sustain an ideology that legitimizes the system of inequality. .
In regard to ethnic mobilization and nationalization, The dominant ethnic group is the one at the top of the ethnic hierarchy, they have maximal access to the society's power resources, particularly political authority, and they control of the means of economic production. The dominant ethnic group is given the power to regulate the flow of further immigration to the society and to determine the social treatment of other groups as they have entered the society. Because of this, the relationship between class, race and ethnicity in society is not perfect. Although some ethnic groups do achieve significant upward mobility despite their low ethnic rank, minority groups remain under represented in the society's top classes, members of the dominant ethnic group, even those at the bottom of the economic and political hierarchies, often retain privileges especially in politics.
The role of race in politics is usually more than meets the eye. Issues like Affirmative Action, racial profiling and the death penalty are the headline grabbing themes, but race plays a substantial role in law-making and electing law-makers. For example, candidates who court the minority voter and the racial make-up of our law-making bodies. The race issue is being used in such a manner in politics that divides people rather than unite them causing an increase in racial tension.