The Effect Of Social Stratification On My Current And Future Life Chances
Life chances are influenced by several factors one of which being social class position. This essay will seek to determine to what extent my family’s social class position has affected my current and future life chances. Firstly, this will be done by defining class position. Secondly, it will incorporate income, education, future occupations and my current and future lifestyle with regards to my family’s social class position. This will be done with reference to several sociological concepts provided by sociologists such as Ferrante, Giddens and Bilton.
Class is defined as a group of people who each receive or have a portion of economic resources, this then exerts an impact on the lifestyle on obtains in life. The differences in class arise from wealth which works in hand with ones occupation. Within social stratification does class position arise, as described by Giddens, different individuals will receive different benefits based on their place held within a strata. Therefore giving rise to and uneven and unequal ordering in different social classes. Social reproduction is an important role player in influencing one’s life chances such as myself. As social reproduction allows for the recreation of classes through generations.
My family is to be considered as middle class. Middle class consists of variances in income, employment rank and occupational dominance and other key variances being wealth and relationships one has with the means of production. Throughtout life I have had access to material advantages purely for being raised in a middle class family. Material advantages include material goods that have provided a way in life where I am able to be more successful than if I did not receive them. As class relates to the share one has of economic resources, being middle class allows my family to hold a large portion of such economic resources. Therefore in my life I have had access to good schooling such as attending a private school and access to a high quality standard of healthcare, which helps me in life. This has provided me with an incentive to strive for the best in life. This all occurs due to the fact that I possess cultural advantages that have been instilled in myself due to the income resources made available in my family. Cultural advantages include values, religious perspectives that aid in receiving economic and social prestige.
I am currently studying Political Science. I am able to do this degree due to the cultural capital I have obtained in life. This being the skills and qualities, such as the knowledge and social manners, I contain. This provides me with me with marketing ability therefore ensuring I could be provided with several opportunities in life to obtain a well paying and respected career such as a politcal analyst. Ones outcome in life is not solely dependent on ones own abilities. It is influenced by ones social class position. As already discussed, my family’s social class position is middle class. This has provided me with several opportunites thus far in life such as private education and enrolling in a tertiary institution. Due to social reproduction, my chances at succeeding in life are greater, this may apply to areas such as finding an occupation and maintaing my current lifestyle.
