Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Social class and its effects
Social class and its effects
Social class and its effects
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Social class and its effects
No Middle Class It the world we live in today, everything is about money whether you realize it or not. People are getting greedier, trying to find a way to increase their wealth constantly. Sometimes people do this at the risk of other people; in seek of their own “happiness.” Food, clothes, transportation, bills, and so much more all require money of some sort. Adriana Delgado says, “The vast differences between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, will be the catalyst for the best intentions to be rewarded with ungratefulness and contempt, creating resentment and mistrust between the classes.” This line quoted by Delgado shows how power is related directly to money. When she refers to the classes, there are the 3 well …show more content…
Many countries are trying to hire people for cheap labor, which is where the greed for money comes in. The company owners can get away with paying such low wages for the fact that the people that work there need the job. Large companies usually hire those who are not furthered in their education or qualified for higher paying jobs, which makes it easier to keep their wages low. The wealthy don 't need these jobs because they most likely have other jobs that are going to pay at a much higher amount, with the qualifications being met. Generally the higher paid jobs are not the dirty or hard working jobs, but more of the intellectual jobs that few actually meet the expectations required. Patti Duncan says, “We were expected to function as cheap--or cheapened--labor, invoking Cynthia Enloe 's discussion of the processes that produce certain bodies as cheap labor, imported to perform the dirty work that the "real" citizens within the academy do not want to do.” The rich are getting richer because the jobs that pay better are all taken by those who are wealthy and the poor can 't or won 't qualify for them. The less money you make or the more desperate you are for many, the higher chances it is that you would settle something for with minimum or lower
Growing up in The United States, people are given this idea of an American Dream. Almost every child is raised to believe they can become and do anything they want to do, if one works hard enough. However, a majority of people believe that there is a separation of class in American society. Gregory Mantsios author of “Class in America-2009” believes that Americans do not exchange thoughts about class division, although most of people are placed in their own set cluster of wealth. Also political officials are trying to get followers by trying to try to appeal to the bulk of the population, or the middle class, in order to get more supporters. An interesting myth that Mantsios makes in his essay is how Americans don’t have equal opportunities.
Let's take it back to the past in regards to wealth distribution in this country. The fact is that the economy boomed from the end of WWII into the 1970's. “Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s” (CBPP). Through the 70's economic growth slowed, and the wealth gap widened. Middle-class families were now considered lower class. People relied on the government to help them out with welfare programs. The middle-class class was weakened and the gap grew and grew. There were periods of positive fluctuation, however the middle-class simply never regained it's status that was held in more prosperous times in the past.
Money is sweeter than honey but can be destructive. It simplifies a man’s life while a lack of it confines him in the streets of poverty. It raises his social status while an absence of it leaves him unnoticed. It gives him a feeling of superiority and importance among others, while a shortage of it makes him worthless
Inequality exists in income, wealth, power and education. Persons who are legally and socially poor in the United states tend to stay in a cycle through life, not always by choice but because they are given fewer opportunities, education and tools to achieve success. Poverty class has a much larger income gap than the upper class, the American Dream lessens through opportunity and is shown through statistics. One in every four urban child is living in poverty. On the United States Census website there is a chart that separates the races and the percentage of each one in poverty. The highest percentage is American Indian and Alaska Native alone at around 28% and White alone and Asian alone are tied at around 11% (Macartney & etal ,
Does social mobility in our contemporary American society really exist? Is it possible for someone from the deepest depths of poverty to become successful, and ascend into the upper echelons of society? Could the American Dream still be attained in these times where we see the stratification of contemporary American society based on their wealth and social class so vehemently pointed out and perhaps emphasized to a certain degree? Or perhaps, could Charles Sackrey, Geoffrey Schneider, and Janet Knoedler (authors of Introduction to Political Economy) be right about the American Dream being a "particularly deceitful myth?" This is a topic which has been debated over a long period of time between different scholars, analysts, and people just like us - in American society today, it could be broken into many parts: some observe the rich, the middle class, and the poor, and others lean towards the 99% versus the 1%, in regards to debates stemming from wealth distribution. The American Dream, a long-standing national ethos which definitively puts forward the idea that our freedom allows us the opportunity for great prosperity and success, as well as upward social mobility through the application of hard work, is perhaps central to this idea of whether social mobility, as scholars continue to debate that it is less attainable in this day and age compared to previous generations, and that it is much less prevalent in the U.S. than in other western countries. As for social mobility, it's also argued that while it exists to a greater extent in other western countries, it is no less attainable in the United States today than it was in the past. The purpose of this essay is to really get a good look at both sides of the coin in terms of this i...
