Essay On Class Vicarious Living And Conspicuous Inequality

In the article, "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios (Myths and Realities 2000) shows us how what class a person is in affects his or hers life more than they think. This article is written sufficiently well however, it does have some weak spots. I will prove my thesis by examining his use of examples and showing factual data and statistics, but also show how this article could have been better.

Social inequality is a situation where some members of the society enjoy different amounts of wealth prestige and power. The society has placed its members in rankings through unequal economics rewards and power. American society like all other nations has had its systems of socially stratifying its inhabitants. This began from the era of slavery where there was legalized inequality and human ownership among other forms. Zinn portrays this inequality even up to the present where racism acts continue to occur as indicated by the various killings carried out by the police to the black young men with an excuse that they were caught in an act of crime. In the present society, the social class system has dominated the American society. The upper class includes those who are extremely wealthy and they are few, the upper-middle class includes those who have affluent professions like the doctors and lawyers. The other group is the lower-middle class which includes the nurses and small business owners among others with less affluent professions. The others are the working class where most people lie and finally the lower class who are mostly dependants. According to Zinn, American children become conscious of their social class through

In Class Matters, Bill Keller examines the meaning of the word class and how it plays on the life of the US citizens.According to Class Matters, a class is represented as four cards, one from each suit: education, income, occupation, and wealth. Based on your cards you are put into a class. Most people end up with the same cards as their parents. Keller explains how a class can be predetermined by a person’s upbringing or how they were raised. In this book, Bill Keller suggests that it is quite difficult to move into other social classes than the one we were born in, or a class we have been associated with for a long time. Based on the reading of this book along with other resources, moving into other social classes is exceptionally

In the excerpt Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption, Diana Kendall outlines the various media frames on social classes and analyzes how each frame contributes to the portrayal of each class. Kendall describes and explains eight different types of media frames and illustrates the impact on their cultural perceptions. She demonstrates America’s distorted view of inequality through the media frames’ construction of a “socially constructed reality” that is not an accurate reflection of America. She also argues that people still have the ability to develop other frames that better explain who we are and a more accurate reflection of our nation regarding class. Kendall is writing to an audience of high-educated, middle aged men and women, and it is assumed they want to read on social class injustice. This is made clear because of her academic profession, and the placement of the excerpt in a textbook.

As a minority gets older they realize the hard truths of society. These truths involve many different types of stereotypes that contribute to racism and overall surround the idea of inequality and framing in social economics. In Diana Kendall’s piece “Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption” social inequality is viewed as a heavy topic, that the media abuses. In fact, Kendall uses the Census Bureau to point out that “the net worth of the average white household in 2000 was more than ten times that of the average African American household and more than eight times the average Latino/Latina household” (338). Based on the facts from this source minorities are financially at a disadvantage and are presumed to be unhappy due to lack of wealth. However, money does not control or even affect happiness rather Kendall makes a point that framing does, which can be seen through James McBride life story “The Boy in the Mirror”, where the world McBride’s mother framed for him, one without inequality, begins to crumble . McBride paints a picture of the dramatic change that happened when arriving at adulthood when he writes, “We did not consider ourselves poor or deprived, or depressed, for the rules of the outside world seemed meaningless to us as children. But as we grew up and fanned out into the world as teenagers and college students we brought the outside home with us, and the world that Mommy had so painstakingly created began to fall apart” (415). The simple

Today, our society is a very judgemental and economic status based society. I will be looking throughout 3 stories using the Marxist lens. We tend to think that we are all split up into different class mainly based on wealthiness, race, gender and ethnicity. People tend to think that the more money you have the more economic status and power you should have over lower class people. Marxists believe that a human’s ability to produce goods and services means people can move past the conflicts of a society that is divided into classes. “First class and coach land at the same runway at the same time.” The person who said this quote was steve jobs and I really loved it because it showed how the classes arent that different. People should not be treated any differently based on economic status and wealth.

Last class we watched an informative documentary named “People like Us, Social Class in America”. America is known to be a country defined by class. Throughout the movie it showed different opinions on what class was based on by different people and the answers varied from looks, house size, career choice, race, manners, upbringing, and education. As we move through life, most times we remove ourselves from different people not in our class to then live amongst those who share similar backgrounds and who we are most comfortable with. As stated, “if there is class, there is an inequality one cannot explain and it perpetuates itself”. Revealing class can expose hope, fears, prejudice and a myriad of different emotions that we may not all be comfortable speaking about. I feel as if part two and part three were most applicable to myself because they are something that I have experienced both directly and indirectly.

