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Social class in the United States refers to the idea of grouping Americans by some measure of social status, typically by economic status. However, it could also refer to social status and/or location. [1] The idea that American society can be divided into social classes is disputed, and there are many competing class systems. [2]
In a class society, at least implicitly, people are divided into distinct social strata, commonly referred to as social classes or castes. The nature of class society is a matter of sociological research. [26] [27] [28] Class societies exist all over the globe in both industrialized and developing nations. [29]
Social class is an important theme for historians of the United States for decades. The subject touches on many other elements of American history such as that of changing U.S. education, with greater education attainment leading to expanding household incomes for many social groups.
Fussell argues that social class in the United States is more complex in structure than simply three (upper, middle, and lower) classes.According to Bruce Weber, writing for the New York Times, Fussell divided American society into nine strata — from the idle rich, which he called "the top out-of-sight," to the institutionalized and imprisoned, which he labeled "the bottom out-of-sight."
Social class, according to Marx, is determined by one's relationship to the means of production. There exist at least two classes in any class-based society: the owners of the means of production and those who sell their labor to the owners of the means of production.
Articles relating to social class in the United States, the concept of grouping Americans by some measure of social status, typically economic. There exist several competing definitions of the American class system.
Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. [1] [2] Such social value includes respect, honor, assumed competence, and deference. [3] On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members who treat others well and take initiative. [4]
Illustration from a 1916 advertisement for a vocational school in the back of a US magazine. Education has been seen as a key to social mobility and the advertisement appealed to Americans' belief in the possibility of self-betterment as well as threatening the consequences of downward mobility in the great income inequality existing during the Industrial Revolution.