In todays’s society, individuals and families have the potential to experience changes in their social status and overall lifestyle. The term social mobility refers to the “dynamics of the system of inequality and, in particular, to movement up and down the stratification system.” (Brym and Lie 2012:129) Social mobility can be divided into intragenerational mobility and intergenerational mobility. In this essay, intergenerational mobility will be focused. Intergenerational mobility refers to a change in social position between family members that occurs from one generation to the next (Brym and Lie 2012). For instance, in my life I am very likely to experience intergenerational mobility. My parents born in Vietnam, had a very poor lifestyle …show more content…
My parents were immigrants making me the first generation university student who is aspiring to work in the medical field. It is for this reason, I have the potential to have a greater career and attain a higher status than my parents. The example illustrates that I am independent of my parents allowing for perfect mobility to occur across the generation. Furthermore, in this case it shows how much education can contribute to upward intergenerational mobility. My parents never completed high school and therefore it was a barrier that limited their mobility. In addition, they were not given the same economic opportunity and technological advantages. For example during my parent’s generation technology was not as advanced as it is today. There was little connection to the larger world which meant social networks were small. As a result, my parents had little support when they first came to Canada. Whereas in my generation, the right opportunities and advantages were presented allowing for the ability to move higher. I achieved the status as a University of Toronto student because of my own efforts and hard work. As a result, there is a strong correlation between education and mobility. Furthermore, today there is a more diverse network due to high technological advancements. Hence there is greater opportunities for upward mobility and success in my generation. In addition, the example shows that society …show more content…
Thus, a functionalist may argue that intergenerational mobility exists because they allow for social inequality to continue which gives society stability. Intergenerational mobility would not matter in a society with no inequality. Whereas, when there is great inequality, intergenerational mobility matters because advantages receive when climbing to the top would be huge. When there is differences in wealth and occupational status, those that have an advantage due to better opportunities presented will achieve greater status and mobility in society. In turn, they can contribute more to society by taking on the higher skilled jobs. On the other hand those that lack in opportunity will face consequences of being at the bottom with little mobility. The difference between upward and downward intergenerational mobility will be more drastic. Functionalists would also say that intergenerational mobility is greater thanks to technological advancements. Social relations could now all be linked thus creating stronger solidarity and ties between individuals which aids in an individuals movement up the social
Functionalism argues that inequality is important and necessary because it “motivates people to fill different position in society that are needed for the survival of the whole of society.” [8] The rewards, i.e. wealth, prestige, and power and the resulting wealth gap ar...
I will be analyzing the essay “Class in America --2012”. The topic of this essay is talking about does it matter what your social and economical standings are, and do they play a role in if you succeed in life. I personally agree with this. If someone is hard working and willing to do the job then I feel that they can be successful. Their background, race, and social and economical standings don’t justify everything that they are. Mantsios effectively communicates the phenomenon of stereotyping certain races, genders, and social classes will be more successful than others in America.
A person can choose to work to better their station in life. Through education and job advancement along with desire, people are no longer subjected to a social class they can’t escape. A person’s place in this world can now be set by them when they desire more. There are no longer oppressive laws forbidding the change in status growth. State sponsored educations provided to all citizens give everyone the opportunity to grow and shape their future. Higher education is more accessible than any other period giving people the knowledge and skills to grow into better paying jobs and to find better markets for their skills.
The American Dream, the national promise of equal opportunity and the endless possibilities of economic mobility, has and is still deeply inculcated in American culture. However, there is less economic mobility in the United States than originally thought as proven by many studies of economists, and therefore refutes the basic ideas of the American Dream. Class, one of the major causes to the decrease in economic mobility, remains a sensitive subject in America. This sensitivity stems from popular culture ideals of not debating or discussing class as well as the many myths Americans and foreigners are trapped into believing. Variations in the American life-styles, a component of the ideas of class presented by Mantsios, is another factor to the reduction of economic mobility. This variation is mainly a result of the diversity in the United States and its heterogeneous society. Race, a social construct, is also a major source to economic mobility. Through the help of the media, society has shaped Americans into associating success and wealth with Caucasians, and failure and poverty with minorities. Another major cause to the decline in economic mobility is parental influence, the idea of a child following or straying away from their parent or guardian’s footsteps. Education, America’s token to success, also determines an individual’s economic mobility. In American culture, it is believed that by furthering or completing education automatically guarantees individuals endless opportunities to a job, increased income and upward mobility. In conclusion, class, race, parental influence and education are all interrelated factors to economic mobility.