The issue of class is a predominant topic in the world’s social discourse because in every society, there must be the rich and the poor. It is estimated that in this country, there are 38 million people living in absolute poverty. This has created a very huge disparity in the manner in which people live in the society; their lifestyles and general well being. To compound the situation further, the general norm regarding class is that the rich often get richer as days go by while the poor consistently become poorer (Mathews 13). Bell Hooks in her book “Where we stand: Class Matters,” sought to give an insight on the general concept of class as it is today. In this book, the author propagates three main ideas. To start with, Bell argues that the question of class cuts across all other dimensions of life including gender, race, religion and sexuality. Secondly, she posits that religion is has been a very instrumental tool in bridging the gap between classes. Finally, Bell observes that the proclamation that we live in a classless society is flawed in every sense of the world. This paper seeks to make an incisive elucidation of the three observations that Bell makes in her book.

Many believe that there is no more class separation. To many people it almost appears to be classless. In the article Shadowy Lines That still Divide it says “At a time when education matters more and more than ever, success in school remains linked tightly to class…. At a time of extraordinary advances in medicine, class difference in health and lifespan are wide and appear to be widening”. Even today education is more available for kids with money especially collage. Many colleges have very high cost and most good college is very costly. Like education, health care is also another factor that shows the division between the social classes. Many lower classes can not afford health care and can not pay for medicines. The lifespan of the lower class would be lower than that of a higher class due to the fact that higher class can afford better treatments. The American dream would be easier for the upper class to achieve because they can get a better education and better health care. In the Great Gatsby, the class separation is demonstrated through the two sides; West Egg and East Egg. Only wealthy people with a social class live in east Egg

When you are placed in a subject or category based on wealth, style, smarts, etc. you are being put into a class system. Journalist have written articles about the class system being assigned at birth. Some individuals are chosen with little to no say. A baby has no way of avoiding assignment to a certain class. They children were given a drug in their system which places them. The classes can range from poor to rich, strong to weak, or smart to idiotic. We are placed into these “classes” in many ways. Katniss Everdeen from the book hunger games was placed into a classed society were the wealthy and stylish individuals were separated into districts. Katniss is in a non wealthy and is put into district 12 where they have to fend for themselves and gather their own resources. You are looked at as part of a category. You are judged by appearance, wealth, whatever decision you made or genetic aspect you have no control over. Many people would like to stop this continuous judgment but there isn't a real way to stop it. It has made our society the way it is now. This could be just the baby steps toward a dystopian or utopian universe. Everybody is divided into their own groups which avoid interfering of one another. No one too wealthy affects anyone too wealthy.

Every person has a different idea of self worth. Worth has been linked to success and materials in this capitalistic and materialistic world. The United States wrote in its declaration of independence how each citizen has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and this saying has lasted throughout the generations. Class divisions have been set to distinguish between the lowest, the middle, and the ultra wealthy. These classes leave a lasting effect on the people and their idea of worth. To grow old in a nation where your life is deemed to be low class can negatively affect mental health and how people see themselves. Being born into a certain class will automatically place you beneath a percent and above others. What

Race still predominantly plays a role in everyday classism. Discriminatory housing practices traps minorities in the lower class for generations. Moreover, America’s healthcare system unfair to people who have low income. Also, Public transportation does not properly serve the needs of those who use it; as well as, it makes it formidable to secure, and maintain a stable job. Additionally, education for the poor unequal in graduation rates; along with, a social polarization against lower class students. Classism in America is an old, yet consistent problem that, creates an unfair economic divide of

After reading Michael Zweig's “The Working Class Majority: America's Best Kept Secret”, I read and was able to determine his own perspective of class. Zweig says that the United States is not a middle class society and that the majority of Americans today are part of the working class. He defines class as power, power in the workplace, cultural, economic, and political and in the larger society and not so much the income. I think he defines class as power due to the fact that we as people have the power to experience class in many ways. We are all born and raised differently and all come from cultural backgrounds. He briefly explains how there is a high class and low class depending how you were raised. I can agree with him on that statement to an extent personally due to the fact that sometimes the worst parents in the universe can raise you, but you alone can show yourself a thing or two about morals and life lessons simply by living them. That does not mean that your parents don’t play a

Concept 1: I come to realize that classism is degree of difference based on social perceived class, which is all teetering on one paycheck. I also come to understand, from the movie American Winter, that middle class people are finding themselves, laid off, foreclosed, and unable to pay their utility bills causing so many people in our own community to be one paycheck from poverty, eviction and homelessness. The middle class is working hard one day and the next day going to homeless shelters, food banks and even selling their own plasma just to put food on the table (Gantz 2013). Homeless shelters are quickly

"Class Consciousness Matters" by David Moberg and "A Nation of Grinders" by David Brooks both chronicle views on social mobility. “Class Consciousness Matters” argues that the idea of a self-made man is a myth. The article also articulates the point that the social class in which one comes from has lasting effects on the possibility of one’s social mobility. On the contrary, “A Nation of Grinders” argues that the social class in which one comes from has no impact on one’s future success but rather; one’s morals, worth ethic, and education determine one’s social mobility. I will examine the definitions of class and success as well as beliefs provided by each author.