stratification, class systems are the most open—that is, they permit the greatest
amount of social mobility, which is the ability to move up—or down—in the
rankings.Class systemsare systems of stratification based on economic position,
and people are ranked according to achieved status (as opposed to ascribed status).
Each system of stratification creates a belief system that declares it legitimate, that
those at the top “deserve” to be there through divine plan, the natural order of
things. Class systems “feel” the most equitable to us today because they appear to
justify one’s ranking solely on his or her own initiative, hard work, and talent.
Social Class
Many Americans believe that a class system is a relic from our European past and
that it exerts far less influence—if any—in the modern world. After all, the very idea
of American democracy is that an individual should be able to rise as far as his or her
talents, aspirations, and hard work can take that person. And, since we believe we
are capable of virtually unlimited upward mobility, we believe that we can leave our
“class of origin” (the class we are born into) behind and easily join a higher class.
We also have seen ample evidence that the importance of class is increasing. The
recent commentary, for example, on the rescue and cleanup efforts in New Orleans
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina exposed persistent class and racial inequali-
ties. And sociologists also understand that class remains the single best predictor of
one’s “life chances”—one’s eventual place in the economic and social hierarchy.
If we credit class at all, it is the class to which we are aspiring, not the class into
which we were born. But it turns out your class of origin is a very reliable measure
of where you will end up. Your class background is just about the best predictor of
many things, from the seemingly important—what college you go to (or if you go to
college at all), what job you have—to the seemingly trivial—what your favorite
sexual position is, what music you like, and even what you probably had for dinner
last night.
Class also operates on the global level. Just as there are upper-, middle-, and
lower-class people, there are upper-, middle-, and lower-class countries. These, too,
shift and change over time—a tycoon country today might be a pauper country
tomorrow—but the hierarchy of rich and poor, weak and strong, high status and low
status doesn’t seem to go away.
SOCIAL CLASS 209Z Class inequality often
combines other forms of
inequality to create a complex
hierarchical order. The govern-
ment’s response to Hurricane
Katrina in 2005 exposed
persistent class and racial
inequalities in the United
States.