Social class
[5] The term class is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth in order to determine military service obligations.
[6] In the late 18th century, the term class began to replace classifications such as estates, rank and orders as the primary means of organizing society into hierarchical divisions.
[citation needed] The existence of a class system dates back to times of Ancient Egypt, where the position of elite was also characterized by literacy.
[11]: 38– The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition the vizier and his court for redress.
[13]: 383 Farmers were also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction projects in a corvée system.
No individual could call in question a hierarchy of authority which culminated in a living god.Although slaves were mostly used as indentured servants, they were able to buy and sell their servitude, work their way to freedom or nobility, and were usually treated by doctors in the workplace.
Even though his theory predicted if there were no private property then there would be wide spread equality, Rousseau accepted that there will always be social inequality because of how society is viewed and run.
India (↑), Nepal, North Korea (↑), Sri Lanka (↑) and some Indigenous peoples maintain social classes today.
[30] In terms of public opinion, nine out of ten people in a Swedish survey considered it correct that they are living in a class society.
[31] One may use comparative methods to study class societies, using, for example, comparison of Gini coefficients, de facto educational opportunities, unemployment, and culture.
[32][33] Societies with large class differences have a greater proportion of people who suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety and depression symptoms.
[51] Marx makes the argument that, as the bourgeoisie reach a point of wealth accumulation, they hold enough power as the dominant class to shape political institutions and society according to their own interests.
Marx then goes on to claim that the non-elite class, owing to their large numbers, have the power to overthrow the elite and create an equal society.
In a society with democratic control and production for use, there would be no class, no state and no need for financial and banking institutions and money.
Weber believed that class position was determined by a person's relationship to the means of production, while status or "Stand" emerged from estimations of honor or prestige.
Likewise in Europe, many wealthy Jewish families lacked prestige and honor because they were considered members of a "pariah group".
In others, only people who are born or marry into certain aristocratic bloodlines are considered members of the upper class and those who gain great wealth through commercial activity are looked down upon by the aristocracy as nouveau riche.
Many aristocratic peerages and their homes are parts of estates, owned and run by the title holder with moneys generated by the land, rents or other sources of wealth.
Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf have noted the tendency toward an enlarged middle class in modern Western societies, particularly in relation to the necessity of an educated work force in technological economies.
[68] Perspectives concerning globalization and neocolonialism, such as dependency theory, suggest this is due to the shift of low-level labour to developing nations and the Third World.
It can determine the schools they are able to attend,[70][71][72] their health,[73] the jobs open to them,[70] when they exit the labour market (retire),[74] whom they may marry[75] and their treatment by police and the courts.
In the UK, the educational consequences of class position have been discussed by scholars inspired by the cultural studies framework of the CCCS and/or, especially regarding working-class girls, feminist theory.
[81] Beverley Skeggs described Learning to Labour as a study on the "irony" of "how the process of cultural and economic reproduction is made possible by 'the lads' ' celebration of the hard, macho world of work.
"[82] A person's social class often affects their physical health, their ability to receive adequate medical care and nutrition and their life expectancy.
Lower-class families have higher rates of infant mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease and disabling physical injuries.
Additionally, poor people tend to work in much more hazardous conditions, yet generally have much less (if any) health insurance provided for them, as compared to middle- and upper-class workers.
He pointed to the successful rise of the bourgeoisie and the necessity of revolutionary violence—a heightened form of class conflict—in securing the bourgeois rights that supported the capitalist economy.
Marx believed that wage labourers would need to revolt to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and political power.
Distinctions of wealth, income, education, culture or social network might arise and would only be determined by individual experience and achievement in such a society.
Since these distinctions are difficult to avoid, advocates of a classless society (such as anarchists and communists) propose various means to achieve and maintain it and attach varying degrees of importance to it as an end in their overall programs/philosophy.
