Class In America By Gregory Mantsios Analysis

Improved Essays
The article titled “Class in America--2012” by Gregory Mantsios examines the state of the division of the economy in America, thus creating different classes that separate citizens. The author discusses how Americans sometimes choose to ignore the issue, or are simply ignorant to it. I think that this article is entirely correct. I agree with the standpoint of the author and appreciate the credible sources that he utilizes. Americans today are often misinformed and often oblivious to some harmful economic classes that have developed over time in this country. Not only are they being restricted in their long-term ambitions, but they are also delusional and sometimes being taxed emotionally and not knowing why. Mantsios’s article presents convincing information as it informs readers of the divide of economic classes in America, and explains that it is an issues that all Americans are affected by.
What are there class divides present in America and are they harming citizens? In 2012, the economy in America was on a slow but steady climb, making it possible to for citizens to prosper, however, moreso for the “upper-class” citizens than others. The author of the article is named Gregory Mantsios. He the director of the Joseph S. Murphy
…show more content…
He also appears to be a fellow citizen who is simply concerned about others. The author is a successful editor and author, and he is the director of of a prominent educational organization in New York City. The author consistently shows good will and respect for his fellow citizens. The author’s tone in this article is a good balance of academic and friendly. His tone appeals to readers because, although he sounds like a very knowledgeable expert on the topic, his tone indicates that he truly cares that readers are informed about the topic and are able to make changes in their lives and dispute the state of the economics of our

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    How can two of the most controversial factors, racial discrimination and gender inequality, become overlooked when talking about class in America? Chris Arnade, author of “Why Trump Voters Are Not Complete Idiots,” explains why rural America supports Trump’s presidency. He continues to talk about how America is segregated between elites and common citizens. In addition, he states that what determines an elite is based on culture, social status, education, and way of living. Even though Arnade states great points that elaborate on what determines one’s class, he never acknowledges the idea that gender and race are factors that determine elitism.…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Greg Mantsios’ essay, “Class in America-2012”, Mantsios depicts different aspects of social class. It is fair to say that Mantsios is a believer that the rich exploit the poor, and that the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer. In his essay, there are four myths about class in America, ten realities of class in America, and three different profiles of people’s lives since birth, all of whom have different social class levels. Social class categorizes people into upper-call, middle-class, and lower-class, and in Mantsios’ essay, he highlights how social class causes division in the United States while he favors the idea of the radical redistribution of wealth. While Manstios claims that the rich exploit the poor, he does not emphasize…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Children in society struggle daily with meeting the educational expectation. Compared to other countries around the world, the United States’ high school mathematics program stands in 31st place, and 24th in science. (Desilver, 2015) The American educational system remains below the expectation, and unfortunately, relays no signs of improving. In his essay, America Skips School, Benjamin Barber argues that the reason for the education crisis falls on the hands of the adults, because of their lack of initiative in supporting the youth of America.…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Society is divided into three major categories of people; poor, middle class, and wealthy or rich. These categories asses the population of the United States based on their income. Many benefits, such as food or heat assistance, taxes, loans, etc. are based on these categories. These categories also allow for criticism from others around us, whom may or may not be categorized similarly. In the book Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, the author, Linda Tirado discusses her experiences as a part of the poor America and also her thoughts and opinions on the rich, upper class.…

    • 1108 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many can argue and say that to get a high education there is no need to be in a high social class. There are plenty of people who feel completely different about this issue and think that in order to get a good education, one must come from a wealthy background. Gregory Mantsios, director of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies at Queens College of the City University of New York, gave his audience many examples of how different each social class was in his essay “Class in America 2012”. Some authors who also had something to say in regards to class and education were Jean Anyon, who was a social activist and professor of educational policy in the Ph.D Program in Urban Education at The City University of New…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Foroohar references Joseph Stiglitz, the Columbia professor and former economic advisor to Bill Clinton when she shows how both “Republican and Democratic administrations have been at fault in crafting not only policies that forward inequality, but also a narrative that tells us that we can’t do anything about it” (Foroohar). This idea further supports the belief that the government must be challenged in order to create new laws and rules to structure our economy so that it is more balanced. Stiglitz emphasizes this idea when he explains how “it’s about the choices we make with the rules we create to structure our economy” (Foroohar). One of the reasons that the United States has not put forth effort in order to change the inevitable outcome of the lower classes, is the fact that they do not actually know how wealthy the upper class is. If the lower class was aware of the economic gap between classes there would be “riots in the streets” (Fitz).…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to The Land of Opportunity, by James Loewen, young people in high school and college don’t realize that poverty is something that started long ago. All that these students know is what their textbook is teaching them; which is that America is a “middle class country (Loewen, 1995: 318).” It is almost impossible to read this article and not think that the reason the high school books don’t mention much about social class is because if the young people become informed on issues surrounding society they will try and change it. Loewen also states that social class is basically from the womb to the tomb; which means that if you are born into poverty you are more than likely going to stay there your entire life (Loewen, 1995: 319).…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Dream Dbq

