In the United States, many social scientists can agree that the society they live in is stratified into social classes. There have been disagreements, various definitions, and competing models which make a social class very controversial issue in America. Social stratification is the main reason for the relational set of inequalities in economic, political, social, and ideological aspects. It is a system by which people rank and assess each other. Since the basis of evaluation with social stratification is education, income, wealth, and “memberships” a person or group can be rewarded with more wealth, prestige, power, and authority. CITE Karl Marx’s idea of social stratification separated people into groups such as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. While in modern America, although it may appear more beneficial to be a part of the bourgeoisie due to their obvious advantages, it is just as harmful being a part of that wealthy class due to the boomerang effect that causes negative impacts such as, but are not limited to, decreased humanization, the David and Goliath effect, and emotional stunting in the youth being raised within the bourgeoisie and it is imperative for the bourgeoisie to realize these negative aspects because it continues of social stratification then the results and consequences will continue to impact them and also the distance between the upper class and lower class will continue to grow in a way that benefits neither sides.
In America, there are three classes that are generally recognized. These are the upper, middle, and lower classes. While this may be the common way majority of the time, however, it matters how much Americans recognize you based upon your significant wealth in the public eye. People like musicians, famous public figures, and even presidents can be physically seen being wealthy. If you are anything but, then you belong to the other and are classified and treated as such. The rich are treated better and have more power. That much is known. What is not placed into public is they fact the rich are suffering as well as the lower class that they often take advantage of.
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One of the negative effects of social stratification on the bourgeoisies is the decreased dehumanization within this group. Those that have less are treated as second-class citizens and their worth is not equal to the upper class. People who are at the top feel the need to be constantly rewarded and reminded of their social status and in some cases in comes in the form of dehumanization. A sense of self-satisfaction at the expense that others are put down and seen as way less. Dehumanization can be best described as behavior that somewhat strips other people of their humanity or making them appear less human. In relation to the bourgeoisie, they have increased dehumanization in terms of how they view themselves and “others”. Although the proletariats are the minority, the ego of the upper class has evolved as time has gone on. When not being called out on their behavior, they normalize their mistreatment of the lower class thus making them careless for them and lowering them on their inferiority level. At the University of California-Berkeley, an experiment was conducted to determine which social class could read emotions better. They were told to do a test of emotional perception. In this test university students who were considered to be of higher economic standing (determined from each student’s self-reported views of their family’s socioeconomic status) had a more difficult time accurately reading the emotions of a person they did not know during a group interview. CITE A more specific example is when major corporations with factories abuse their power with them hiring lower-waged workers with terrible work conditions. They do not care about their worker's well-being. Recently, there have been lawsuits against the famous company for terrible work conditions. An employee at Amazon simply wanted a more fitting break time to accommodate his Chron’s disease, instead, his was wrongfully framed and fired. He rightfully sued them and received compensation for his loss of employment. A simple “yes” from a manager could have helped this employer from getting sued in the first place. When this complaint was taken to the higher-ups, they should have given the okay for him, but instead, they chose to attempt to battle something that simple morals could have told them was not right. People live in a world where the rich are humanized and the poor are not, which is not the case.
Another negative impact on the wealthy class if the David and Goliath effect. Since there is the notion that the rich and elite feel more superior than those that are labeled within the proletariat class this is attached to them feeling as though they are untouchable. Recall the story of David and Goliath. To summarize the story of David and Goliath, Goliath assumed he was better and more worthy due to his size and armor, but in the end, David, the smaller opponent, triumphed because he was not alone. He also had God on his side. Think of the bourgeoisie as Goliath and the lower class as David. In relation to this concept important public figures and major corporations have this belief that they can do as they please without the consequences that are sure to come with their negative behavior, especially towards other people. For example, in the news recently there has been a singer catching everyone’s attention. This singer is known for his amazing vocals and also his history of engaging inappropriately with teenage women. This has been his known reputation for many years, and he had never suffered any consequences, until recently. Multiple women and their families are now bringing cases against the singer, whom everyone thought was untouchable, because of what has been happening to them. Another case that is recent is the fact that many well-known actresses and actors paid way for their children to get into prestigious colleges, and they were caught. The children were dropped from these schools and their famous parents are now facing the consequences of trying to skip the hard work and go for the easier expensive route. Another way to think of this is that people within the elite class should choose to pick fights with people of their class. There will always be someone richer than them therefore not creating an opportunity for them to believe that are superior and in fact a Goliath figure. It goes to show that simply money and power does not succeed over the proletariats if they can help it.
A more crucial negative effect than the previous impacts mentioned is the fact that the social stratification system can cause emotional stunting within the youth of the bourgeoisie. Research has found that children who are more privileged, socioeconomic status-wise, tend to be as a whole more depressed, self-destructive, and self-centered. These children also tend to be more narcissistic and they struggle to develop their sense of self. CITE Some of the most “at risk’ students tend to be those that are very wealthy and have resources (parents’ money) provided for them. CITE In this same study conducted by Suniya Luthar also found that these same students are more likely to experience more symptoms like delinquent behavior, psychological distress, some academic difficulties, and anxiety. CITE In America there are so many examples of rich children who’s lives had an issue within it. We see many public figures' children getting caught with drugs, illegal alcohol consumption, DUI charges, and much more. A lack of interest in basic necessities leads to more wrongdoings it appears, not to mention children inheriting certain behaviors from their parents in relation to how their elite parents treat those that are not within the elite class.
By keeping the idea of social stratification, it ensures the idea that the top or the upper-class goal is unattainable by the lower class. It is a recipe for failed aspirations from the lower class because they are automatically classified by their wealth which in most cases, they have no control over due to the fact that the bourgeoisie that they aspire to become are profiting off of their hard work. There are people within the lower class that stigmatized and resent the elite class because of there mistreatment. There are also people who wish to join these upper classes without fuller being aware of the risks that are to come. This boomerang effect that comes as a result of social stratification benefits non one in the end. People should not be divided and judged by their wealth. Some of the richest people are the laziest and also some of the poorest people work the hardest. This can also be applied vice versa. Also, children should not suffer mentally at the socioeconomic status that they are often born into. Just because parents are wealthy it does not mean they do not deserve the same amount of attention a middle- or lower-class single mom would give her child. Social stratification does nothing but place people in a hierarchy and there will always be consequences to being on the top and using people at the bottom to get there.
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