Social stratification and individual mobility in the US manifest themselves through social factors, such as ethnicity, gender, race, and economic status. Social mobility refers to the movement of households, individuals, or families within their communal strata. There are three systems of stratification which include class, slavery, and estate systems. Slavery is a closed system, where there is ownership of people and the existence of a master-servant relationship. It developed in the USA as a result of the large plantations that required continuous labor.
The Estate system focuses on the control of land ownership. Lands were controlled by wealthy people and people in powerful positions in society. The control of land was practiced by wealthy families who depended on slaves or serfs to work (Reeves & Guyot, 2017). The third type, which is the class system, involves social ranking, and a person born into it can either move upward or downward in the class. Class systems, according to Karl Marx, are based on three areas of the society’s strata, which include power, prestige, and wealth (US Census Bureau, n.d.).Unlike the estate system, the class system accords an individual with the opportunity of moving up the socioeconomic ladder.
In social stratification, individuals are sorted distinctly in society either by education, wealth, race, or power. In the recent findings from the US Census Bureau, 47.4% of the state’s population over the last ten years attained college degrees (Reeves & Guyot, 2017). This educational attainment rate is higher among the native than it is among foreigners. The need to break the chains of poverty and generational poverty has been the main factor fueling the need for education.
The US Census Bureau (n.d.) records that learned women comprise 50.52% of the population, while men constitute 49.2 %. In 2019, the educational attainment for the Whites was 40.1%, Blacks – 26.1%, Asians – 58.1%, and Hispanics – 18.8% all of which acquired a bachelor’s degree or higher education (U.S Census Bureau, n.d.). Concerning gender, black women make up for the largest percentage of those attaining higher levels of education (Reeves & Guyot, 2017). In terms of annual income in the US, Asians have 10.7% income, Blacks – 9.8%, and Whites and Hispanic – 7.8% (U.S Census Bureau, n.d.). Generally, women of all ethnic groups and races tend to earn less than men. The white male gender in the US remains to have the most power, comprising 75.1%, while minority groups form 24.9% (U.S Census Bureau, n.d.). Over the years, they have had senior managerial positions in private and public enterprises in the US. Moreover, the powerful legislators involved in law enforcement are usually men (Kang, 2010). For example, in the Trump administration, there are more white males, and out of the 24 leaders, only three are Black, Asian, or Hispanic. In summary, social stratification varies, and it is attributed to various factors, including age, race, gender, education, and class.
The class system uses such variables as education attainment, level of income, as well as knowledge and skills to different social groups. Men constitute a majority of the powerful population in the US. Similarly, the Whites are the most educated people, and they occupy a larger percentage of managerial positions. Instead of using factors that cannot be changed to mark the various strata, society should focus on everyone’s contribution to the economy.
References
Kang, M. (2010). Five. Black people “Have Not Been the Ones Who Get Pampered.” In The Managed Hand. California University Press.
Reeves, R. V., & Guyot, K. (2017). Black women are attaining more college degrees, but that alone won’t close race gaps. Brookings.
US Census Bureau. (n.d.). Population and housing unit estimates.