Why Do We Need A Social Class

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

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).

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.

Society is set up into a hierarchical triangle that essentially determines social class. A social class is any person or group of people with the same educational, social or economical status. Social class can be broken down into many different categories such as race, age, gender, economic status, educational status and many more. Social class can be measured in many different ways such as financial status, family values, appearance, and demeanor. In America there are six main economical social classes which are the: Very poor, Poor, Working class, Middle class, Upper middle class, and the ruling class.

Society has always needed to take a certain initiative; to put an halt or at least tone down a certain persisting enduring. An example of such is the imbalance in power. For long since, into the very depths of history, there has been a issue in power distribution. This is true for numerous civilizations that date back all the way to the B.C time period. A example, in specific, is the reformation. Classism was too, reflected during the Reformation. The reformation was an instance in time where a man by the name of Martin Luther, proceeded to put forth opposition toward the Catholic ideology. He wished to remove the catholic church, so he organized an organization to take down the church. Whilst the war waged on, it could be noted that some degree of classism was apparent. As said before, classism is a major, recurring issue.

Class Matters is a very interesting site to determine how society sees an individual. I found it entertaining inputing all my information. I am in the 51st percentile for occupation, 69th percentile for education, 18th percentile for income, 29th percentile for wealth, and overall in 41st percentile average. This matched my expectations for I know exactly "what I am worth" to soceity. I almost have a bachelor's degree, I have a good job even though I do not receive much income, but what lacks the most is my wealth.

Many people are born into a higher social class than others. However, majority of Americans are automatically born with a struggle. According to the New York Times Class Matters, the marriage of unequals and the way people represent themselves superficially can prevent people from escalating the social class tower. There are millions of people that are dreaming of a better life, to have more opportunities and a better lifestyle not only for them but for their family as well. The stereotypes that come with marrying into an upper class society, and dressing dis-accordingly to your true social class can make the rest of society question what social class truly is.

To begin with, social class has always been of great importance in society, more money means more power and more respect.

In my point of view, economic is the biggest factor of the class structure. Economic divide people into groups based on their income. According to The Economist, money and power are helping each other which mean if you have money, it is easy for you to get power and vice versa. Economic also contribute in education, people who have more money tend to be educated compare to the poorer one. For example, Capitalism creates a big social gap. Countries that use Capitalism as their basic economic models tend to create a big inequality. There are people who are very rich that can afford many houses and at the same time there are people that cannot get foods, and they both lives in the same country. On the other hand, economic factor can also bring the equality. For example, the country with socialist economics such as old China were able to bring equality among the people. Based on my experience, my grandmother was a migrant from China. She used to tell me a story about how Mao Zedong led the China. China used to be very strict in how they manage their economic policy among the people. She told me that if there is a village that cannot eat, the other citizens should not eat, everyone should be equal and work together. The policy creates equality among the people, it does not matter if someone came minorities or majorities

What is social class you ask? Social class is a system created to categorize people by education, wealth and heredity. What are the different class systems you ask? There are several class classifications and they’re Upper Class–Elite, Upper Middle Class, Lower Middle Class, Working Class and poor. In the united states and being a victim of “ social class categorizing” is an issue that must be addressed and people must be made aware, because it seems as if it’s not going anywhere anytime soon so the least we can do is try and make it fair as possible. Being defined unknowingly by a class system is one thing, but having no say so or fair opportunity at being placed in the best “class system” as those more fortunate than others needs to

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

When people look at social class they don’t necessarily give it much thought, this is because they may not know what social class really is. Social class is division between people based on social and economic status. As harmless as it seems the negative side effects can still be seen in today’s modern society. When Aunt Alexandra in To Kill A Mockingbird said that Walter Cunningham couldn’t be associated with her family because of his social class is a prime example and you can still see the same bad effects peeking through the cracks in today’s culture. The effects of class-divisions are bad for society; by dividing class, it can lead to jealousy, health decline, and give people a lack of opportunity.

Classism is an issue so large that it has become a global pandemic. In the United States alone, the allocation of ~90% wealth in a 10% population serves as a clear indication that there is a wide gap in the quality of lives of many individuals. The wealthy use many strategies to maintain their power against the poor. In order to control the economy, they dictate the price of the dollar, causing it to inflate when necessary to oppress the working class. The problem classism has on us today is that it separates the country into two parts, rich and poor. Although the majority of the U.S. population belongs to the working class, and keeps the nation running, the smaller upper class feel

In class, we defined class identity as the socio-economic, political grouping of people who occupy similar positions based on a type of work/job vs. profession, income & wealth, ownership, authority, status, education, skills, and values. We also defined classism as the systemic oppression that categorizes and ranks people into dominant or subordinate groups based on economic status, family lineage, type of job and level of education. Classism tends to provide advantages for the dominant group which is based on the exploitation of subordinate group labor/wages. In learning about the true definition of class and classism, I realized that class and classism categorizes people and puts those of those of the lower and poor class in “the other”

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.