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
Though money may not be the root of all evil, it certainly contributes to inequalities between those on opposite ends of the wealth distribution map. Upward mobility becomes difficult for those whose income does not match that of the wealthy because of the lack of opportunities provided to the people who are in the working class (Marx). Unfortunately, this repetitive cycle of wealth inequality draws parallels with the racial inequalities that are seen today. Statistically, people of color and women collect less revenue than white men, who are less restricted in their mobility, in America (Rowe). According to Karl Marx, money can buy anything from education to beauty, due to the fact that money is valued more than the lives of those who do
difficult it is it move up socially and economically in today's society because of the widening gap between the rich and the poor (Aspects of Class in the US: An Introduction).
It is important to understand the origin and history of the wealth gap and the reason it is increasingly widened. The 1920s is known as the Roaring Twenties with significant economic growth, increased prosperity, and increase in the wealth gap. In the 1970s, the income gap between wealthy households and the rest of America increased. The economic slowdown had a significant effect on the middle and lower income taxpayers, while the income for the wealthy continually increased. Currently, the disparity is more apparent than ever. “The United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between the and poor than any other major developed nation.” In the 21st century, the net worth of a majority of households have decreased, while the median net worth of the wealthier households have seen an increase. A large
Divisions within the social stratum is a characteristic of societies in various cultures and has been present throughout history. During the middle ages, the medieval feudal system prevailed, characterized by kings and queens reigning over the peasantry. Similarly, in today’s society, corporate feudalism, otherwise known as Capitalism, consists of wealthy elites dominating over the working poor. Class divisions became most evident during America’s Gilded Age and Progressive era, a period in time in which the rich became richer via exploitation of the fruits of labor that the poor persistently toiled to earn. As a result, many Americans grew compelled to ask the question on everyone’s mind: what do the rich owe the poor? According to wealthy
...ment, income inequality will exist due to the rise of some economically successful people and the further development of factors that push people into poverty. Although it may not seem fair that there are rich people blowing money on impractical and meaningless things while people live in poverty, it’s a reality that the United States has experienced for centuries.
In “Working Class Whites” Angeline F. Price quotes Fussel saying, “[o]ne class gets the sugar and the other gets the shit” (Fussel, 25). Later Price responds, “in American society the ‘other’ is invariably poverty stricken and powerless” (Price 648). That is to say that the comfort of the rich is at cost of the discomfort of the poor. Correspondingly, wealth or the lack of, have been associated with a complex of superiority versus inferiority. Therefore, one is treated according to the amount of wealth one has accumulated. Such ideology was created by the rich through the widespread rhetoric of separation based on socioeconomic factors. This separation has benefited the upper class, and hurt the lower class especially when it pertains to the
Many people don’t see it as a problem and many people do. The one man who wants to completely wipe away the gap is Karl Marx. In his “Communist Manifesto,” he promotes “revolution and the abolishment of class separatism” (455). Basically Marx is rooting for everyone to be equal. Though he recognizes the “oppressor and the oppressed,” Marx is too idealistic with his ideal of communism because in a country to populated it’s completely impossible to make everyone equal (457). One such man that promotes the wealth gap is Andrew Carnegie. In his essay, “The Gospel of Wealth,” he roots for the gap because he believes without having the rich there wouldn’t be anyone responsible to provide to the poor. This need of the rich to give is true, but it still doesn’t help the gap shrink. Rich people would still be earning more money and even most rich people don’t want to give to the poor because they are just to prideful. Robert Reich a man who knows the modern world today more discretely has a very different approach to the wealth gap than Carnegie or Marx. In his powerful documentary, “Inequality for All,” he demonstrates how the gap keeps widening. He brings both the rich and the poor people to talk about their own experiences with the issue. One of his own students from the university he teaches at mentioned how difficult it was
Being wealthy gives you the power to do everything, and to get away with everything. For example, on February 20th 2017, Ryan Steeves, one of the teacher assistance, was giving a presentation, Ethnicity, Economy, and Politics, and he talked about how power and social class all related. The Banana Republics videos on the presentation shows us a great example of how power and social class rules the society. There were three main fruit companies, United Fruit Co., Cuyamel Fruit Co., and Vaccaro Bros., they were the rulers of everything and they made the decisions because they had a lot of money. For example, the company of Cuyamel killed the Honduras president because they gave some of its land to the Cuyamel’s competitors. Moreover, they convinced the United States that Honduras was trying to be communist, so the US killed the president of Honduras, again. Being wealthy, high social class, and power are all connected and it is how society
Money can give people a lot opportunities and privilege. Financially privileged people have no trouble getting materialistic things such as big houses, expensive cars, and jewelry. Being privileged can also provide better scholastic education as well as respect. On the other hand, a lack of money, as a person might guess, limits opportunity and lower a person’s status on the privilege pole. In order for an underprivileged person to have all of those things, they have to work hard to get to get the luxuries of nice houses, cars, and jewelry. As far as education goes, the underprivileged might not go to the best schools but they get an education that will prove to be more valuable in life; they learn to earn respect, appreciate what they have and how to survive with just the necessities and what’s really important in life. So when a person looks at each group and tries to decided with one gets the most out of life, they will see that underprivileged individuals get so much more out of life than a person who came up in affluence and privilege.