The Status Seekers

Manuel Rodriguez
History of America post World War II

1. What does Packard’s The Status Seekers tell us about the United States in the 1950’s? What does it omit?
The Status Seekers tends to tell us as readers a lot on American social classes during the 1950’s. It showed how little by little there was starting to form big gaps in the social classes in the United States, and what exactly were the factors that were causing these gaps. Americans began to worry about the relationship between social class and economic growth. Many felt that although economic growth was beneficial for everyone as a whole, that it’d deepen the division in the social classes. This book also spoke on how the growth of prosperity caused the economy to rise and the technological growth also contributed greatly.
2. What evidence is there in The Status Seekers that the atmosphere of the cold war, especially the American struggle with communism, shaped Packard’s approach?
Throughout the reading there is much evidence that express the tension and sense of worry in American society during the 1950’s, especially during the scare of communism. The atmosphere was a sense of urgency and
worry because of the critical time in American life. This was all caused by the spreading of communism, McCarthyism and the spread of nuclear arms such as the atomic bomb. It seemed like a time where there was “much to cheer about and much to worry about.”
3. Where does Packard articulate a challenge to those who believed that prosperity had helped Americans fulfill the American Dream? How effective is this challenge?
Packard articulated the challenge that fulfilling the “American Dream” could be done but with many negatives came along with it. Negatives such as women were in a sense restrained and limited to just the domestic part of life and were not able to branch out. Another negative is that the “American Dream” tended to appeal as well as only be possible to be achieved by white upper class families. The American Dream was described as living in a suburban area, with women and men living in two separate “spheres” but coming together for a “common experience.” The top 5 percent of the population controlled the nation’s wealth, a small percentage with a lot of money who just so happened to be upper class Caucasian families living this “American Dream.” Apparently this challenge is effective in fulfilling the dream because it allows the women of the nation to worry more about the home while the men worried about the workplace. During the war women were encouraged to go out and take the jobs the men in the war left behind but once the war ended they were asked to go back to the domestic lifestyle. They were told to “value domesticity over autonomy and liberation.”
4. What kinds of evidence does Packard draw on for his analysis? What other types of evidence might have he used? How would an academic sociologist approach the questions Packard addressed?
Packard used much evidence to support his thoughts and opinions in his analysis of the society. He uses the evidence of how the “perfect American” was portrayed as. They were portrayed as Caucasian men in gray suites, representing the wealthy part of the nation. How more men were trading in their blue collars for white ones, and women were being pushed to view themselves as subordinate to men. He’s also used evidence of fraternities and how they’re portrayed in many college universities. That there are many prestigious fraternities who at times go through long periods of time without adding a minority member to their group. I feel an academic sociologist would approach the questions Packard addressed the same way. He/she would say how because of the broad economic division of these social classes, it affects our way of thinking and overall entire way of life. It affects our children, what schools they attend and sometimes even their progression. People then begin to accept their status and feel there is nothing they can do about it.
9. Are Packard’s findings, concerns, and suggestions still relevant today? I feel that Packard’s views are still relevant today, but to a certain extent.
I feel that women are sometimes still constrained to the domestic life but it is nowhere close to how it was back in the 1950’s. However, in the 1950’s they were treated unequal and sometimes subordinate to men and although it’s not as obvious today sometimes these views still are shown in other ways, just like racism. Racism still exists but is seen and expressed in different ways, same as views on women and their equal rights. We still live in a country where women get paid 75 cents working in the same job to the men’s $1. We as a society are yet to see a women become president and a lot of the time in the workplace there is a lack of respect for women in higher power. Men now feel degraded or demeaning when a women is their
superior. 10. Analyze and critique university or local communities in the terms provided by Packard. Local communities and to some extent universities all tend to attract and contain the same group of people. Just like how suburbs tend to attract white upper class families, it seems as most communities whether rich or poor all are built and founded upon to “reel in” a certain group of people both in an economic stand point as well as ethnic. Housing projects were built in what was considered “bad neighborhoods” throughout New York City specifically for low income minorities. Same way how suburbs and gated communities were built for the wealth upper class Caucasian part of the population, these housing projects were built to attract a specific group of people. All the people in the community are living pretty much the same life. The same goes for universities and their fraternities. If you were to look at some major fraternities, not a lot can say they encourage diversity. A lot of the prestigious ones tend to consists of members who are primarily white who come from high income families, just like suburbs. 11. How much has changed since Packard wrote the Status Seekers and how much has remained constant in U.S. society? I feel that a lot has changed since Packard wrote the Status Seekers, but nothing really entirely disappeared. For instance, many women aren’t as domesticated as women back during the time the Status Seekers was written. Back during those times, it was out of the ordinary for women to work outside of the home, and now it’s more out of the ordinary for women to not work and there aren’t too many women who are “house moms.” However, it is still constant that women are not treated equal to men, us not being able to call a women our president. Also, the inequalities in ethnicity is still present. Housing projects still exist in certain neighborhoods targeting a specific group of people as well as with suburbs.