The stratification system in the United States

The stratification system in the United States

Social stratification offers insights into the categorization of people based on income groups. The classification does not only happen in the U.S but also globally. This essay applies theories of social stratification in comparing the social stratification of the U.S with other countries and in  discusing the causes of economic inequality. It also describes the effects of social stratification on African Americans and discusses the importance of racial equality in eradicating economic disparities.

The current social stratification in the U.S compares to other countries in terms of social mobility. While social mobility in the U.S, characterized by high upwards trends, lower rates mark that of Ireland. The middle class in the U.S is shrinking as most people are moving to the upper-income level, while more people are moving to the middle-class bracket in Ireland (Parlapiano, Gebeloff & Carter, 2015). For instance, the proportions of U.S citizens in the middle-income group decreased to 58% from 63% between 2000 and 2015. In Ireland, the middle-income class increased from 60% to 69% over the same duration of time. The shrinkage in America’s middle-income tier’s in these countries came with an overall rise in median incomes. Hence, the smaller middle-income groups of the U.S still earn more than all other western European countries apart from Germany. However, the U.S has seen fractional inequality growth as its low-income tier stands at 24% while that of Ireland is at 19%. At the same time, the upper-income class practice symbolic interactionism, which is a theoretical approach in which people primarily interact with people who share a similar social standing.

In my understanding of the U.S social stratification system, economic inequality impacts some racial groups more than others due to racism. The racial discrimination manifests itself in the criminal justice practices and the education sector creating earning gaps between various groups of people in the U.S. The inmate population mainly comprises African Americans because justice policies of the U.S have historically targeted Black people. Since the reconstruction, the plans capitalize on the loophole of the 13^th amendment, which is to incarcerate African Americans, a new form of slavery (Fox, 2019). Concerning education, schools evaluate the behavior of Black students differently. African American students face higher penalties for misbehavior than white leaners leading to severe implications such as suspension and expulsion that result in absenteeism and school dropouts. With little education, African Americans earn less, as is provided by Karl Marx’s theory of conflict, whereby the Bourgeoisie exploits the Proletariat (Claussen, 2017). With such, the systematic racism of the U.S contributes to the persistence of race-based economic gaps.

Economic inequality in the U.S has adverse impacts on the minority racial groups in comparison to the broader population. For example, rates of crime and unemployment, levels of education, and the amount of income of African Americans differ from the rest of the people. Of all the violent criminal acts reported to the police, Black males were about thrice likely to be the perpetrators as White males to be the perpetrators (44.8% versus 14.1%). Even though unemployment in the U.S has reduced, the unemployment rate for the Black job seekers is almost as twice as high as that for Whites. The unemployment rate for Whites is just 3%, while that of Blacks is 5.9%, and that of Asians is 2.4%. Black students have higher dropout rates from school that their counterparts from other racial groups. As a result, Blacks are paid less due to the lack of functionalism. The functionalism theory of Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore posits that functional roles are to be rewarded with greater rewards. According to the Racial Wealth Report, the median Black household owns just 2% of the wealth owned by the median White family. Homeownership is skewed towards the white families, given that, by 2017, 77% of white families owned homes compared to just 40% of the Black families.

Implications of achieving a truly “color-blind” society in the U.S include economic equality and economic growth. For example, the community can have a careful balance that recognizes and appreciates ethnic differences but maintain a unified American population. The reason is that racial equality provides the disadvantaged groups with equal opportunities through eliminating discriminatory practices in education and pay gaps within racial groups to enhance financial growth and development. Without such opportunities, such groups of people would remain in the lower-income class. A “color-blind” society is also beneficial for the nation in that, it increases collective success. For instance, research indicates that if the disparities in payment were eliminated across racial groups, the U.S would be 15% richer.

References

Claussen, T. (2017).  Introduction to the special issue on Marx and Marxism. Journal of classical sociology.

Fox, D. (2019). Reproductive slavery: Thirteenth Amendment reflections on abortion, surrogacy, and race selection. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.3420233

Parlapiano, A., Gebeloff, R., & Carter, S. (2015, January 26). The shrinking American middle class. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/25/upshot/shrinking-middleclass.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=DF94B35C5B2459E478E53C426FEC34B8&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL