该文章主要描述的是一篇对于社会阶层关于人生活的作用的。社会阶层，是在社会科学的一组概念和围绕社会分层的模型中,本文数据整理主要从收益、教育水平、文化水平、不同的种族等因素发现众多人认为社会阶层关于人有着深远的作用。
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
“Social class (or simply "class"), as in a class society, is a set of concepts in the social sciences and political theory centered on models of social stratification in which people are grouped into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle, and lower classes.”[ Wikipedia Social class]
Many people believe that social class has great influence, even decides, their career and their life. The truth is, the U.S. is a place which is said that “every dreams come true”. Can we all realize our “American dreams” in America?
Social class in America is measured by the income, which has two categories: household and persons, age 25 or older with earnings. “The New York Times has used income quintiles to define class. It has assigned the quintiles from lowest to highest as lower class, lower middle class, middle class, upper middle class, and upper class.”[ "New York Times definition of class according to the quintiles". The New York Times. May 15, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2017.] These definitions equate class with income, permitting people to move from class to class as their income changes.
In the United States, the median income levels are as follows: “the average income of all households is $46,326, while dual earner household is $67,348, average household member’s income is $23,535. The average income of aged 25 or older with earnings is $32,140, males’ average is $39,403, and females’ average is $26,507. The average income of Asian household is $57,518, while that of White or non-Hispanic is $48,977, Hispanic is $34,241 and black is $30,134.”[ Source: US Census Bureau, 2017; income statistics for the year 2017]
“The bottom 10% earn $0 to $10,500 per year, the bottom 20% earn $0 to $18,500 per year, the bottom 25% earn $0 to $22,500 per year, the middle 33% earn $30,000 to $62,500 per year, the middle 20% earn $35,000 to $55,000 per year, the top 25% earn $77,500 and up per year, the top 20% earn $92,000 and up per year, the top 5% earn $167,000 and up per year, the top 1.5% earn $250,000 and up per year, the top 1% earn $350,000 and up per year.”[ Source: US Census Bureau, 2017; income statistics for the year 2017]
As 82% of all households, 16% of those in the top had two income earners. There is a considerable difference between household and personal income. In 2017 the top 95% of income earners made $12,500 or more, while 18% of households had incomes over $100,000. “Personal income is largely the result of scarcity. As individuals who hold higher status positions tend to possess rare skills or assume positions society deems very essential, have higher incomes. Overall the median household income was $46,326 in 2017”[ "United States Census Bureau, household income, 2017". Retrieved February 8, 2017.] while “the median personal income (including only those above the age of 25) was $32,140.”[ "United States Census Bureau, median income of persons, age 25 or older". Retrieved December 9, 2017.]
Per capita household income, the income a household is able to allocate to each member of the household is also an important variable in determining a given household's standard of living.” A high household income may be offset by a large household size; thus, resulting in a low per capita household income.”[ Gilbert, Dennis (1998). The American Class Structure. New York, NY: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-50520-1.] In 2017, “the median household income per capita was $24,672.”[ "United States Census Bureau, household income, 2017". Retrieved February 8, 2017.]
PART 2 WHAT FACTORS INFLUENCE WILL SOCIAL CLASS
Many factors will influence their social class.
First, the due income situations. This factor has great effect on household income. As we all know, if there are two man working and earning salaries, the incomes of this kind of families are definitely higher than those in single income families.
In 2017, “22% of American households had two income earners. The vast majority (97%) of households in the top quintile had two or more income earners.”[ Williams, Brian; Stacey C. Sawyer, Carl M. Wahlstrom (2017). Marriages, Families & Intimate Relationships. Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 0-205-36674-0.] This truth means that the reason why some households in the top class is because there are two or more people working. This kind of families do not have to spend considerable time on doing housework and taking care of their children because domestic helpers will do all the things. Due income will improve the economic situation of the family and rise the total income of household, and so, improve the social status of the family.
However, the due income situation is not a determinant. For one thing, some people may think that does marriage really improve the social class? For example, the combination of two high income people will really improve their social class? For another, the family size should be taken into account, too.
Second, the level of education. This factor has considerable influence on both individual and household. Median personal income by educational attainment shows that: “under the premise of persons aged 25 with earnings, the average earning of high school graduates is $26,505, that of people with Associate's degree is $35,009, that of people with Bachelor's degree is $43,143, that of Master's degree is $52,390, that of people with Professional degree is $82,473, that of people with Doctorate degree is $70,853.”[ Source: US Census Bureau, 2017; income statistics for the year 2017]
The statistics show that people with higher educational level will have higher earnings. With the quick development of knowledge economy, the labor markets need more and more high-quality talents, not just cheap labor. Those people who are equipped with more specific knowledge and techniques are more capable of hard work. They can deal with more complex working situations and will apply those useful knowledge to practice. However, the number of high-quality talents is much smaller than that of cheap labor, and that cannot meet the great need of the labor market. Therefore, the employers will tend to give more salaries in order to attract more competent employees.