Structural-functionalist Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore concluded that stratification of society is inevitable because: for society to function its positions must be filled, some positions are more important than others, the more important positions must be filled by the more qualified people, and to motivate the more qualified people to fill these positions they must offer greater rewards. (2012:228) Example of Davis and Moore conclusion is if someone apply for a job as a teacher, they need to be highly qualify in area such as education and experience. For that person to be interest in the job, employer need to offer benefit like retirement plan, vacation time, health insurance, etc… Unlike the position as a teacher, if someone is applying
Despite the typically imaged definition of socioeconomic class being based entirely on the wealth of the individual, there are many complex social factors at play as well. Not only does it stem from Max Weber’s concept of Socioeconomic class (wealth, status, and power), there is a mobility to it as well. Anyone can permanently or temporarily
Both my interviewee and I identify as working class, biracial, and first-generation women. Subsequently, seeing our families struggle through dire financial situations, motivated us to get an education. We understand how difficult it must have been for our them to venture to a new land and face language barriers that prevented them from working in a well-paying career. My interviewee and I understand that we hold systemic privilege by being citizens of the United States and fluent English speakers, a feature our families did not have. Thus, we both believe that pursuing higher education will provide us with stability and the best future for ourselves and our
According to Henslin social, mobility is the movement of individuals, families and groups from one social position to another (Henslin, 2015, p 237-239). It can be viewed in terms of distribution of resources and power among the different social stratification and its effect on the people involved. Stratification is a ranking system for groups of people that continue unequal rewards and life chances in society. Through stratification, society categorizes people and distributes valued resources based upon these categories (Henslin, 2015,p190). The social status of a person is determined by his or her work how much money they have earned and how they move their way up the social class. Social mobility occurs whenever people move across social class boundaries, from one level to another. Mobility can be up or down on the social class ladder but the American Dream is only upward mobility on the social class ladder. The people in the United States are broken down into classes the rich people on top the poor people in the bottom and the middle class in the
Success. Society tends to correlate “success” with the obtainment of a higher education. But what leads to a higher education? What many are reluctant to admit is that the American dream has fallen. Class division has become nearly impossible to repair. From educations such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA to vocational, adult programs, and community, pertaining to one education solely relies on one’s social class. Social class surreptitiously defines your “success”, the hidden curriculum of what your socioeconomic education teaches you to stay with in that social class.
Functionalist argue that stratification is "necessary and beneficial" to a society to ensure the highest qualified individuals will fill the best societal positions. Inequality in the distribution of desirables exist as a device for ensuring that the most important positions are filled by the most qualified people. Certain jobs are more important than others, and those jobs require special skill and talent. The cycle of unequal opportunity is intensifying, and the United States beneficiaries often slander those who are the most systemati...
The growing numbers of income inequality are rapidly increasing and it is absolutely terrifying. In these readings, we explored the thought of a personal problem and a social problem.
Foroohar, Rana. "WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO UPWARD MOBILITY? (Cover Story)." Time 178.19 (2011): 26-34. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
The analytical lens that will be constructed aims to allow for an interpretation of how students who are attempting to be upwardly-mobile are helped with moving beyond roadblocks that prevent mobility. This is mobility is achieved through a combination of adherence to meritocratic systems and the borrowing of cultural capital. I will argue that reproduction occurs when reliance on meritocracy in the educational system and the limited cultural capital of the student’s working-class parent/s are solely employed. In order to move beyond a mere reproduction of the parent’s social class, I argue that the student must interact with individuals or groups from higher social spheres who know how to activate cultural capital in specific instances
Education is very crucial part of my life. There is a rapidly growing demand for a higher education in the nation’s economy. Although a higher level of schooling is difficult to receive, the rewards
University education trains students in academic subjects. But non-academic fields can lead us to success as well. There are countless entrepreneurs, actors/actresses, political leaders, authors, directors, critics, designers, and more who prove that success does not merely depend on having complete education. These non-academic fields require people’s enthusiasm, but not academic knowledge. For example, Abraham Lincoln completed only one year of formal education, yet became a world famous lawyer and the U.S. President. These examples shows tertiary education may not be a necessary factor for success. On the other hand, it is generally believed that university education is necessary for successful life. Education is the key to success because it opens doors for people of all backgrounds, and it expands the human mind with knowledge. Roland (1997) claim that the vast amount of knowledge gained through education prepares individuals to solve problems, teach others, function at a higher level and implement transformational ideas. The 21st century is ever changing, new inventions are coming up non-stop and without proper education, it’s