The Roles of Different Aspects in Defining and Maintaining Class - Essay Example

The concept Facilitator Introduction-The Concept mainly refers to the position one holds in the society asviewed by other people. Classification by class varies depending on the parameter used in categorization (Yates, 2003). It may be based on property ownership where one is described as either poor or rich in accordance to what they possess. Class may also be defined by the level of education that a person has attained with the people who have attained post-graduate qualifications often ranked above the rest. With class, one gets a social status that distinguishes their boundary of association although some people care less about such statuses in the society. Moreover, it creates social gratification and boosts social ego for some people while crushing that of others. More so, one’s class may be defined by factors beyond their control, yet it places them in positions of advantage or disadvantage within the race. Class gratified by racial inclination or tribal views mainly creates unfair rankings although it cannot be undone. The concept of class is thus a natural divider and ranking mechanism in the global ecosystem. This paper discusses the concept of class and the roles of different aspects in defining and maintaining class. The Role of Property in Definition of Class Property plays a major role in definition and maintenance of class among individuals. The class of hard working people and lazy ones is separated by property ownership (Banerjee & Duflo, 2008). When one owns more property than the rest of the people, it is presumed that he or she is hardworking thus he fits in the class of hard workers. On the contrary, one who owns less proper is deemed as lazy. The two categories are clearly distinct by the privileges, honors, and accolades that the people within them receive in the society. The hard workers (people with more property) have a higher sense of security derived from their ownership compared to their counterparts. Property ownership determines the label that people give to an individual thus determining his or her history in many aspects (Banerjee & Duflo, 2008). For example, people who own more property are labeled as epitome of excellence and success. When the society wants to talk about glamour and excellence, they use such people as examples. However, the people with little or no ownership of property deemed as lazy or criminals. Poor people (those who own little or no property) are viewed by the society as agents of bad luck and misfortune. They fall in the low class people whose best position is to serve the high-class people while the middle class are nether low nor high property owners. Property ownership determines the welfare of people in any setting. The treatment that a person gets accompanies the property that they own. Property qualifies the rich, disqualifies the poor from owning some benefits, and rights (Pugliese, 2008). Ownership of property shows the struggle to make life better hence the society assumes that the obvious treatment one gets for owning a lot of property is social gratification through social welfare improvement. The truth is that no one is voluntarily poor and if there are any people who are poor by their own making, it is for a very noble cause. However, this changes the class of a person and places him among the poor thus taking social welfare benefits away from him or her. The Capitalist Class and Working Class Defined The definition of different class depends on the parameter that makes people in the class under question unique and distinct in their lives and activities. The capitalist class consists of people who believe in heavy returns on their investments. They are the rich people in the society. They are defined by the return they derive from their investments in terms of dividends and profit shares periodically. The capitalist class is made up of creative people who are producers and employ people in their entities. They are the high-class people in capitalist countries. A number of factors characterize the capitalist class. First, they have a huge property ownership. The capitalist class owns property in both their company’s entities and their private lives. This categorizes them as high-class people because property ownership forms part of the parameters utilized among the rich. The capitalist class is also defined by their political control and their ability to exert pressure on the political situations in an economy. The capitalist class is made of the wealthiest people in the society. Capitalists make decisions that stir growth in the economy. This puts them in a position that their decisions and positions are highly respectable by the political class. More so, most of the capitalists take it upon themselves to ascend to political power. in addition, they form a huge part of the political class who are considered as high-class people. Members of the capitalist class have a lifestyle uniqueness that sets them apart from the other classes. Indeed, they live a lavish lifestyle with a focus on quality rather than price. One distinct characteristic of the capitalist is that they can buy anything regardless of the price. They develop relationships with many people and can fit into many social settings as their assets and financial riches make them popular. More so, the capitalist class has a very high level of respect and value for time. The people in this class value time keeping and use every minute carefully knowing that it could determine the level of returns that they receive. Another group of people in the high class is the working class people. They are employed in companies and entities that either they own themselves or that are owed by the capitalist class. The working class people are classified as high-class people because they also own huge amounts of property, which they purchase using their salaries or loans from the banks. The first distinguishing feature for the working class is the fact that majority of them have impressive academic qualifications. Academic gratification is one of the major determinants and dividers of people in their respective classes. The working class have high