Social Inequality In America As A Result Of Social Stratification

I believe that over the years or looking at the history of where the social inequality really generates from is very important. As we look back, we might be able to see the real reason members of U. S. society see social inequality as a reflection of individual differences in talents and effort. Many sociologists have investigated social inequality and have researched American society to answer this question. For example, according to Marx’s theory there are only two sides which interact to answer the reason of inequality the owners and the workers the former having full control of the resources and latter being passively manipulated. Another use might be when dealing with marital issues like divorce at an individual level it will be the emotional turmoil associated with it and the broken family scenario but if seen at as a social problem it would be the increasing rate of divorces showing the alarming situation in the institution of marriage. And to be able to use our minds in this way is sociological imagination.

Now looking at Weber’s theory we can see he describes this phenomenon slightly differently or maybe takes it further he said that inequality is more complex and goes deeper into the owner worker concept he subcategorized the reasons of the power of the hierarchy. U. S. members see inequality in the light of individual talent and effort because the laws segregate the individuals in the very start of their human lives children are individually characterized just based on the mere locality their parents and they live in if the parents live in a more high end society the child will eventually be successful because he will go to a high end school and he will be classed accordingly similarly if a child belongs to the ghetto for example he is bound to end up in prison. And that particularly becomes the phycological mindset of people.

So living in American society its easy to see that inequality is coming from the individual’s circumstance which consequently leads to individual behavior and development of talents and the subsequent effort put as per the knowledge of the individual or even in the case of the less privileged the discouraged approach that they might never succeed. Three men stuck together to get out of graffiti covered public housing and ultimately completed their education in medical and dentals schools might be example of American dream but how many get to this so the question remains that individual effort and talent led to a better life and who couldn’t achieve this place in society are just a part of growing inequality in USA. Rich are becoming richer and poor are becoming poorer this stratification is alarming for which it is important to devise a plan to come to terms with this case of social inequality that leads to a major stratification in society which renders many helpless and unbale to perform or be successful.

Now coming to the second part of my answer I must first explain by social structure we mean we need intellectual thinkers who can research and give answers not according to what they feel the reality is but to put themselves in others shoes to actually learn what the real deal is. The reality of society. This is what social imagination is to think outside the box to understand the reality as it is not how we perceive it. Sociological imagination is a product of many variables’ history biography and social structure, history of the research in consideration then the behavior of people involved and then the structure of the society they live in the division of resources, in all are interlinked to aid the sociological imagination and find answers to make the correct analysis. Sociological imagination is extremely important in understanding a society as its components gives it so much clarity hence giving the intellectual thinker a better chance to make a plausible analysis. So it’s very important to study the sociological imagination to study the structure of society shaping the behavior of the people that dwell within and the conditions they inhibit.

Come to think of it even though basics are provided by society based sociological imagination, but a larger scope needs to be covered to understand the bigger picture so global sociology is so much more important to relate the world sociology to connect with the construction of a better society. We surely will be able to understand the American society so much better if we analyze global societies and its problems and successes compared to USA. Social stratification is basically how the hierarchy or the ones most powerful take control of the resources in society. Basically the ones in control then have the most access to opportunities to better education, better living standards and better health care. On the social structure pyramid we can make to see the social standing of all that belong to society as a whole starting with the capitalists and ending at the working class. Stratification is maintained by elite and the working class the systems which defines people as property slavery being an example. To maintain this power a selective distribution is required to keep thigs working the way they have the powerful stay powerful and the weak become weaker. The second mechanism is the process by which the class is maintained such as education and race

The two main mechanisms who gets what and why? To explain further these mechanisms, work on the basis of social economic political and historical factors including the ones in control who sit at the top of the pyramid the capitalists cooperate kings and excluding and exploiting the ones buried at the bottom the poor who for example fight wars for these capitalists’ sharks. Basically, where you are buried determines your future and depends on your education because lack of resources means restricted education opportunities. Meritocracy says your accomplishments define who you are prestige and material has nothing to do with who you are. There are many definitions of social class that generates from social stratification one comes from Karl Marx ad the other from Weber. Marx says Class depends on how you were raised for example manners etiquette, money sometimes geographic locations and sometimes not, also type of things you consume and where you socialize at. For example a rich man wants to go to hangout with poor people he will taken more seriously than if it was the other way round.

