Social class in us

Social class is the perhaps greatest cultural influence on persons in the United States. Nearly all cultural aspects of mundane interactions and consumer behavior in the US are guided by a person's location within the country's social structure. While American society is commonly divided into three or five socio-economic classes, there may be many more distinct groups that could be identified as constituting social classes. Social class is generally described as a combination of educational attainment, income and occupational prestige. There are, however, no clearly defined class boundaries and the nature of any class limits remains arbitrary.Even though most Americans today identify themselves as middle class, American society and its culture are considerablely more fragmented.^[17][16][1] If applied to include the majority of Americans, the term middle class would include white collar professionals such as economists with a median income of $72,000 alongside medical assistants with a median income of $24,610American society is generally divided into five social classes, each with its own sub-culture. The most commonly identified classes are the upper class which consists of multiple corporate and social elites, the upper middle class which consists of highly educated white collar professionals, the middle middle class which largely consists of so called "Para-professionals" (Thompson & Hickey, 2005) with some college education or a Bachelor's degree, the working class (or lower middle class) which includes closely supervised clerical pink and blue collar workers, and the lower class which consists of those with the lowest incomes, lowest educational attainments and least prestigious occupations. Each of these commonly identified social classes feature distinct lifestyles, consumption patterns and values. Early sociologist-economist Thorstein Veblen, for example, noted that those at the very top of the social ladder engage in conspicuous leisure as well as conspicuous consumption. Upper middle class persons commonly identify education and being cultured as prime values. Persons in this particular social class tend to speak in a more direct manner that projects authority, knowledge and thus credibility. They often tend to engage in the consumption of so-called mass luxuries, such as designer label clothing. A strong preference for natural materials and organic foods as well as a strong health consciousness tend to prominent features of the upper middle class. Middle class individuals in general value expanding one's horizon, partially because they are more educated and can afford greater leisure and travels. Working class individuals take great pride in doing what they consider to be "real work," and keep very close-knit kin networks that serve as a safeguard against frequent economic instability. Working class Americans as well as many of those in the middle middle class may also face occupation alienation. In contrast to upper middle class professionals who are mostly hired to conceptualize, supervise and share their thoughts, many Americans enjoy only little autonomy or creative latitude in the workplace.^] As a result white collar professionals tend to be significantly more satisfied with their work. More recently those in the center of the income strata, who may still identify as middle class, have faced increasing economic insecurity, supporting the idea of a working class majority. Health and income-Income also had a significant impact on health as those with higher incomes had better access to health care facilities, higher life expectancy, lower infant mortality rate and increased health consciousness. While the United States lacks a universal health care system similar to those found in many other post-industrialized developed nations across Europe and Asia, 85% of the US population were insured in 2005. Yet, discrepancies seem to remain beyond the difference between insured and uninsured. In 2006 Harvard researchers divided the US into "eight Americas."^[27] Life expectancy ranges from 84.9 years for the 10,400,000 Asian Americans who had an average per capita income of $21,566. Urban African Americans with an average per capita income of a mere $14,800 had a life expectancy of merely 71.1 years.^[27] Furthermore, the United States like other post-industrial nations saw increased health consciousness among persons of higher social status. Persons of higher status are less likely to smoke, more likely to exercise regularly and be more conscious of their diet.^[28] Additionally, poor Americans are more likely to consume lower quality, processed foods. One can therefore conclude that low socio-economic status contributes to a person's likelihood of being obese.^[29][30] One does of course, need to note than any statements or research connecting health consciousness and income are generalizations, as are most other statements made in regards to the diverse culture of the United States.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Education in the USA	\|	American family

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.004 сек.