ranking based on this parameter hence they qualify as high-class people in the society. . For the working class, leisure involves fun spent with people of the same class with a huge financial tag. Majority of them inherit funds from their families. The working class also has a sizeable control over the legal functions in the economy. In addition, they are considered as the elite among the high class people segment. They are the decision makers in this group with their academic prowess giving them a valuable advantage. However, the most dominant feature of the working class is their serial property ownership. Savings accrued by this group are entirely pumped into property ownership to boost economic status. Self-employment and capitalism have very little features separating them, as some of the capitalists are self-employed in their own entities and vice versa (Smith, Singal & Lamb, 2007). However, the common thing about self-employed people and capitalists, apart from both being high-class people, is the fact that they have a huge flexibility in their roles characterized by their ownership of their entities. These high-class people are decision makers. Being a decision maker defines what you will do by your own terms. Essentially, the high-class people are wealth creators rather than wealth users with their dependency rate extremely low. However, they have many people depending on them for their lives. The capitalist and working classes prefer and embrace urban lifestyle as the definition of their wealthy ways of life (Smith, Singal & Lamb, 2007). Even the high-class people living in non-urban areas lead an urban lifestyle. The lives of the high-class people are characterized by huge expenditure on leisure and social support systems as they already have enough for their basic needs. Savings for social security and social amenities also characterizes the lives of this group. Urban life is highly uncertain hence the class of people living in these areas spends large amounts on social security. The place of the Middle Class The gap between people in the high class and those in the low class is so huge that not everyone wants to bridge it. Low class people work very hard to catch up with those in the upper hierarchy. However, this is a gradual process that takes a lot of time. The middle class people bridge the gap between the high class and low class people (Yates, 2003). This is a class of people who are neither very rich nor very poor people. The middle class people have a moderate affinity and possession of property. They own property, but not enough to make them rank among the high class people. They spend a lot of money on acquisition of property that facilitates their lives rather than luxurious property that makes their life high-end. These people also have high money management skills occasioned by their average incomes. They do not spend on posh items, but rather spend sparingly on the highly important property. The high-class people (working class and the capitalist class) sometimes employ the middle class people. The capitalist class owns majority of the businesses in the economy hence they employ casual employees and middle-income earners in middle level positions (Pressman, 2010). However, this does not mean that they allow the high-class people to control their lives and actions. The middle class people are hardworking as they aim to be among the high-class people. They are extremely industrious visible through their ownership of small businesses. Their businesses are not large enough to make them self-employed. However, they expand and reach the high-class people with time. The middle class compliment the high-class and low class alike by their desire for independence and self-gratification. In addition, they own average businesses like hotels and other hospitality businesses. They insist on self-governance and self-sufficiency (Pressman, 2010). As much as they do not earn huge salaries, they use the little earnings they get to create a sufficient resource stream that supports them in life. The middle class boosts the lives of the high class by creating a demand pool both commodities and labor. Conclusion Class mainly refers to the position one holds in the society as viewed by other people. Classifications of class vary depending on the parameter used in categorization. Class may be based on property ownership where one is described as either poor or rich in accordance to property ownership. The class of hard working people and lazy ones is separated by property ownership. When one owns more property than the rest of the people, it is presumed that he or she is hardworking thus he fits in the class of hard workers. People in the high class have a social gratification and acceptance level that they live with. Even the high-class people living in non-urban areas lead an urban lifestyle. Low class people work very hard to catch up with the high class people. The gap between the high class and low class people is bridged by the middle class income earners. This is a class of who are neither very rich nor very poor people who have a moderate affinity and possession of property. References Banerjee, A. V., & Duflo, E. (2008). What is middle class about the middle classes around the world? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(2), 3-28. Retrieved from doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/jep.22.2.3 Pressman, S. (2010). The middle class throughout the world in the mid-2000s. Journal of Economic Issues, 44(1), 243-262. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/89179983?accountid=45049 Pugliese, E. (2008). The transformation of social classes in Italy since the 1970s. Review of Economic Conditions in Italy, (3), 343-368. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216307564?accountid=45049 Yates, M., 2003. Naming the system: inequality and work in the global economy. Illustrated ed. s.l.:Monthly Review Press, The University of Michigan Smith, W. J., Singal, M., & Lamb, W. B. (2007). Corporate social orientation in japan and the USA: A cross-cultural comparison. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 15(3), 181-209. 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