Monopoly In A Stratified Society

Superior Essays
Register to read the introduction… Intent is to mirror demographics described in socioeconomic models of U.S. class structure where the wealthiest and most powerful 1% of the population controls a disproportionate amount of the resources. (Kendall, 2013, p. 226)

Whether sociologists’ delineate society using Max Weber’s

multidimensional approach where final rank is calculated as a combined figure of sliding scores assigned individually to wealth, power and prestige, or use Karl Marx’ simplified theory based on property ownership, method matters little beyond the scope of formal research. (Kendall, 2013, pp. 224-232)
Those members of society born into either the privileged elite or the desperately poor represent the outlyers of statistical models. Numerical evidence reviewed from the interactive graphs provided by the

Page 2 of 6

Monopoly in a Stratified Society
Introduction to Sociology – Fall 2013

special series produced by The New York Times website, entitled Class Matters, indicatates social mobility is unlikely, in either direction, for the upper-most or lower-most quintile. (Bradbury & Jane,
…show more content…
The lowest class in this game was collectively pittied by the group, but their lack of income all but eliminated them in the first hour. Current media coverage indcates a rising animosity towards social welfare programs and a demonization of those who find themselves in need of public assistance. This seems directly opposite of what Marx predicted. The attack does not appear to be on the most powerful, but upon the most vulnerable. Why? As the super-rich, become progressively moreso, why does their responsibility to the stability of the system not increase? (Kendall, 2013, p. 236) Why is the burden to provide at least the bare necessities to the less fortunate not shifted to the most capable? The top 1% own 42% of the nation’s wealth; 35% of that belonging to the super-rich (Kendall, 2013, p. 237). The highest reported federal income tax rate is 39.6% according to documents available on TaxFoundation.org, as of October 17,
2013. The higest income bracket using inflation-adjusted figures is defined as income above $440,876.
(Tax Foundation, 2013) Here is evidence of my final conclusion, the top 0.5% are not represented in

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Through MacLeod’s third and final edition, Sociologists can finally illustrate how class structure and social disproportion duplicate through generations. “The Hallway Hangers”…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The One Percent Summary

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Domhoff “Who Rules America” and J.Johnson “The One Percent” documentary indicates the connections of the upper class and corporate community through economic and social views. The upper class mostly known as the one percent owns most of the country's wealth. The corporate community are organization that are connect to similar groups and their main purpose that drives them is profit. The upper classes gains new member through participation in their schools, clubs, and other social institutions (Domhoff 62).…

