Social Stratification In America Essay

Poverty is commonly thought of as the inability or failure to ensure the essence of modern civilization: the necessities, the comforts, and the luxuries of life, as well considered as a suitable standard of living. However, the United States government officially defines poverty using the federal poverty line, an income threshold that is three times the approximate cost of a family bearable food budget. In 2016, 12.7 percent of American citizens, or 40.6 million people, were considered as living in poverty, a positive declination of 0.8 percentage points from 2015 (13.5 percent.) Which is comparable to 2007, the year preceding the recession, where 12.5 percent of the population was impoverished. And of the global perspective, the U.S. has had …show more content…
The functionalist perspective, theorized by French sociologist Émile Durkheim, insinuates America's social stratification exists through citizens who have specific roles (serving functions.) Whether we like it or not, the duties and services of some are more important than others, due to the positions’ prerequisites. Professions like chief executives and those in the medical field are higher cherished because of their years of experience and education needed, while those with minimal technical skills as a cashier yield drastically less. Karl Marx’s conflict theory suggests stratification results from the deficiency of opportunity, discrimination, and prejudice based on class, gender, and color, being “neither necessary nor inevitable.” According to the Census of 2016, those listed under the poverty line were 8.8% of whites, 22% of blacks, 10.1% of Asians and 19.4% of Hispanics (of any race), giving some proof of an unequal racial distribution. And concerning the gender issue, the difference between the sexes was a minimal 2.7% where men were 11.3% and women