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Class Is An Integral Part Of All Societies

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Division has become an integral part of all societies. These divisions range from gender, education, occupation and wealth. A combination of these and other dividing factors shape the manner in which and individual is perceived by their peers in a social setting. These factors make of the basis of a social class. Defined as a group of people who share economic resources that influence their lifestyles, class is ingrained in the minds of individuals in all societies. Although the elements that determines ones class may appear to be arbitrary they are integral to our daily interactions whether we would like to accept it or not. We base our perception of individuals on how they appear to us when we first encounter them. We then use these perceptions which are sometimes false and highly inaccurate to determine who will and will not interact with. In countries such as India class is so important that you are bestowed a class upon birth and no matter how low or high ranking it is, you are meant to stay within that class for the entirety of your life. This stringent system is called a caste. Although the class system seems arbitrary and unimportant in the modern United States it is extremely important because the division of classes allows for structured inequalities that have detrimental effects upon the populace. The United States is branded as the land of opportunity. In the poem The New Colossus by: Emma Lazarus the following is affirmed, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your

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