Social Class Structures

Many questions have risen in this day and age in which ones wealth can greatly effect almost every aspect of their lives. There has been much controversy as to whether the recognition of socioeconomic classes are for the benefit of society as a whole. Socioeconomic class is defined as some combination of occupation, education, and income level (Heimer 802). A good society consists of equality, support for the government, educated individuals, better living conditions, and low crime rates. As research will show, socioeconomic classes contribute to social inequality, lower support for the government, subpar education levels, income insecurity for some classes, lower living conditions, trouble transitioning into adulthood, and higher crime rates. Therefore, socioeconomic classes are a detriment to society and do more harm than good for the people.

Individuals within a society are grouped into certain rankings that is based on their wealth, income, race and education known as the social stratification. Sociologist use this to determine the social standings of individuals within a society. Social stratification can also appear in much smaller groups. These groups such as the work place, schools, and businesses can “take the form of a distribution of power and authority down the ranks”. (Cole, 2017) The Caste system is also another form of stratification that one does not get a choice in. They are born into it and regardless of their talents will hold positions that are given to them their whole life. Social mobility is the ability for individuals to move about their social standings.

Social class is a division of a society based on social and economic status which can include levels of wealth, success, power of authority, and influence. Status is can be defined or grouped having common economic, cultural, or political interests.

“Unlike the structural functional theory, which views society as a peaceful unit, conflict theory interprets society as a struggle for power between groups engaging in conflict for limited resources. Karl Marx is the founder of conflict theory”. The social class most likely to implement or adopt the use of conflict theory are the capital class. As stated in class the social class has a minority called the “Bilderberg Group”; they hold incredible influence over government policies, Represent shared intra-class interests have large Economic power, political and social power, it is in theses hands that majority of the resources are held and controlled, while the majority are left remnants of whatever resource they are able to obtain. As said in class the, Max weber defined this social class as one composed of those who hold similar life chances, such as Income, Marketable abilities, Access to consumer goods and services,Ability to generate investment income, Power

In this course, we have learned about different social classes and how they developed over time. In fact, the idea of social classes has been around before what we know it as to today. The concept has not changed. The “higher” classes usually have land, money, and jewels. The “lower” classes are broke, servants, and no valuable possessions. Prior to this course, I only knew of the upper class, middle class, and lower class. In today’s society, the separation between classes is not as bad as it use to be. School is an example of this. I grew up in Cobb County, Smyrna- Vinings area and I went to school with people who parents are CEOs of companies, successful entrepreneurs or even music artist. I would consider my family middle class but we did have students who were also lower class families. Some higher-class families enroll their children in private school. Private schools charges tuition whereas public schools are free of cost. The upbringing up children can determine their social status in schools. In this essay, I will discuss “cliques” and their differences in high schools.

America is seen as the land of opportunity across the world, but many people wonder if it is true. The truth is America does have opportunities and with dedication anything is possible though the opportunities are limited. Usually limited for those who belong to a lower social class. The main reason opportunities are limited are because of America’s social inequality. The social class of America is separated into multiple groups that struggle with each other due to the inequality of power and wealth on the daily basis.

The set of documentaries known as People Like us, revealed how different people tend to perceive and determine someone’s position in society. Measuring social class in American can be influenced by many different factors. In fact, sociologists generally rely on the objective method that determines the class of someone based on their occupation, education, income, and place of residence. Although Americans tend to deny the idea of people being separated by class, it is something that greatly influences the cultural norms, actions, and interactions among all individuals in society.

This essay will explore the notion of social class and whether it is still relevant within today’s society. The Oxford Dictionary defines social class as ‘a division of a society based on social and economic status’ and is measurable in terms of stratification and inequality. Stratification suggests people are ranked hierarchically according to their attributes such as income, wealth, power, age, gender and status, whereas, inequality explains the difference between people in terms of their abilities and rewards

There are so many problems that Americans face. A lot of American citizens pay the consequences for the mistakes of the wealthy, and not every citizen is fortunate to battle through them.There is no doubt that America has a very wide range of social classes, but what makes America strong is how social classes cooperate and help each other. For the past 20 years the social classes of America have been at a political war. The wealthy privilege that are in power of America fail to recognize the disadvantages that low income citizens have, because they have never been in the certain types of situations that a low income citizen experiences every day. Our social system, benefits the privilege. It's designed for the privileged, and keeps them in

Social class has developed over the centuries into an obstacle we cannot ignore. I believe that social class exists and proves itself in stereotypes as well as in our government. Our world divides social class into three sections: upper, middle, and lower class. However, many also think that there could be multiple classes. The problems that we face with social class display themselves in the lack of opportunities for lower class children, the abuse of power by ghettoizing, and the addiction of money instead of longing for Jesus. We need to awaken to the world around us that daily struggles with the uncompromising chaos of their circumstances.

It is said that the United States is made up of around six different social classes, however the three main classes are better known as the Upper, Middle, and Lower class. The three remaining classes are better known as subcategories for each of the main classes. These subcategories help break the classes up giving them their individual class.

America is divided into groups based on many different characteristics. Some of those characteristics may include race and ethnicity, cultures, religions, age, sexual orientations and genders. No matter which group someone defines with based on those characteristics, an individual will be labeled one step further to fit into a social class. In America, the most basic structure of social classes is broken down into upper, middle, and lower class. However, the perspectives of what each of those social structures looks like differs based on an individual’s characteristics. This analysis will examine the structures of the American social class from the perspectives of people of color, women, and gender orientation.

This essay will be discussing the extent to which social class and poverty affects health and illness. Firstly, what is social class? Each person’s perception of social class can be different; is social class defined by a person’s accent, the area they live in, or something as simple as their income? Project Britain describes social class as “The grouping of people by occupations and lifestyle”. (Cress, 2014). To find social class Sociologists group people according to common factors, they compare people and various criteria can be conveniently used to place people in social groups or classes. Next we ask the question what determines a person’s health, the NHS defines health as “Physical and mental, it is the absence of disease”. (NHS 2017).

Without doubt the accumulation of wealth, more complex government and city organization and very much clear social class formation system in the same period the findings of more elaborate and fine art occur on a regular basis, such as Etruscan magnificent tomb wall paintings. From archeological findings data, approximately 2% of tombs were painted, that underline the conclusion that just few – elite families could afford such luxury. The paintings are applied either directly to the stone wall or onto a thin base layer of plaster wash with the artists first drawing outlines using chalk or charcoal. The information we could gather from those art findings bring us to the daily life of the elite class and overall social group at those times, by

Social and economic classes are everywhere. People are ranking others simply off of what they are. In Huxley’s time we had ‘The New Woman’, which was a woman with more power. While all the men were at war, “the employment of women rose, as well as the levels of education (Kempner).” Women were starting to get to prove their own. This existed within economic classes, people in the Klu Klux Klan had “appealed more than ever to mainstream, middle class Americans (Tomyn).” Racism was a common occurrence to see. In our time, we still have gender inequality and racial profiling. In 2015, “women working full time in the United States typically were paid just 80 percent of what men were paid,” leaving a wage gap of 20 percent (Miller). Society pays men more than women. But there is also racial profiling, police “target people of color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence (Profiling).” No matter who someone is, judgement still exists within