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Today lower class citizens are discriminated and put down because they are not as rich as other people and cannot afford what others can, leading to a feeling of envy and doubt. In Kathleen Parker’s column for The Washington Post she stated, “As we begin yet another year, it is less easy to summon the dream. Instead of hope, a word that brought us a new president, we have entered an era of envy and doubt.” (Source D) Instead of having hope and drive to do the next best thing people pay attention to superficial and…

    • 1082 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The widening gap between the upper and lower class is daunting. Within the same cities there are people who make millions of dollars, and some that make less than 15,000. The chairman of Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers notes this, "There are a lot of causes of inequality but [the erosion of the minimum wage] is one of the important ones for inequality at the bottom,"(Sahidi). The middle class is virtually gone.…

    • 1545 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Class in America - 2012,” by Gregory Mantsios, explores class in the Modern Day United States and its effects on individual accomplishments. Mr. Mantsios believes that the classes of America can be divided into three categories: The ultra wealthy, the working class, and the poor. However, this is simply not the case. On the upper end of the spectrum, there is a capitalist class of people in between the ultra wealthy and the working class. On the lower end of the spectrum, there is a class of people wedged between the ultra poor and the middle class.…

    • 974 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is an understanding when society says that those who prosper have earned it and should be able to do so because of the free society we live in. However, The poor in our society are not benefiting from the increased wealth in the country. The income gap between low-income families and high-income families is widened. “The rich have been spending more simply because they have so much extra money…These cascades have made it substantially more expensive for middle-class families to achieve basic financial goals” (Frank 582). Inequality in the distribution of desirables exists as device for ensuring that the most qualified people fill the most important positions.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Gregory Mantsios’s “Class in America” he discusses the myths and realities of class differentiation. One thing he jumps into in the beginning of his essay is that Americans don’t prefer to talk about social class. Some people have even stated that they dislike using the word ‘class’ or ‘upper-class’ due to the reason that they believe it mows down their fortune and responsibility. Even though some Americans are concentrated on class identification Mantsios writes that most people aren’t aware of their actions to avoid this subject, this may be because of the fact that “…Class identity has been stripped from popular culture” (Mantsios, 282). It is now deemed ‘un-American’ to even compare certain issues with classes.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In “Class in America―2012”, Mantsios explains, “The class structure in the United States is a function of its economic system: capitalism, a system that is based on private rather than public ownership and control of commercial enterprises. Under capitalism, enterprises are governed by the need to produce a profit for the owners, rather than to fulfill societal needs. Class divisions arise from the differences between those who own and control corporate enterprise and those who do not.” This piece of information describes that everyone in the United States, especially middle class and lower class members, are going to be affected by income inequality.…

    • 1579 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Janny Scott and David Leonhardt’s article “Shadowy Lines That Still Divide” tells us society has changed a lot from decades ago and class differences are getting blurry rapidly. It is possible and credible to change our positions and futures regardless of what kind of class we are. Class difference is existing, but it is not significant and necessary for people to success. Our future is determined by ourselves.…

    • 927 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Social class in America is an uncomfortable subject for many Americans; most believe that America is an essentially middle-class nation, however, author Gregory Mantsios argues otherwise. In this article, I will break apart “Class in America-2012” and explain how it creates a persuasive effect on readers. Mantsios accomplishes this effect by debunking popular myths through statistical evidence and providing real-life examples. This analysis will only provide the author’s opinions, and not my own, as to remain objective and fair throughout. Is the social class divide in America as large as most Americans think?…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays