Classism In America

Classism In America, “class can accurately predict chances for both survival and success” (Mantsios, 2013, p. 155). However, the myth of a classless society exists in America (2013), and this myth perpetuates the ideology of the American Dream (Leondar-Wright & Yeskel, 2007). The American Dream is that anyone can attain enough income to own a home and secure a future for their family if they work hard, (2007) sacrifice, and persevere (Mantsios, 2013). Americans “are trained to identify up the class spectrum and fantasize about getting there” (Collins, Yeskel, & United for a Fair Economy and Class Action, 2013, p. 164). Although there is some class fluidity over the lifetime of many individuals, the reality is many Americans work hard and do …show more content…
In addition, the American Dream is unattainable for many members of the marginalized groups in society, because the system of classism, which is a “set of practices and beliefs that assign differential value to people according to their socio-economic class” (Yeskel & Leondar-Wright, 1997, p. 231), creates an advantage for members of society in the dominate class group, who are individuals with middle and upper class incomes (Leondar-Wright & …show more content…
Wealth is still affected by the legacy of racial discrimination (2013). Kochlar, Fry, and Taylor (2013) state “the median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black household and 18 times that of Hispanic households” (p. 190). For example, many people in marginalized do not have established credit, which is needed for major purchases such as houses that create wealth for families (Collins, Yeskel, & United for a Fair Economy and Class Action, 2013). Additionally, many residents in urban areas have issues getting to banks and use cash checking outlets and pawnshops for their banking and loan needs. The use of these outlets for banking is expensive and cannot be used to build credit history for an individual, which makes it difficult to establish credit history for purchases, and the customers for these alternative outlets for banking are largely marginalized groups of color (Williams, 2013). Furthermore, “the demand for cheap goods, services, labor, and sex opens opportunities for the exploitation of vulnerable populations” (United States Department of State, 2013, p. 186), and these vulnerable populations have lower socio-economic status and include marginalized racial groups (2013). Exploiters promise members of these vulnerable populations good jobs and a better life (2013), which indicate