Social Stratification and The Importance of Class

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is a phrase that all Americans are familiar with, for it outlines our American values and sets up our declaration of independence. Many Americans consider themselves part of a nation of opportunity for all, regardless of race, gender or nationality, yet hardly do we ever choose to question whether or not this is actually true. As Americans there are certain values that we hold very dear, for example freedom, equality and opportunity. These are the values our nation is based upon, but are these standards actually held up in our modern society? I will argue that although our nation prides itself on its equality and freedom; in reality we do not hold up these values and are faced with inequality and imbalance.

The modern American class system outlines many of the inequalities that plague our nation. In a country that prides itself on equality, there is a lot of evidence that point to social stratification and the importance of class. According to the 2010- 2011 American Community Survey, “46.2 million Americans live below the poverty line. This number includes 21.9% of children under eighteen, 27.5% of African Americans, and 25.3% of Hispanics” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). With such a high number of people in poverty, they must be doing something wrong. Why would a country that is so founded on equality let 47 million people live in a state of destitution unless there was some reasoning behind it? Well, there is little to no reasoning, in actuality many of the people living in poverty are in that situation for no reason other than that the class system in flawed. For example, children born into poverty are more likely to stay in poverty and then have their own children, creating a cycle...

... middle of paper ...

...d indeed have a free and equal country. It would without a doubt be hard to uproot all of the disparity, inequality and imbalance that is characteristic of modern day America, but if there is one characteristic of Americans that has stood the test of time, it is our persistence, and it is that persistence that will bring freedom, happiness, equality back to our nation.

Works Cited

Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: New Press, 2010. Print.

Corcoran, M. "Rags to Rags: Poverty and Mobility in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology 21.1 (1995): 237-67. Web. 5 May 2014.

United States Census Bureau. (2010). Data on poverty. In American Community Survey. Accessed 5/4/14.

Gibelman , Margaret.2003. So How Far Have We Come? Pestilent and Persistent Gender Gap in Pay. Social Work 48 ( 1 ): 22 – 32 .