Social Class Analysis

Prior to the “Social Class” lecture, I viewed social class as a concept that refers to a group of people who has a specific amount of wealth. I believed the term was simple, and that the income you earn placed you at the social class you live in. My family and I are in the middle social class, where we are able to pay rent with the pay checks we just earn and invest the rest in savings. On the other hand, I saw those who were high in social class living with luxury items, dining at expensive restaurants, and using complex vocabulary that only people in their social group are able to understand. Other than wealth, I didn’t view people in a social class sharing other interests or characteristics I feel that somewhere when I was learning about social class in general education, I had confused the term with socioeconomic status, confusing the idea
of power and wealth for the two concepts. My understanding of social class is very different from the class definition. Social class is based on more than income; it ties into the characteristics like education, earnings, and occupation. As learned in class, there are different values, materials, and symbols that people associate with different classes.
And, after viewing “People like Us”, my view of social class improved. I am aware of the negative hardships lower social class members face, and it is different seeing a person of higher social class undergoing an exercise to experience what it’s like as lower class individuals. The sessions Jane Elliot hosts shows that treatment does affect performance, leading to how negative attitudes and actions decreases efficiency. I feel that social class plays a significant role in people’s chances to succeed in life, a role large enough to pass decision.
If one starts at the bottom of the rung, it is very difficult for them to get to the top. I feel that a person’s social class determines where they stay in terms of earnings and lifestyle. As negative as that may sound, there are small chances that people leap from the bottom rung to the top step; this includes luck or innovations. In reality, the underclass can move up to the working poor or even the working class, but it is near impossible to reach up to the upper class and top 1%. The card game exercise the class performed in the first week of class is a good example of this. I knew from the beginning, starting at table 7, that I would never make it to table 1 in the allotted time. Now, I imagine that people in society feel like this when they reflect on their current social class, and it upsets me how impossible it is for people to move up in these terms. The exercises and readings have been difficult to realize as reality, but I’m pleased that I am aware of them now instead of being
oblivious.