Category: Social Class

Introduction

Social class can be termed as an unofficial grading of people in a society based on their earnings, profession, schooling, residence, among other factors.

Diverse cultures however, vary according to social class, owing to various societal aspects. Britain was at one point in time a class-ruled society. Class was an affixed part of the people’s lifestyle. Today, multiculturalism and a shifting financial system are steadily wearing down the prevalent class system. Over the years, one area where the influence of social class has been felt in Britain is in the area of voting behaviour.

When we talk of voting behaviour one is simply talking of the way or manner in which people tend to vote. If the voting patterns in Britain are analyzed, one will notice that social class is the most significant reason in the way people traditionally voted in the 20^th century. In short, people tend to vote according to their existing class. However, the class de-alignment that was experienced in the dying years of the 20^th century greatly altered the voting patterns in Britain. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Unlike the United States where social class merely refers to capitalism, the term means different things in the West. When talking of class in Britain, one might be talking of the upper class people or the middle class people in the society. Additionally, the term might be used to refer to the upper working class, the lower working class or even the temporary workers in the society.

Towards the middle of the 20^th century, a large number of voters in Britain were associated with one of the two major political parties. Although the whole population cannot be said to have followed this trend, a close analysis shows that people in a social cleavages tended to vote in a certain way.

In fact, people in the upper working class and lower working class tended to vote for the Labour Party while people in the middle class mostly voted for the Conservative Party. In the mid 20^th century, the middle class, upper working class and the lower working class accounted for close to 64% of the total votes received by the Labor Party. This pattern of voting shows that the social class was a good indicator of twentieth-century voting patterns in Britain. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Naturally, there has been extensive attention in the changing patterns of class voting in Britain. Several writers argue that there has been a continuous process of class dealignment, which has seen all social classes begin voting in the same pattern. (Franklin 24) In fact, recent research shows that class voting reached an all time low in the 1997 elections when the Labour Party approached the heart of the political continuum. (Evans 43)

Although attention on the effects of the social environment on voting is not something new, it has rarely been incorporated within the context of class voting. Most studies done on the matter have taken an idiosyncratic advance to the issue of tendencies in class voting, examining the shifting affiliation between a person’s class membership and his vote.

However, the sociological premises upon which the fundamental presumption of social grouping rests highlight the function of social processes, in particular the creation of class-based communities which produce social strains on folks to throw their weight behind a certain party. These theories presume that the individual voting decision is not merely a result of the person’s own class characters but it also relies on the class positions of the individual’s associates. (Evans 50)

According to Hauser (1974), “contextual effects” are methodical variations in individual behavior across backgrounds that cannot be accounted for by explanations in terms of personal distinctiveness. In layman’s language, what Hauser is simply saying is that contextual effect is any upshot on personal behavior that arises due to social relations within an environment. (Hauser 374)Perhaps, Hauser’s claim can well be understood if examined in light of Miller (1977) who claims that;

If Mr A and Mr B have similar social characteristics but Mr A lives in an area where the middle class form twice as large a fraction of the local population as in the area where Mr B lives, then Mr A is likely to have more middle-class contacts than Mr B even if he is unlikely to have twice as many. Thus, Mr A’s contact group will be biased towards the middle class compared with Mr B’s contact group. (Miller 259)

According to Miller, Contextual effects are usually consensual regardless of whether people’s social contacts are comparable to themselves in their social class positions or not. This means that people tend to be inclined towards political harmony with their social contacts. Subsequent to this explanation, we would expect to find predispositions towards class voting to be resistant among electorate who frequently associate with people from the same social class.

Alternatively, we would expect to find the inclination towards class voting to be destabilized among voters who regularly interact with people from different social classes since the association would be inclined to alter their opinion to conform to that of the other social classes. This simply means that class voting is weakened as people begin to interact with members of other social classes. (Franklin 30)

Apart from Miller’s observations, Przeworski and Soares (1971) agree contextual effects are consensual on the working class but differ with him by observing that contextual effects may be reactive on other classes under certain circumstances. An example of this is where an area with a high ratio of voting class may exert pressure on people in other classes to become more cognizant of their own class wellbeing and this in effect may lead to voting against parties that are perceived as not being on their side.

