Social class in America - Essay Example

Today, anyone can join the upper class by making tons of money and they can rise from obscurity to being members of the upper class by virtue of their wealth and hard work. It is worth noting that in the past and even in some traditional societies today, one could not get entrance into the upper class unless they are of noble birth or born in a traditionally wealthy family even if one is not wealthy. In fact, in the old days the aristocrats who were often the ruling class considered it disgraceful to work and left all the working to the working class who were oppressed and often forced to squat in lands of the nobility.

However, this changed with time and today, moving from middle to upper class is easy if one was to achieve considerable wealth, which will result in a higher social standing. Notwithstanding, there are a few American families that are informally considered elevated because of their histories such as the Kennedys who have been often called the American royal family. However, even such informal recognition cannot be separated from the wealthy they own and at the end of the day; money counts more than a highbrow history.

In line with the definition, the upper class are considered thus because of the way society views them and this make them feel superior owing to their financial power they wield. Immediately below the upper class there is the middle class, they consist of majority of the Americans working white-collar jobs who make up the bulk of the population. In addition, they are considered subordinate to the upper class, chiefly because of their comparatively lower financial situation. In addition, the American middle class consist of professionals such as doctors, teachers and dentist and other professionals; this class also includes many of Americans with small business and those working in offices as accountants, clerks and civil servants.

For instance, Bill Gates is a member of the upper class while many of those working for him in Microsoft, in different capacities such as programmers and accountants, are mostly in the middle class. This distinction is generally based on the economic prowess although the rift between him and his employees is of near unbelievable proportions. Being the most populous middle class is inevitably the most influential, as such even in politics; they are the main voters, which explain why the two presidential candidates are both going out of their ways to show that they have their interests at heart.

However, it is noteworthy that the upper class has the ultimate say, since they are the ones who bankroll contestants, as such they can influence a candidate campaigning power by supplying them with more funds. Therefore, they will have indirect control of the middle class who as usual will be manipulated into thinking they are making decisions. Finally, the class holding the lowest social position in is lower class, which was traditionally known as the working class, however, the work done by this class often includes menial jobs such as cleaners and other lowly paid blue collar workers.

Furthermore, due to recent economic troubles, unemployment has forced many Americans formerly middle class to end up in this class so their description as working class is not entirely correct. This class includes the homeless and many others living below the poverty line often dependent on welfare. In this class, one will also find illegal immigrants who