    • 560 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The top 1 percent of Americans control about 40 percent of our nation's wealth. (746) This statistic is talking about the disparity of wealth between the wealthiest people in America and the lower two classes. This fact can be interpreted as both positive and negative for everyday people depending on who you ask. Either way this topic has lead to intense debate between both economists and government officials, but is still hardly known among everyday citizens.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wealth inequality in today's society also known as the wealth gap, is growing. The top one percent makes twenty-five times more than the average family (Close 2016). This glaring inequality frequently brings up the question of what ought to be done with the distribution of wealth and resources. American Political Philosopher, John Rawls’, bases his argument on the premise that there should be an equal distribution of wealth in society. Robert Nozick, one of Rawls' main critics, demonstrates how distributive justice and an equal distribution of wealth conflicts with a person's individual liberty.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The rich are called greedy and selfish, but the labels attached to those of the lowest income level are more acrid. The stigma associated with being in poverty is inescapable, as the destitute are viewed as bums, substance abusers, and delinquents. These character judgments are not based on actual experiences but on preconceived notions from peers or the media. Growing up I had heard these labels constantly, but I never thought to challenge them. I just assumed lower-income people were not hard workers.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the following essay I’ll be describing social stratification and distributive systems and how they compare to social and political stratification. “Social stratification means that’s inequality has been harden or institutionalized, and there is a system of social relationships that determines who gets what, and why” pg.10 (Kerbo, 2012). A system such as social stratification also means that rules have been established that shows why rewards or distributed and why they are distributed in a certain manner. Social stratification has been characterized by social class which groups individuals with those of similar income and political economic interest. The upper class make up the wealthy members of society and have the most political power.…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    America is experiencing a large gap in income inequality between the working class and the wealthy class. According to Derek Thompson, the new wealthy class, which is the top 1% of America population, holds nearly 40% of America’s wealth; while the new working and social class holds significantly less than 7%. There are opinions thinking that this gap is caused by the rich, who only think about their profits and don’t even care that America is having job a shortage or people are working low wage for several years. On the other hand, some blame the working and social class for their “immobility”, saying that they are not trying hard enough to climb out of the bottom while depending too much on the government subsidizes. Both opinions are true…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s time Americans wake up and face reality, because the reality is that the top 1% of Americans have so much money that is beyond believe. 1% of the wealthy Americans own stocks, bonds and mutual funds and the bottom 50% of Americans own ½ of a 1% of the investments which means most Americans are scraping scrapes to survive (you tube, n.d.). A CEO of a company does not need to work as hard as an average worker to get paid.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For example, the poorest half of the world’s population is equivalent to the 85 richest people in the world’s wealth. Furthermore, the recession from 2007-2009 enabled America’s richest families to progress more than everyone else. There was a 31% income increase for the top 1% in the United States during the three-year recession whereas the other 99% had a less than 1% increase. This resulted 95% of the United States income gains were acquired by the richest. The richest families the richest families now possess half of all personal income whereas the lower half own only about 5%, which is unheard of since 1917 and even more than what has been seen since the 1920’s.…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The distribution of wealth in America has been uneven since 1970. While the unemployment rate has decreased in the U.S, the gap between rich and poor in this country has dramatically increased. As stated in Income Inequality “The share of total income going to the top 1 percent of earners, which stood at 8.9 percent in 1976, rose to 23.5 percent by 2007, but during the same period, the average inflation-adjusted hourly wage declined by more than 7 percent” (Frank 581). There seems to be a rise in earnings in the top 1 percent of the country which doesn't seem to be far to the rest 99 percent. Since when are the rich only aloud to prosper while the rest of us drown in debt and misery?…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wealth Gap Analysis

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages

    According to Dennis Gilbert(1998), “the standard of living of the working and middle classes is dependent upon income and wages, while the rich tend to rely on wealth, distinguishing them from the vast majority of Americans.” While this is very true, this shouldn’t be the reality of economics in this country. One class of people shouldn’t be living and surviving in a completely different way from another. There must be some kind of balance where we can meet in the middle. A recent Harvard business study in 2014 declared that the growing disparity between the very wealthy and the lower and middle classes is no longer sustainable.…

    • 596 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The top 1% of family-earned incomes made 17% of AGI (Adjusted Gross Incomes) in the country; however, they also paid 37% of federal income taxes in 2009 (Dubay). The upper class should not have to pay more taxes than they already do because they already pay far more than their share. They should not be punished for working hard and receiving a significant amount of money. If everyone had the same amount of money, there would be no incentive for individuals to work, to save, and to invest to create and boost businesses and ultimately the economy. Families in the wealthiest 1% of the U.S. possess at least a $340,000 income.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The issue of inequality exists on a global platform and touches on all facets our lives. The power to accumulate and redistribute wealth is with the wealthy elite that can manipulate markets at will, however, Stiglitz clearly defines the dangers of such to society, “…there are two ways to become wealthy: to create wealth or to take wealth away from others. The former adds to society. The latter typically subtracts from it…” (Stiglitz 396).…

    • 1859 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It can exist in any form of an organization if its members are freely recruited, “from a sports club up to the state.” (Weber 1922:284) (3) The three dimensions of stratification represent individuals’ wealth, prestige, and power, from which inequality in economy, culture, and politics - the three main fields of society - can be seen. Although they are conceptually separate, they can influence each other at the empirical level. As usual, there can be a great overlap among three dimensions.…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marxism in The Hunger Games If there is any perfect representation of Marxism in film it is in The Hunger Games. For this case study, I will be focusing on the first movie of the trilogy. This paper will overview the way Marxism is shown in The Hunger Games using a few examples from the movie. In this paper, I argue that The Hunger Games’ plot line has Marxism theories extremely exposed and almost blatantly exposed. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed Marxism in the early 1900s.…

    • 753 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays