Is it a Good Thing to have Class-Based Political Parties?

Assess the usefulness of Marxist theories of stratification in understanding social class in society today.

In Political Parties and Party Systems, Alan Ware summarizes the two main competing theories that attempt to explain party systems. First, the Sociological approach and then the Institutional approach. In order to comprehend his analysis it is necessary to realize that party systems are in a constant state of evolution, they do not remain stagnant. This evolution may, at times, be imperceptible and at others very noticeable, such as during a revolution; but the change is undoubtedly occurring. It is much easier to understand these theories if you view these two theories from a flexible standpoint as opposed to having a concrete beginning and end with exact delineations in between.

The social class in America is everywhere but it is often quite hard to recognize only because it is against the American principle for the social class system to exist. Whether we know it or not, we tend to participate in the class system.. By doing so, this leads us to separate ourselves based on our social class system, including class discrimination and social mobility

For over 200 years people have argued about whether or not political parties are helpful, or even healthy. In 1879 during his farewell address the first president of the united states of American George Washington warned that….” The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it”. Even with all the controversy that surrounds, the American two-party- system hasn’t faulted, from challenges of third parties to changes in our society, it has again and again proven itself as a strong system. One good thing about the two-party- system is that each political party helps voters make sense of our country’s political scene, by working to get voters more involved by using specific platforms that are important to that certain party’s constitutes. So that voters can fully evaluate each candidate and choose the one they feel is best to be an advocate for the platforms that closely relate to their specific beliefs. On the bad side the two-party-system is just that, only allowing voters two parties to choose from, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, each with its own specific platforms, and its views on current issues. This limits choices of the voters by only allowing them to see the world in two colors, red for republican and blue for democrats, thus leaving out all the others on a color spectrum. At times it can be difficult to choose between the different parties,

Have you ever referred to someone as “high class,” “middle class,” or “low class?” The article “Class In America” is a very educated read and describes the way people are characterized by their “class.” I think that this article informs all types of readers and allows people to see how people are grouped based on themselves. “Class in America” is written to show and prove to society that people do not talk about “class” anymore, because of the way the world looks at it today. Gregory Mantosis is the author of the article, and he uses many facts and data to prove his points.

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

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

People consider that social stratification in the United States contains social classes such as upper class, middle class, and lower class. People who are categorizing in upper class not only have power and control over their own lives but also their social status gives them

Class, the system of ordering a society in which people are divided into sets based on perceived social or economic status. An economical structure where individuals are grouped in lower, middle and upper class. A social structure powered by gender roles, defining masculinity, manliness and femininity. Are we truly living the American Dream? Throughout this essay we will discuss the condition of the working class, women’s right to vote, taking a look at the rise of the Progressive Era and how it changed relationships between big businesses, government, and the working class.

Between the years of 1945-1970 social class dominantly shaped the voting behaviour of individuals. Whilst there has been a decline in prominence of class voting: Labour remains the most popular working class party and Conservatives perform best among middle-class voters. Social classes are defined by economic and social

The fear of class warfare has long legitimized income inequality. The rumor is, that if one belongs to an upper class one will not be in favor of wealth redistribution programs and other equalizing government programs. Hence, there is a divide between the values of equality and freedom: the freedom to keep your earnings versus redistributing wealth in order to equalize opportunities and outcomes. This paper argues that being part of any class is the least predictor of many other behavioral measures. Alternatively, we find that other measures such as altruism, awareness and optimism are better predictors for values of government actions to reduce income inequality. This opens the political discussion for both parties to re-conceptualize income inequality as a struggle to act altruistically, consciousnessly and remain optimistic.

Additionally, by studying class, sociologists allow themselves a greater understanding of the apparent ‘class conflict’ which is suggested by Marx. Although Marx’s understanding of class is outdated, due to its reliance on people’s relationship to the means of production being the main influence over their class, and its lack of consideration towards the social or cultural aspects of class (McLellan, 1986), his understanding of the conflicting interests of the classes bridges an important gap between the personal influence of class on people’s lives, and how this impacts society as a whole. Furthermore, sociologists study class because of its influence over society and its structure, as Marx said ‘the history of all hitherto existing society is a history of class struggles’ (Cannadine, 2000, p. 1). Thus, class must be studied in order to

The ideology of Marxism, established by German philosopher Karl Marx, is a collectively known set of assumptions of a political ideology, which focuses especially on analysis of materialist interpretation of historical development, or on class struggle within the society. The primarily approach of Marxism, nonetheless, was the critique of capitalism. The strength of his inquiry lies in belief of inevitable shift from capitalism and he aims to advocate the new form of ideology and economy, the socialism. The title of this essay is provocative as in today´s world, there exist many proponents who claim, the core of Marx conception of ideology is still relevant in the 21st globalised world. However, Marxism is relevant to the extent to which

Most societies throughout history and the world have developed a notion of social class. It is refers to hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups within society. How these social classes have been determined has been a common topic among social scientists throughout time. Two individuals who have headed this long standing debate are Karl Marx and Max Weber. In this paper I will be summarizing Marx and Weber’s theories on social class; how they are determined, their interests, and problems that may exist among groups. I will then provide my own critiques of their arguments.

In the United states, social classes is a controversial issue in terms of defining the actual nature of the classes themselves. Many individuals have categorized the society into three elementary groups that is the “poor”, “middle class” and the “rich”. Additionally, a more complex system of social classes is derived from the three elementary classes. In this regard, a four-class system includes “the capitalist/upper class”, “the middle class”, “the working class” and “the lower class” (Thompson, 2005). Moreover, sociologists have expanded the for-class system into a six class system includes “the capitalist or upper class”, “the upper-middle class”, “the middle class”, “the working class”, “the lower-working class” and “the lower class”.