Class in America: Gregory Mantsios Essay example

In Mantsios article “Class in America” he states that Americans hold beliefs that blind them to social classes, citizens in America have four myths they use to ensure talk about the classes never take place. America has the largest gap between rich and poor in the world, and the lower class has no means to an end they can’t afford health care or quality education. The upper class avoids talk about social class the most; wealthy people don’t want to admit that they are better off than others. While the lower class sees how much better off others are than them, but they still don’t like to label themselves. I agree with Mantsios that most Americans avoid talk about classes although I am not one of them. Also I

In Class Matters, Bill Keller examines the meaning of the word class and how it plays on the life of the US citizens.According to Class Matters, a class is represented as four cards, one from each suit: education, income, occupation, and wealth. Based on your cards you are put into a class. Most people end up with the same cards as their parents. Keller explains how a class can be predetermined by a person’s upbringing or how they were raised. In this book, Bill Keller suggests that it is quite difficult to move into other social classes than the one we were born in, or a class we have been associated with for a long time. Based on the reading of this book along with other resources, moving into other social classes is exceptionally

Mantsios writes about class in the United States. He covers the fact that people rarely speak about the existence of social class. As americans we refer to each other by their race, ethnic group, or geographical location. Mantsios states that we do not speak about class because it has been taken away from pop culture. The author is the one making the argument in this article. He has very outstanding credentials such as being the director of the Murphy Institute for Workers Education and Labor Studies at Queens College in New York. He is also editor of a New Labor Movement for the New Century (1998). The targeted audience seems to be the “upper class.” I feel like the “upper class” needs to help out the “middle class,” but I also think the middle class needs to be more aware of the situation. They could both work together. The authors main point of this article was to inform the readers about social

Last class we watched an informative documentary named “People like Us, Social Class in America”. America is known to be a country defined by class. Throughout the movie it showed different opinions on what class was based on by different people and the answers varied from looks, house size, career choice, race, manners, upbringing, and education. As we move through life, most times we remove ourselves from different people not in our class to then live amongst those who share similar backgrounds and who we are most comfortable with. As stated, “if there is class, there is an inequality one cannot explain and it perpetuates itself”. Revealing class can expose hope, fears, prejudice and a myriad of different emotions that we may not all be comfortable speaking about. I feel as if part two and part three were most applicable to myself because they are something that I have experienced both directly and indirectly.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

Mantsios gives his readers great evidence and details that not only show class distinctions in our society, but how the chances to move up from the poor to wealthy is one in a

After reading Michael Zweig's “The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret”, I read and was able to determine his own perspective of class. Zweig says that the United States is not a middle class society and that the majority of Americans today are part of the working class. He defines class as power, power in the workplace, cultural, economic, and political and in the larger society and not so much the income. I think he defines class as power due to the fact that we as people have the power to experience class in many ways. We are all born and raised differently and all come from cultural backgrounds. He briefly explains how there is a high class and low class depending how you were raised. I can agree with him on that statement to an extent personally due to the fact that sometimes the worst parents in the universe can raise you, but you alone can show yourself a thing or two about morals and life lessons simply by living them. That does not mean that your parents don’t play a

In reality class always matters and it shapes our interests in life. We all come from different background and ethnicity. I believe that class is shaped mainly by income and occupation. However, many people think if a person is wealthy, therefore, he belongs in the upper class. But there are other factors that define class and it is more than just how much money you have. It can be the network of people that surrounds, traditions, and academic status that can also define class. Many of it has to do in which family you have been born and network that creates it. All of my family members have been born and raised in Russia; they completed universities, got jobs, and had enough income to support a family. “Each of us is born into a family with a particular class identity and class history—sometimes it is a mixed or hybrid identity—but almost always it is part of a network of other relationships—to other families in a community, to work and jobs, and to institutions” (Zandy 112).

Social class is a topic of discussion that is generally avoided, especially in America. In a country where all of one's dreams can allegedly come true; the notion of class highlights the jarring inequalities and social divisions between one American and another. In recent years, recognizing one's privilege is beginning to become a cultural value. However, it has always been something that people were aware of, as seen in the eye-opening documentary, People Like Us: Social Class is America (2001). The documentary strives to accurately portray how the contrasted people of America live, interact, and see themselves and others. Of the ideas the doc showcases the most important are, the higher classes influence over the poor, and the poor's poor self-image, as these ideas strike the core of why one should be conscientious of their class.

The concept of social class has been around for ages and is still a part of today’s society. Social class is not only based on the individual’s wealth but also on their social standing such as; monarchs, priests, nobles, merchants, and peasant class. The peasant class was practically ignored, which means that the higher classes would only pay attention to each other. This can be the case in society today, there are some people who feel that their career makes them higher than a janitor. Even though humans have been around for centuries, social class is still a big issue.

In addition, to the first book review our second review analyzed the lives of people class distinctions. In Class Matters as stated in my initial review the book focuses on the negative and positive factors of people’s lives. During a section of the book just to recap the experiences of three people of different social classes experiencing heart attacks. The first guy that had a heart attack was of the upper middle class. This man had the luxury of giving multiple options of attending the best hospital and care for his health. In chapter five heading the Hierarchy: Upper Class or Superclass? The conclusion states, “Best positioned within the class structure to obtain high-quality financial capital and also social capital…” (Doob, 142). The first guy with the heart attack has a better advantage because of all of the necessities and benefits he has to offer. The second person with the heart attack was of the middle class. This man was issued with fewer options, but still a good hospital he had the same surgery, but with no additional information as the first person. In chapter six it discusses how some middle class people have difficulty financially. The expenses of health insurance have become much greater for middle class American’s. Doob states, “The harsh reality involving healthcare is that left on their own, many middle-class people can afford only very limited or no

It shows that the bottom half of income earners receive less and the top half more of the income distribution. However, Marshall hypothesises that people can move between the classes with hard work and the right mindset.

On Christmas Eve in 2010, my grandmother received a gift from a hospice nurse who was assisting with my grandfather’s deteriorating health. Initially both surprised and embarrassed by the gesture, her emotions quickly changed once she removed the wrapping. A single package of Ramen Noodles was revealed. Embarrassment changed to confusion as she attempted to wrap her mind around what she had received. The hospice worker drove a 1997 Plymouth Voyager that she regularly complained about not being able to run properly for more than a week. She wore old worn out clothing and my grandmother claims she had never seen the woman wear jewelry before. It was evident that she was not wealthy. Although she could not afford a gift, the nurse in her

Race still predominantly plays a role in everyday classism. Discriminatory housing practices traps minorities in the lower class for generations. Moreover, America’s healthcare system unfair to people who have low income. Also, Public transportation does not properly serve the needs of those who use it; as well as, it makes it formidable to secure, and maintain a stable job. Additionally, education for the poor unequal in graduation rates; along with, a social polarization against lower class students. Classism in America is an old, yet consistent problem that, creates an unfair economic divide of

Social class is defined as 'people having the same social or economic status' (Wordnet). In contemporary American society, social class is based on the amount of money and property you have and also prestige. Prestige is given to a person through the line of work or the family that they come from. For example, upper-upper class member Jennifer Lopez reeks of prestige not only because she has millions of dollars in her bank account, but she has very expensive luxuries, cars, and houses.