In his article Class in America, Gregory Mantsios raises the acute question of a person’s social success dependence on class in modern America. Although the division into social classes is very arbitrary, nevertheless, in reality, there is a significant stratification of the U.S. population into various class categories. There are a number of models for dividing U.S. society into classes. The simplest of these is the division of people into “rich,” “middle,” and “poor,” but in fact, of course, the situation is much more complicated, as Mantsios shows in his work (350). Using clear evidence, the author attempts to demonstrate to the readers how the class affiliation of U.S. citizens directly affects their lives.
The lack of formal division into classes reflects the desire of Western society to increase faith in the famous “American Dream” which is easily achieved with the presence of entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. Mantsios rightly notes that the issue of intergenerational mobility and equality of opportunity has attracted considerable attention in discussions in the United States due to the rise in inequality (352-354). In the example of two white males and one black female, the author shows how race and parents’ class background influences educational possibilities and further social life pass of any American (Mantsios 364-365). It is believed that the hallmark of the United States is that any of the lower strata of society always has a chance to reach heights. However, in reality, there are social classes in the United States, and this fact is a very significant obstacle to social mobility. In particular, this is due to the difference in educational opportunities among representatives of different classes.
Social factors associated with the stratification of society into social groups influence the educational content. In fact, Mantsios shows that the ruling classes in the United States today claim a monopoly on general cultural and developmental knowledge. The main strata of the population receive only the knowledge that is necessary for everyday life and practical activity. At the same time, depending on the level of students’ readiness for mastering educational programs of higher education, universities continue to ‘broadcast’ unequal socio-economic conditions that take place among applicants. The impact of race and sex is also significant in modern America, as it was centuries ago. At the same time, areas with a high degree of segregation by race or income are characterized by lower social mobility: “a white couple has less than 10% chance of being poor where a Hispanic or Black couple has a 25% chance… a black or Hispanic female has a 50% chance of being poor” (Mantsios 365). In some regions, especially in Southern states, the situation is even more aggravated.
The separation of the classes in the US is of alarming nature. The idea of meritocracy, which is widespread in the United States, works much better in practice in Europe. Mantsios claims about the disappearance of the middle class: “The middle class in the United States holds a very small share of the nation’s wealth and that share has declined steadily” (351). The author of the article under consideration states that social inequality is a characteristic of American society today; the gap between the poor and the rich is very large: “The contrast between rich and poor is sharp” (Mantsios 351). America is no longer considered a country of equal opportunities, as they are not always equal. The disappearance of the middle class – main support of both political and economic stability of the state – is fraught with destabilization in society.
Social justice as a fundamental challenge of the 21st century necessitates a significant reduction in the degree of “disunity” of social space. However, the presence of contradictory trends in American society leads to the tendencies of marginalization, the formation of many intermediate social strata. Because of this, stratification processes are accompanied by multiple identification crises. Ultimately, such social processes invariably intensify the politicization of public life and contribute to the growth of imbalance in group relations and the growth of political instability, which is observed today in the United States.
Work Cited
Mantsios, Gregory. Class in America. Myths and Realities. WriteWork, 2003.