Social Class Difference - Essay Example

Social Difference Introduction The material resources of an individual as well as society’s perception shape their social class. In turn, an individual’s social class profoundly influences their behavior. Few resources, greater risk exposure, and reduced sense of personal control characterize lower Social class. On the other hand, the high social class is marked by many resources, reduced exposure to risks and increased sense of individual control. Moderate resources, substantial exposure to risks and some sense of personal control describe a middle social class, unlike the other two social classes. Presently, society’s middle and lower class people attempt to look like upper social class individuals. Low-class individuals strive to tear down the spirits of people in the high class. These increasing trends by people to fit into society are worrying and results to many unanswered questions that this paper tries to answer. The paper explains the reason behind society’s portrayal of some people as wealthy based on their ethnicity. It further unfolds the reason for people’s increased desire to be a part of the upper social class. In addition, the paper reflects on what unfolds when the younger generations in, the lower social class lack the advantages of their peers in the upper social classes. The paper also provides a number of ways through which people try to be part of the top class. Finally, the paper attempts to explain the reason for lowering of standards by the high classes to fit with the lower classes. Social Class Structures in the United Sates Upper Social Class The American upper class entails the highest socioeconomic bracket of society in the U.S. The social class is mostly described as those with great power and wealth, and may equally be described as the capitalist class. People in the upper class mostly have massive influence in the political and economic institutions of the country, and the media. Several heirs of fortunes, politicians, top business executives like Chief Executive Officers, celebrities, and venture capitalists make up members of the upper class. The primary distinction of this class is the sources of their incomes. Whereas several people derive their income from salaries, upper-class people derive their incomes chiefly from capital gains and investments. A household with a net worth of one million US Dollars qualifies for identification as members of the uppermost socioeconomic demographic based on the capital market employed. Middle Social Class The American middle class also referred as the sandwich class is the class that encompasses several Americans. They include white-collar workers with more money than people in the lower social class and less money than the upper social classes (Roy 25). They divide into two levels depending on wealth, prestige, and education. The lower middle classes mostly made up of people who are less educated with lower incomes, like small business owners, managers, secretaries and teachers. The upper middle class is made up of people who are highly educated such as business and professional personalities with considerably high incomes such as lawyers, stockbrokers, some Chief Executive Officers, and doctors. The Lower Social Class The American lower social class typified by homelessness, poverty, and unemployment. People in the lower social class are mostly uneducated, with few having completed high school. Several people in this class lack proper medical care, lack food, adequate housing, safety, decent clothing, and vocational training. In most instances, this group is stigmatized by the media as the underclass. These people are oftenly characterized as either being welfare mothers abusing the system by having more babies and welfare fathers who do not want to work, instead opting to abuse drugs and join crime. Society’s portrayal of people as wealthy based on their ethnicity Based on a number of reasons, society tends to assume some people as wealthy because of their ethnicity. If one knows the ethnicity and race of an American family, they can appropriately guess the wealth levels of that family. The reason for this is the strong linkage between ethnicity and race to the financial outcomes and behaviors (Fenton 146). These patterns are constant and have not changed for a very long period. In the United States, there are four major ethnic and racial groups; whites, Hispanic, African American and Asian families. Based on these ethnicities, one is capable of determining the wealth levels of people in each of the four families. Despite the lack of a clear-cut in the sociological and biological terms, racial and ethnic categories turn out to be relatively stable over time in the prediction of various dimensions of financial outcomes and financial behaviors. Currently, key financial behaviors and wealth of the four ethnic and racial groups in the United Sates are as follows. The head of any randomly chosen white family is most probably older than the national average, and will most likely have a higher education than the average non-white American with the same age. The family may own a business; may have borrowed money to buy a house, or to finance education. The total debt of this family is most likely to be small in comparison to the assets it has accumulated. On the other hand, a snapshot of a black family in America would reveal a young head with less education compared to the average white head. The black family head is likely to have few financial assets. In case the family had debt, they would spend a large portion of their income in servicing this debt. The overall worth of any randomly chosen black family is one-tenth any randomly chosen white family. Just like the black family, a snapshot of a Hispanic family would reveal a much younger family in comparison to an average white American family. The family would have few financial assets, and high debt levels compared to assets and income of the family. The treasure of the median Hispanic family is one-tenth the median wealth of a white family. A snapshot of a randomly chosen Asian family in America was alike financially to a white family in a number of ways. The only significant difference is the level of education. The head of a randomly chosen White family was likely to have credentials in post-secondary education than the head of an Asian family. From these snapshots, it is evident that there are persistence and striking differences across ethnic and racial groups that enable for the portrayal of an individual as wealthy based on their ethnicity. Reasons why people try to be a part of the Upper Class There are several reasons why younger and older people of the lower and middle class strive to keep up with the high class. The first reason is that middle and low-class persons try to keep up with the latest trend and wants. These people seek recognition as important personalities just like the high-class people. Given the power and respect accorded to the high class by the society, low class, and middle-class people also desire this power and respect hence go to the lowest to be accepted in the high class. Middle and low-class people try so hard to fit into the society. They go as far as purchasing things of high value and the newest released items. Low-class people attempt to tear down the spirits of high-class individuals despite yearning to be like them. Further, given the low education level of the lower and middle-class people, the high-class people benefit economically given their academic advantage. Hence, they have an economic advantage over low and middle social class people. The result is increased education by the low and middle-class people to try to be like the high-class people. Low and middle-class people face many challenges trying to keep up with the high class and maintaining their position either in the low or the middle class (Flemmen 1039). Research suggests that eighty-one percent of Americans have at one time or the