Does social class still influence people's life chances and lifestyle?

Question

some are saying that social class is not anymore important in defining in people's life chances and identity...what do you think?

Answer 1

I think people who say that are being congenial.

Judging by the literature that has come out even the last 10 years; and judging by how people think they are a class above because of their credit card lifestyle- I would say at very least the perception of class is till present; and still causes divisions and tensions.

Answer 2

It is definitely important. Two persons, one from the upper class and one from the lower class cannot have the same values or goals in life. Their priorities will be different. But the determining factor will be their environment or the way they have been brought up.

Answer 3

In the US, you can rise above it, but you have to work hard or win the lottery!

Answer 4

it will always be a factor.

Answer 5

The social class that we inherit at birth determines almost everything about our identities.  It determines our access to health care, few street people get the same attention and care in a hospital that Ted Kennedy does.

Social Class determines our access to higher education, again, you will find very few Harvard graduates living in Maytag boxes.

  Social Class determines how the law is applied to us...for example, an executive suspected of embezzling millions from a pension fund will be invited by the police for questioning, and arranges with his lawyer a date for surrender.

   On the other hand, a member of the lower class who steals a 6 pack of beer will find himself face down on the pavement, cuffed and thrown in the back of a cruiser in moments, without an agreed upon date of surrender...so much for being equal under the eyes of the law.

   In spite of the generally accepted myth that everyone can rise above their inherited class, those cases are few and far between.  Most people stay in the class that they were born into, but with a class system, as opposed to a Caste arrangement, at least there is a chance at vertical mobility.

Answer 6

Most sociologists will agree that social class INFLUENCES people's life chances and lifestyles.  They will disagree on the degree to which it impacts those things.

Answer 7

It can give you a good start in life, but ultimately, you create your own life.

Answer 8

It is important first to ask what you mean by class. The answer might depend on where you are. I'm in the UK and in Europe, sociologists define class in many different ways. You have got to know what class is, or at least the definition of class you favour, before you can work out if it influences people. Definitions of class range from Marx (a person's relationship to the means of production) to one which either defines class by what you have or what you do (Weber).  In the UK, traditionally, class is often seen by non-sociologists as personal qualities, educational attainment and values and middle class people talk a lot about middle class values.  I think there is some truth in that.

So, a case scenario: you are working class, ie. your parents are manual workers.  You can either accept you will have a life just like your parents or you can gain additional qualifications, go to university and become a sociologist. According to Marx, whatever you do, you would still be in the same position according to the means of production and you would continue to be a 'worker'. Alternatively, you could argue that your education and subsequent role entitles you to move to a different social class position because your lifestyle would be different from your parents. However, when you go home, you probably continue to act as you always did. In this scenario, you would have different identities in different contexts. Perhaps we all have more than one social class position and the choices we make, which are probably the result of our upbringing and also our environment, influence our life chances.

What I think you are really asking is if class as a way of seeing social activity is still relevant. It became unfashionable some years ago to use class as a way of seeing the world. I think class is still a relevant variable for social enquiry, if only because people still define themselves by their social class position - or in the modern world by what they own, the job they do. etc.

Answer 9

I think that's a load of bullcrap.

Someone who starts at the top is going to have a better/more materialistically gratifying life than someone who starts at the bottom, plain and simple.