Chapter Eight: Social Class in the United States

Family life, education, religion and politics The lower class of the social class,

A society that restricts access to opportunities for some people, a society that focuses on some people's beliefs

I. What is the social class? A: Sociologists do not have a clear, agreed definition of social class.

II. Sociological model of social class A. How many classes exist in industrial society is a controversial issue, but there are two.

IV. Social mobility A. There are three basic types of social mobility. Generation, structure, and

Despite personal efforts, they usually judge individuals based on their minimal identity.

In the United States, individual social classes have wide-ranging influence. Social class refers to individual groupings based on hierarchical wealth, income, education, occupation, and social networks (other factors are sometimes taken into account). The status of a person in the social class hierarchy may affect, for example, health, family life, education, religious beliefs, political participation, and the experience of the criminal justice system. American social class is a controversial issue and social scientists do not agree on models, definitions, and even whether there are basic kinds of problems of different kinds. Many Americans believe in simple three-level models, including wealthy or upper class, middle class, poor, or working class. More complicated models proposed by social scientists describe up to 12 levels

The middle class of the United States is the social class of America. Although this concept is often ambiguous in public opinion and the use of common words, contemporary social scientists proposes several seemingly consistent American middle class theories. According to the class model used, the middle class occupies 25% to 66% of households. One of the first major studies of the American middle class was white-collar workers: the American middle class announced by sociologist C. Light Mills in 1951. Later sociologists like Hamilton University's Dennis Gilbert usually divided the middle class into two groups. Approximately 15% to 20% households are senior or specialized middle classes with highly educated paid experts and managers. Approximately one-third of families are middle class, consisting mainly of quasi-experts, skilled craftsmen, and junior managerial positions.

As with all social classes in the United States, there is no clear answer as to what is middle class and what is not middle class. Sociologists such as Dennis Gilbert, James Hensling, William Thompson, Joseph Hickey, etc. classified the middle class into two parts and proposed a class model occupying 47 to 49% of the population. Senior middle class or professional class constitutes the highest class of the middle class, consists of highly educated and highly paid experts and has considerable work autonomy. Middle class low end - called middle class or middle class - consists of quasi-professionals, craftsmen, clerical staff and sales personnel who usually have university degrees and are supervised very gently