We know that in America, those who are wealthy, belong to a status group (in Weber’s sense of having a particular lifestyle, standards, etc.), and hold many positions of power. Has the majority of American society, including those who are not at the top, bought into the notion that the wealthy are somehow worthier than the rest? If so, which facets of American society?

One of the most prominent sociologists, Max Weber, formulated the theory of status groups. As per Weber, status groups refer to a set of people who can be distinguished on the basis of non-economic qualities like prestige, honor, ethnicity, race, etc. In the USA, the wealthy do belong to a status group. So, have the Americans come to believe that the wealthy are worthier than the rest because of this distinction? Well, let us read further to find out.