Third, the influence of culture. “Parental views are perhaps the most essential factor in determining the socialization process which shapes new members of society.”[ Thompson, William; Joseph Hickey (2017). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. ISBN 0-205-41365-X.] The values and standards used in child rearing are commonly closely related to the parent's occupational status. “Parents from the professional class tend to raise their children to become curious independent thinkers, while working class parents raise their children to have a more communal perspective with a strong respect for authority. Middle class parents tend to emphasize internal standards and values while working class parents emphasize external values.”[ Gilbert, Dennis (1998). The American Class Structure. New York, NY: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 0-534-50520-1.]
Parents indeed have considerable effect on their children, such as the lifestyle, values and characteristics. For one thing, what parents doing will have a potential effect on their children, and their child hope to have the similar job like their parents. For another, most parents cannot have the views that beyond their class.
For example, those parents who are not well educated may hold the view that their children do not need to have good education and regard study as a waste of time. They may just focus on how much money have their children earned now and do not care the potential development of the children’s career. For another example, upper class parents often encourage their children to become sociable and make friends with smart people in the same class, thus they can develop their network and get succeed easily in the future, while middle class family may think spending too much money on making friends instead of studying is a silly thing.
In China or other Asian countries, parents probably interfere their children’s future life. Therefore, changing the social class is a very difficult things because the potential effect is significant.
Forth, different races. As described above, Asian-American earns most while the black earns least. That is because the problem of racial discrimination and educational background. Asian-American families usually attach great importance to their children’s education, and higher education level result in higher income, and improve the education level. Asian-American SAT pass rate of 80% while black-American SAT pass rate is only 7%. Racial discrimination is also a serious problem, many whites have prejudice on colored people and do not give them enough opportunity. Therefore, they will stay at the lower social class.
PART 3: THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL CLASS
Social class indeed has great influence on one’s life.
Americans used to describe their “American dream”, believing they can realize their dreams in America, regardless of their races, genders, social classes or nationalities. However, in fact, social class has great influence on everyone. “The truth is, the social class has great influence on the way people is thinking and doing things. It is difficult to completely ignore the effect of social class. A stratified society is one marked by inequality, by differences among people that are regarded as being higher or lower…it is logically possible for a society to be stratified in a continuous gradation between high and low without any sharp lines…in reality…there is only a limited number of types of occupations…People in similar positions…grow similar in their thinking and lifestyle…they form a pattern, and this pattern creates social class.”[ Dennis Gilbert, The American Class Structure, 1998]
Social class may affect people’s view. Top class people may have their own unique view. For example, top class people may put their surplus saving into financial products and earn more money, while those bottom class people may be afraid of the risk of losing money, so they just put all the money in the bank. For another example, top class people often realize the importance of education, they may spend a lot of money on their children’s education, while the bottom class may regard spending money on children’s education as a waste of money. Therefore, children in the top class may have better education, broad view and smart business sense, they will have better chance to realize their dreams than those in bottom class.
Social class will also have a strong influence on people’s future life. If the parents are in the top class, they will have greater chance to meet the people which belongs to the top class. With many friends from the top class, they and their children will have better network and have more chance to succeed. Those people from the bottom class or middle class may not have the chance to meet this kind of outstanding people, and they will become more difficult to succeed.
In China, this situation turns out more serious. Chinese always strongly rely on their network. If you know somebody who in the top class, then you will have much greater chance to get success, because people from top class will have more resource and more opportunity. If you get the help from them, you will have more opportunity. For example, those top class people’s children may enter in many famous enterprises and do the work which is not difficult and with high salaries, because they “know somebody” and should be “taken care of”.
People in higher social class may have better lifestyle and good health. Many top class people often have good education level, so they tend to live a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, they may become healthier and live longer. “It is impossible to understand people's behavior…without the concept of social stratification, because class position has a pervasive influence on almost everything…the clothes we wear…the television shows we watch…the colors we paint our homes in and the names we give our pets…Our position in the social hierarchy affects our health, happiness, and even how long we will live.”[ William Thompson, Joseph Hickey, Society in Focus, 2017]
PART 4: SOCIAL CLASS DECIDES O’S FUTURE?
Is America still a country full of “American dreams”? Or one’s social class decides one’s future?
The truth is, nowadays, “American dreams” are not as easy as before. On September, 17th, 2017, “Occupying Wall Street” broke out, thousands of demonstrators gathered in Manhattan, New York City, trying to “occupy Wall Street”. The protesters said that they aimed at objecting to the strike deals between power and money in American politics, the conflict between the Republic Party and the Democratic Party, and the injustice phenomena in the U.S.A. The protests spread to 120 cities in America and Vancouver in Canada. This kind of protests even spread to other countries in Europe or Asia. One protester showed a tag saying”99%”, it means that the income gap between 99% ordinary people and 1% rich people is getting wider and wider.
“Occupying Wall Street” protest showed that although America may be still a place where dreams will come true, but social class indeed has a huge influence on the whole society. In 2017, the poverty rate of America was 15.1%. Poverty population was 46.2 million people. The conflict between the top class and the bottom class is becoming bigger and bigger.
PART 5: CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the problem of social class in America is still very serious. On one hand, America is indeed a place for everyone to realize their American dreams, but, on the other hand, there are still many advantages that belongs to the top class. The social class still has great influence on one’s life.
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