other felt the social pressure to buy an item whose price is beyond their reach. In their attempt to be like the high class, lower and middle class will make these tough buying decisions to try to impress the high class. There is an increasing feeling of lack of being special or being outdated and thought of the likelihood of being rejected by the society among lower and middle social class people. These people think all this might arise because of failure of having the coolest and newest item of that time. Some people try to be part of the upper class to get the opportunity to brush shoulders with celebrities and prominent government personalities. Given the respect attributed to being in the upper class, the majority of lower and middle-class people yearn to join this group. Upper-class people have decent homes, more money, and an enviable life. Unlike lower and middle-class hustle and bustle, people view upper-class life as the ultimate peak of living therefore everyone yearns to be associated with this class. In addition, given the nature of humans to seek to advance, lower and middle classes will try to reach the upper class as a way of advancement in life (Useem and Miller 115). Finally, upper class acts as an opportunity for the lower and middle classes. People in these classes seek for job opportunities, business opportunities, and opportunities to display their talents, and the only way they can get these is through association with the upper class. Challenges faced by young generations in the lower classes. The younger generation in the lower class does not have the advantages of their counterparts in the upper class. They often do not have access to higher education, or the knowledge and finance to deal with crises. Lack of higher education in the twenty-first century is harmful since it enables educated people to have a competitive advantage over the less educated (Vanneman et al. 593). These lead to increased hate between the high class and the low classes. Further, lack of education implies lack of opportunities for growth that can result in the adoption of vices such as drug abuse and crime. The class differences continue to persist as children enter and progress through school. The reason for this is partly the disparity in the activities in which children engage in during their free time. For instance, high-class children tend to develop more likely their interests and take part in a number of learning and cultural activities. On the other hand, owing to the lack of finances, information and time resource to find out about such programs, and transport children into these programs. Lower-class children are most like not to have the same opportunities as their higher-class colleagues. Lack of resources presents children from lower classes with fewer opportunities to take part in extracurricular activities not just during the summer but equally throughout the school year. Consequently, lower class children are most likely to miss the several benefits of programs in athletics and arts that would have helped in building self-discipline and self-confidence. Class-based differences in extracurricular activities do not result due to the disinterest of lower class parents, but they occur due to the lack of resources. Further, disparities in patterns of involvement of parents hint at gaps in social resources, as opposed to lack of desire to promote the success of a student at school. Upper-class parents frequently get involved in the school works to their children in ways that the tutor finds acceptable while lower class parents demonstrate a great separation between themselves and their children’s school. With increased involvement of parents, there are increased chances that the children will be able to get all the paybacks that are available to them in school. Even when school take it upon themselves to attend to individual children for their benefits, children whose parents get involved tend to have an upper edge. It is evident that class has great implications for the education of a student, as evidenced by how it can shape experiences of children in school through preparedness, involvement, and extracurricular activities. In addition, it is evident that lower class children also have a high concentration of the disadvantages that too often accompanies their social stratum. Social-economic integration of schools could go a long way in benefitting lower class students in various ways. Attendance at school with children from the middle and the higher social class can enable opportunities for lower class children to acquire social and academic skills because of peer influence. In most instances, lower class children tend to be low-achieving with studies showing that their achievement can improve upon attending schools with middle and higher class children. Reason for Lowering of Standards by the High Class to fit in the Lower Classes High-class individuals lower their standards to fit in the lower and medium classes for a number of reasons. Despite coveting, the way high-class people live, low-class people tend to assume that they are not interested in this life. Low-class people seek attention from high-class people, and they will do anything to get this attention. For instance, the introduction of rugged jeans was an idea of the low-class youths who lacked money to buy pairs of new jeans. These youths were compelled to wear the same jeans over and over until they got old. Low-class people publicized these jeans and were proud of them. Few years later, rugged jeans were so famous and were sold expensively in upmarket stores. High-class people started to fancy these jeans and started to buy them. Equally, high-class people often lower their standards to fit in the lower classes because lower classes attempt to tear down their spirits. Lower class people will try as much as possible to show the high classes that they are equally important, and they are up to date with the latest trends and fashions. Higher classes have everything they need and do not need to show it off. Therefore, they will always attempt to show that they have less wealth than it seems. They will try to fit among the poor people to cover their riches from the public. Unlike low classes, high classes do not seek the attention of people to show off that they can afford the latest technology and fashion. Instead, they tend to relate to low classes to avoid the public limelight. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that lower and middle-class people in the society attempt to appear like the upper class. It is equally clear that the way a parent teaches their children in certain situations differ with the type of class, and this ultimately affects a child’s life physically, or mentally. Further, it is clear that the society portrays some people as wealthy based on their ethnicity. The paper realizes that the younger generation in the lower classes does not have the advantages over their peers in the upper classes. It leads to a lack of access to higher education, knowledge and finances to deal with crises. These results to increased competitive advantage to younger upper-class children since they have favorable edges over the disadvantaged children from the lower and the middle classes kids. Works Cited Fenton, S. Book Reviews: Race And Social Difference: Selected Readings Edited By Paul Baxter and Basil Sansom (London, Penguin, 1972). 495 Pp. Paper 85P. Race & Class 15.1 (1973): 145-146. Flemmen, M. The Structure of The Upper Class: A Social Space Approach. Sociology 46.6 (2012): 1039-1058. Roy, Ananya. Why The Middle-Class Matters. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography 33.1 (2012): 25-28. Web. Useem, M., and S.M. Miller. Privilege and Domination: The Role of The Upper Class In American Higher Education. Social Science Information 14.6 (1975): 115-145. Vanneman, Reeve et al. Images of Social Stratification: Occupational Structures and Class.. Contemporary Sociology 17.5 (1988): 593. Web. Read More