The Tem Social Class

Today the tem social class is generally used to describe the overall rank of people in society. (Dolby & Weis, 2012). People who are grouped in the same social have similar social standings within their community. They have similar lifestyles due to their similar occupations, income levels and common tastes. Social class is as much a state of being as it is of having. Class also is a question of what one does with one’s money and how a person defines his/her role in society. Sociologists have long stressed that individuals value goods because they define their social position in relation to associates in lower or higher status positions. Patterns of social communities evolve whereby some members get more resources than others as benefit of

He asserted that society was ordered along several hierarchies, with class and status being the principal stratification dimensions. Class, for Weber, was largely an economic category. It has been variously associated with occupation, wealth, or, more broadly, life chances. Weber stated, “the factor that creates class is unambiguously economic interest, and indeed, only those interests involved in the existence of the market." (Cox, 1950, p. 224). The factors occupation, income and wealth are of critical importance when analysing consumer behaviour as what a person does for a living not only determines how much the family has to spend, but also determines the deference given to family

(Hill & Stamey, 1990). The homeless have little means to source income which results in them scavenging for food, shelter and warmth. The difficulty involved in earning money through recycling means many have no other option other than begging. However “when money is available, homeless persons will splurge and treat themselves to something special.” (Hill & Stamey, 1990, p. 311). This creates different rankings in the homeless community and gives those earning income more power. Recycling for monetary reward has also been identified by Easwar Iyer and Rajib Kashyap. They discovered that people from lower class backgrounds are more likely to recycle when monetary rewards are involved. People in lower class society are more aware of their consumption and are less likely to waste which also places them in a more likely position to actively recycle. (Iyer & Kashyap,