Conflict Theory Of Social Class

Everyone is apart of a social class, whether they are the hobo that walks up and down the street, or the boss of a billion dollar company. The book says a social class is made up of people in relatively similar situations with roughly the same power, income, and prestige. There are roughly five social classes in America; upper class-elite, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, and the poor. There are many reasons social classes are apart of our society, such as culture, social structures, and socialization. However, much like race, the biggest reason social classes exist is due to power. The Conflict perspective and the Functionalist perspective are two different theories that can be used to defend someone’s reasons. The functionalist …show more content…
The book’s definition of culture is referring to a way of life within a particular social group or society, encompassing a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features. People in the elite social class are known to have many fancy possessions that cost bundles of money, while poor people, obviously, do not have very many possessions at all. Also, people in higher social classes are more likely to have a college degree than those who are in a lower social class. The conflict theory goes along with this because the people in the elite class will always make sure they stay in power, and the conflict perspective says that there is a struggle for power in a …show more content…
The book defines socialization as the process by which individuals develop an understanding and acknowledgement of society’s behavioral expectations. The process of socialization makes social classes because once a person thinks society has a certain view of them, they try to live up to that by the way they go about their daily life. They do not change because it would not be normal. For example, if a person was really funny and they were a comedian for a living, they are pretty much always expected to be funny. It does not matter if they are having a bad day and just do not feel like making jokes, which makes it hard for them because they can never live a normal life. People do not change even if they want to because it separates them from the normal people and makes them look cooler and more achieved. This relates to the Conflict perspective because this theory says that there is always conflict within a society and that it is usually between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. If a person is in the bourgeoisie they are expected to be better than others and in return that gives them more power, so they will act how society wants them to act because it is all about