Social Class In Society

Chapter 2 of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison was about how the way society sees crime can be distorted by the media, the justice system, and the information we are presented with about what crime really is. It points out that medical neglect, known environmental hazards, dangerous workplace conditions, and poverty cause more injuries yearly than murders, assaults, and robberies. Most people see the latter as “crime,” but not the former.

American history is built on affairs regarding freedom and equality, but negative issues thought to be conquered in the past have also become present day problems. When confronting controversial social, economic, and political topics in America today, the line between fact and opinion blurs. People across the country develop their own views on national issues, based only on personal experience and what the media tells them. Whether it be intention or ignorance, Americans are not supplied with enough information to accurately confront the major, national problems that lie just inside this country’s borders. Americans are unaware of slavery and socioeconomic issues that exist around them, which in turn presents a concern when trying to combat

In America after World War Two, citizens were split between classes based on their economic stability. Americans today still look at these classes and define these people as better off or worse off than the next person. Why do people judge others for having less money than them? Why do employers send lower class citizen away when they need the money the most? These are some question that citizens in the lower or middle class have when they are looking at their position in America’s economic system. Research shows that lower class citizens face more hardships to better their lives than those who are more stable.

According to this theory, people are involved in crimes because they are not in a position to achieve their goals making them to be frustrated and has the following sources: A person aspiring to become wealth and famous but these aspirations are impossible making them to engage in vandalism or physical attacks which are antisocial forms of behaviors, a person may experience strains due to removal of highly valued stimuli such as migration to new residence will make him/her to get involved in criminal activities in efforts to revenge the loss of highly valued stimuli.

The American Dream is notable to be an aspiration for a better, wealthier, and joyful life for everyone of every class. For most Americans, this requires going to college and getting a college degree, getting a good paying job, buying a house with the white picket fence and a dog, and starting a family. Although this seems wonderful, a large amount of the American population believes that the Dream has changed extremely or doesn’t believe in the dream because of increased prices in society, the price of tuition being unaffordable, as well as the unemployment rate skyrocketing and lower job growth. While some American citizens believe it has changed, others believe that the American Dream has not changed.

“A man can be rich, but only a nation can be wealthy. And if anyone suffers from poverty, our whole country bears the shame.” (Mosley para. Intro) In the article “Show Me the Money” by Walter Mosley, he talks about the three economic classes, who makes up these classes, and what defines them. The upper class, middle or working class, and the poor or poverty class. Where does all the money the rich get come from? It comes from the blood, sweat, and tears of the working middle class.

Stereotypes are seen as overgeneralized ideas, images, or beliefs of a person based on a group of people. Stereotypes can either be taken or said in a negative or positive way but mostly seen in a negative way. Stereotypes are formed on a life experience, idea or a belief a person may have towards one person based on the person’s gender, race, religion or social class. The most common stereotypes are of the social classes which are the: upper, middle and lower class.

Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people. It is also extremely difficult to get a well-paying job in order to pay for housing, healthcare, and food. The lack of healthcare, food stamps, and well-paying jobs can result in people turning towards crime because of issues such as mental health, physical health, and employment options.

The chart shows social stratification and the types of class based on the levels of wealth, power. essentials, and shocks Social Stratification: how the individuals and social groups are divided in society and inequalities of wealth and power. Upper Class: The upper class appear on the top of social stratification. These people

I believe social classes have defined our society in many ways. In America, they separate people into three different classes: the upper class, middle class, and the lower or working class. Based on wealth and various occupations, social classes determine the population’s status in society. Social classes today define individuals and influence their actions. Although people born in a certain class may choose to stay there, they also have the choice of leaving. I think heritage, circumstances, and choices all define a person’s social class.

As often as the phrases socio-economic status (SES) and social class are used interchangeably amongst colloquial language, there is an important difference despite at first glance being difficult to distinguish between the two. Before we go into depth about class being a possible contributing element to parenting style, it is

Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. It has been argued that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people. It is also extremely difficult to get a well-paying job in order to pay for housing, healthcare, and food. The lack of healthcare, food stamps, and well-paying jobs can result in people turning towards crime because of issues such as mental health, physical health, and employment options.

Those in the authority position of society have control over the limited resources for which everyone is in competition. As a result, these power struggles allow for the social order to be governed by the powerful, rather than the consensus. Moreover, the powerful maintain their dominant positon and safeguard their privilege with their abundant resources. Conflict theorists, therefore, believe that theft is due to economic equality and would justify theft since the underprivileged need the limited resources monopolized by the wealthy in order to survive. Additionally, the laws that dictate punishment are created by those in power positions. According to the conflict theory, the powerful will make laws that benefit them, so the punishment for crime may be exorbitant as the criminal is directly taking from the powerful. The impact of this theft on the community of the powerless classes will most likely cause social strife as they see the forced inequality they must endure. The theft, however, will have no effect on the wealthy as they still have an abundance of

The two major theories this research paper will highlight is the strain theory coined by Robert Merton and social disorganization theory by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay reason for using the same is that they are old theories, but often relates to modern criminality and delinquency, and also focuses on social structure and social functioning in society.

Social structure theories look at the formal and informal economic and social arrangements of society that cause crime and deviance. The negative aspects of social structure such as disorganization within a family, poverty, and disadvantages because of lack of success in educational areas are looked upon as the producers of criminal behavior (Schmalleger, 2012). The three major types of social structure theories are Social Disorganization, Strain, and Culture Conflict (Schmalleger, 2012).