Social Classes In America Essay

America is a complex and diverse web of individuals marked by social stratification, a system by which a society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy (Macionis, 2011, p.204). The film People Like Us: Social Class in America discusses the class system, social stratification based on both birth and individual achievement, which the American people use to define others (Macionis, 2011, p.206). It explores the many variables that contribute to the determination of a person’s class; such as, ancestry, education, and money. Ancestry will be a main focus because it has such a strong influence on the class system of today. The film provided an informative and entertaining

Although the United States was a British Colony in the early 1700s, the differences between the two were definitely noticeable, especially in the socioeconomic fields, mostly due to the fact that slavery played a much larger role in the United States.

We live in a world where every day we wake up trying to make a living and get onto the next day repeating the same thing over and over. Waking up each day and realizing that you are not able to survive in this world without any money can have a huge impact towards any goal you are trying to reach. In some cases we tend to set the bar high but there is only one problem, how are we going to get enough money to pay for our future goals? Growing up in the working class has been a ride to remember. Experiencing poverty can also have a great affect in your life. After reading three amazing articles one by Richard Rodriguez the second by Barbara Ehrenreich and the last one by Bell Hook, I have learned that there is so much more than to be classified into a class (working class, middle class, and poverty).

Directions: Based on your personal experiences and on the readings for this course, answer the questions in the green section of the matrix as they apply to each of the listed socioeconomic classes. Fill in your answers and post your final draft as directed by the course syllabus.

At the very core of nearly every aspect of the modern life, social class can be seen pulling at the strings, orchestrating every move. From the obvious, like salary, housing, and friends, to the more subtle, like fashion, news, and art, social class is at the center of it all. However, one thing that social class is rarely ever attributed to, is religion. Surprising as it may be, social class directly affected American's choice of religion, and whether or not they have a religion, throughout the entirety of the 1900s.

If you took a handful of random strangers and asked them to tell you whom they are, a majority of those people would start by defining themselves with their name and occupation. The American society is conventionally arranged into social classes founded on income, wealth, occupation, educational successfulness and social network. Social classes are defined as “status hierarchy in which individuals and groups are classified on the basis of esteem and prestige acquired mainly through economic success and the accumulation of wealth.” (“social class”) For most of American history, social classes have created inflexible barriers, with multiple institutions and businesses, administering rules established on racial discrimination and other forms of categorizing people founded on preconceptions. Social class in the United States is a contentious matter, possessing many different models, definitions and arguments for its obvious existence. Though many Americans now commonly identify with the three-tier model – a model that incorporates the upper class, the middle class, and lower class/poverty – social scientists have suggested more intricately created model. The extreme definition of social classes has only recently appeared in the past 250 years. Clarity of this natural habit did not strike the citizens of the United States until the colonial times when many of the richer, higher class citizens decided they were in need of separation from those that were considered low-class and

During my research, I have found that depending on where you look there are a variety of Social Classes in the United States. The most obvious and probably the best known are the six social classes primarily used in the United States today. Below, I have compiled some facts that help describe and support each class.

Social class is defined by your economical standpoint in our society. There are around 6 social classes in the United States; Upper class, new money, middle class, working class, working poor, and poverty level. The upper class is at the top of the United States, it also makes up about one percent of the U.S. New money falls in line behind the upper class, this refers to people whose wealth has accumulated recently or has only been around for a generation or two. New money makes up about fifteen percent of the society. Middle class includes about thirty-four percent of the population; the members of middle class are mostly in professional jobs. These people could include managers, doctors, lawyers, professors and teachers; It’s likely that

According to most, even though American Dream is possible to attain, it is significantly more difficult to achieve than it is made out to be. It relies as much on luck as it does on hard work, if not more. Though there are occasions where people move up and down the social ladder, certain qualities such as race, social class, and social status can determine the opportunities that allow for social mobility.

Social class variations in U.S. family life starts with categories of people who share a common economic position in the unequal society in which they live in (Strong and Cohen 82). Classes indicate economic indicators such as wealth and income earned. These show what people have such as bank accounts, houses, stocks, and retirement plans, but eliminates their debt such as credit cards, loans, and mortgages. Social class is known to have structural and cultural dimensions. Structurally, social class shows our occupations that we depend on for earnings, the power it presents us with, and the opportunities we get to experience. Culturally, social class follows people’s beliefs, attitudes, values, and motivations that separate them from other classes. People are grouped together in classes because of their similar incomes, amounts of wealth, degrees of occupation status, and years of education. Social class is experienced differently by people throughout life.

America is supposedly where all men are created equally, yet society has created a hierarchy based on socioeconomic standing and political power. Theorists Karl Marx and Max Weber has applied their theories of social class on the model of social stratification; a system in which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy. According to Karl Marx, the main classes of society are the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; those that are the owners of the means of productions and those who work for it. On the other hand, Max Weber argued that there is a multidimensional ranking rather than a hierarchy of clearly defined classes. America has created a social system in which those of middle and lower classes tend to struggle to decrease the gap

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.

Class has changed in the way Americans understand class. The upper class was seen as people who vacationed in Europe and worshiped God. The middle class drove Fords and enlisted as company men. The working class voted as Democratic and didn’t take cruises. Now, it’s harder for Americans to tell what social class people are in. It’s harder to guess peoples class based on clothing, votes, religion, the cars they drive, and the color of skin. Health and in some cases education is getting harder to tell class with financial help.

Social class in the United States can be looked at according to purely economic factors such as income, and also using educational, wealth, and job related factors associated with socioeconomic status. Each year, the U.S. government sets a poverty line which indicates the minimum amount of money a family needs to have for a decent living. As of 2015, the property line is 24.250 for a family of two adults and two children.

Have you ever seen yourself “above” or better off than someone else? Of course you have, we all have. It could have been that homeless man on the street you saw while driving home, or even a student that you had to tutor because you just seem to understand the concept a little better than they did. That doesn’t make you a bad person does it? I mean someone has to be in charge and someone has to follow. Many of people believe this concept for different reasons. In America, many people think this about their social class. The more money you make, the higher in rank you are in your social class, which could mean the more opportunities you can be a part of or even more doors than can be open to you. Many believe that we still believe in the “necessary