Social Class Research Paper

It is not easy to change your social situation in this world. Usually, people stay in the same social class they were born into. The rich stay rich. The citizens in the middle class stay in the middle class. We consider this system we have created “common sense.” That should not be the way our world works. The mentality of the world should be: If one works hard in life, they should be given the opportunity to move up in life. In the world we live in, that is not the case, and society is the main cause of this. In our society, we decide social status by how much money an individual earns. The amount of money we make is determined by the job we have. If a person has a job considered “low” or “easy,” like working as a cashier, people look down
upon them. We disregard the fact that in order to get an acceptable, well paying job, a higher form of education, such as college, is needed. In order to fulfil this, money is a necessity. This is an endless loop that is hard to sustain, especially if you are in the lower class.
The people that fulfil these jobs often get low wages. These low wages benefit the upper classes, but disadvantage the lower. The upper classes are able to obtain more and more wealth, while the lower class continues to struggle. These people living in the lower class work 2-3 jobs, and have several families living in one home. They require some form of aid, such as food stamps, Medicare, W.I.C., etc. just to get by and sustain their family. How can they do all this, and also further their education to better themselves? It is nearly impossible, and because of this are stuck in low class jobs.
According to common sense, our world is a “fair” and “just” place. Barbara Ehrenreich was hesitant to believe this theory, and participated in an experiment. She worked at these “easy,” low class jobs for more than a year as a waitress, cleaning motel rooms, and at Walmart (Ehrenreich, 2001). She made less than $6.00 an hour and was barely able to pay for her rent and daily needs (Ehrenreich, 2001). After a year of participating in this experiment, she concluded that these jobs society claims are “so simple” were not as simple (Ehrenreich, 2001).
The people who worked at these low class jobs were not uneducated, not even close.
These people were just as clever as doctors, or engineers. They were just so used to being told they were “unintelligent” or that they were “below other people,” they started to believe it. They believed that their job title defined their abilities. Why should they strive for more when all people will see them as is the Walmart employee, the maid, or the waitress? This is the mentality society puts into everyone’s head. With a negative, stuck mindset like that, people will not move up in life, no matter how capable they are of it.
We are all guilty of this mindset. I know there have been quite a few times where I looked at the cashier at Walmart or a fast food restaurant, and thought I was better than them. I looked at them, and their job title, and accounted them as nothing. I know if I thought that, many others have, too. When you are surrounded by that opinion for too long, you start to believe it.
We live in a society where we believe everyone has a role, and everyone should stick with theirs. We do not believe in people moving up, or bettering themselves in life. Society, in fact, makes improving your lifestyle nearly impossible. We pay these hard-working citizens low wages to keep them from advancing, and it usually works. It is not easy to change your social situation in general, but with a society like ours, it is nearly
impossible.