Weber says power is derived from money, education basic control over ones resources. Power helps in influencing public opinion. And legacy gets into prestigious positions for example CEOs college professors and sports athletes. Now there is an inequality that results due to this stratification, wealth and income inequality in America which is considered a huge problem which was politically identified by president Obama during his tenure. Business professionals as well as 5000 of Americans are dividing the country. Gilbert and Kahl model of class structure can explain a lot of these senarios. 1 percent capital class 15 percent upper middle-class 34 percent lower middle-class 30 percent working 15 percent poor working class and 5 percent under class. If we look at the actual distribution of wealth in America, its shocking according a survey in America the wealth I unhealthily weighted towards the elite the powerful the underclass is squeezed so much that it is surely impossible breath for them leave alone provide good education to their children or expect them flourish. This analysis is based upon conflict theory of Karl Marx I do believe the extreme difference in wealth distribution is a cause for concern because it does lead to many other social issues such as crime and suicide. Also when the influx of rich people settles in the lower income communities they get pushed out and are demoralized. Moreover this causes a raise in health issues and stress levels increase the poor which in turn creates an air of distrust and marginalization of the poor.

Conflict theorists stress that schools promotes class system and perpetuate inequality with the capital class bypassing public schools more concentration towards private education. One more big contributor to the class conflict inequality is the relation of class and health policies the higher the class the better the health policies and of course better health reciprocates better chances of success in every field longer life spans and healthier stronger stance and better future prospects. no matter what the theorists or sociologist might stress the children are being taught a certain curriculum to transfer ideas predefined notions and norms values and believes conveyed through education and hidden curriculum then children are being tracked at grade level the high IQ children are placed in faster tracks to achieve different tasks then lower IQ children who are placed in slower tracks unhindered by the fact they might have better potential. This tracking leads to inequality I the society by creating a gap within the people with cultural capital they possess. Most likely why American school system is so broken so many dropouts at high school level. Now the cultural capital such as skills morals abilities and which leads people to make it big if the cultural capital is high or doomed to submission in society. The tracking system is so appalling putting poorer students in slower tracks and richer children in faster tracks so eventually the chosen children make it to the top and become the capitalist and the slower for the poorer to lead them stay working class forever. This is surely leading to social inequality which systematically arranged. The standardized tests are biased to make pre planned decisions that are harmful for the under privileged. Then the schools themselves vary drastically in resources which are inconsistent to the location as well. Well-funded schools show future progress and under funded schools ensure that children remain under educated to serve the labor purpose. So not only this they are literally training slaves of the modern era by teaching them hidden curriculum which benefits the status quo. Also there is a final aspect I would like to shed light on the inequality where teachers show a certain behavior toward children when a child is intelligent or they think they are better at studies thye give them attention and that leads to a better student but when the teacher thiks the child is lower IQ than they neglect them which discourages the child and results in worse score so this kind of inequality is also seen.

The power elite are basically the highest on the mills model the elite and corporate they control the military they are responsible to make massive decisions whether they make them or not they have major consequence wherever they go they are the ones looked up to, hence hold the powerful positions in the social structure, mills believed the power of 1950s America comes from the mere fact that the powerful want to be powerful and their power generates from economics military and political leadership. There actions are coordinated by the press and media which gives them the ability to pass their messages to the masses also they have the economic monopoly in industries and corporate firms which gives them complete isolated control. Also, they are a few power elites at the top and they are socially connected and they have group power. Also, thee elites don’t only rule over their own geography but also dominate other weaker countries too and make sure they never become strong enough to raise their heads against these corporate sharks. Today’s society power elites are banks and pharmaceutical companies. According to mills the top most are corporate political and military, Then middle level power elites congress, other legislations, interested group leaders local opinion leaders the masses are un organized exploited and mostly uninterested. Its like ordinary people occupy these places and cannot control the power of elite they are hypnotized to do accordingly but not all of them are like that some came to America to rule and look down upon the masses and create a power world that they can control with a kind of global control that we can see today. Just like a handful of people in pivotal positions make decisions for tracking children in schools same compact group decided fates for large populations globally.

This means that the belonging to a certain race is a social construction and not genetic or biological as normally thought of because many people go through racial stigma even though generally they are from the privileged high race precisely white per say so lets say a bi racial couple goes to the mall and the white husband is left alone but the African American is victimized with name calling with specific racial slurs the white husband dose not feel so white at that point because the pain of his wife’s trauma transcends into him and he feels the same racism she does therefore eliminating fact that race or ethnicity are genetic per say. Historically racial stratification has been acprevalent in society such as in the past as well as today African American players have been showing excellence in sports but they have faced discrimination being left out the leagues over the years due to their skin color also. Plus in other races of the historic times race was measure according to cultural areas and religion rather than biological discrimination. Hierarchy or supremacy of races was determined putting the white race on top black on the bottom and others in between. Although in 1964 the most comprehensive the civil rights act was passed which was anti discriminatory but almost half a century later the gap between races have widened. When compared to ethnicity race is sub category the primary concept is ethnicity also socially constructed because the language and culture we identify to is subject to our geographical location and time lapsed in a particular location and gaining command on a language.