This suggests that there will definitely be an association between personal class, contextual social class, and voting performance. I.e. the influence of related social class will differ in the situation of middle-class and of individuals in the working class. (Przeworski & Soares 53)

It is reasonable that neighboring communities may provide a strong link for the working class. Specialized and management careers naturally involve better geological mobility thus resulting to the creation of looser-knit and geographically wider-ranging systems than do blue-collar careers.

Indeed such weak networks may not be effective in mounting strong community endorsements in support of a particular party, even if the association is comprised of people from the same social class. If people who are working are indeed involved in thicker social networks, then this might tend to amplify the role of social environment on their voting behaviour, while the looser networks of the middle class might seem to allow a more self-centered pattern of voting behaviour. (Parkin 280)

In the first eight decades of the 20^th century, political analysts believed that political alignments reflected social groupings. According to analysts, the British political party model of government is shaped in such a way that political parties endeavor to win office by contending for the vote of the masses on the foundation of established policies.

Most voters in Britain are believed to be lucid and tend to vote for the parties that serve their interests. This clearly explains the reason why people tend to support a particular party without considering its policies.

According to analysts, this has made the behaviour of the British voter predictable since it is a universal affair. This idea of party image is what made most commentators believe that Britain before the 1970s was characterized by class voting. Indeed, this observation is not shocking at all considering that a party like Labour, which is one of the major political parties in Britain, was formed on the precipice of social class, and drew its strength from the trade union movement.

It is therefore correct to conclude that the sociological model of voting behaviour witnessed in Britain has more to do with social class. As mentioned earlier in this paper, working class voters tend to vote for the Labour Party while the Middle class are more inclined to the conservative party. (Miller 264)

By the 1970s, there occurred what analysts called class dealignment, which was a scenario where people stopped voting according to their existing class. In 1979, statistics showed that only 57% of British citizens voted according to their class affiliations confirming that people from the same social cleavages were desisting from voting in a particular manner as they had done in the past.

One explanation for this apparent class dealignment was that voters were becoming more educated due to the spread of the media, which had given them more information on politicians and their affiliated parties. According to commentators, the 1980s and early 1990s ushered a new era where lower working citizens shifted their allegiance from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party.

In the 1987 elections, statistics showed that the lower working class accounted for 42% of the total votes received by the Conservative party and only 35% threw their weight behind the Labour party. This was a complete break from previous elections where the lower working class had accounted for almost 70% of the votes accrued by the Labour party. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

Apart from the contribution of the media, class dealignment could also have risen due to alteration in the magnitude of the classes. In the 1970s, the number of manual workers fell to an all time low of 30% thus drastically reducing the influence of people in that particular social class.

Although it is apparent that voters are abandoning their natural classes, the phenomenon is not entirely dead. In the 2001 elections, the upper and middle classes who form the highest social class in Britain are believed to have voted largely for the Conservative party.

Although their vote signified a drop of 40% compared to previous elections, it was still a strong vote in its own standards. Despite this observation, it is apparent to any keen eye that the ongoing class dealignment is largely changing the voting behaviour in Britain especially in the 21^st century. (British Broadcasting Corporation)

A widely progressed explanation for class dealignment is the steady attrition of class-based communities and an increasing personalization of the voter. This increasing individualism of the British electorate can be linked to the reduction of conventional heavy industries and the allied decline of one-industry communities congregated on mining or other related activities.

Additionally, this can be linked to a decline of local associations and improved opportunities for individual choices about daily life and spare time opportunities. On top of this, there has also been a noticeable growth of new forms of communication leading to feeble and more disseminated patterns of individual communication and a reduced reliance on in the neighborhood-based systems of support.

Unlike in the past, people have taken a very different view of class and most of them do not rely on social identity and action to define them but they have instead taken a more individualistic nature. This has totally changed the people’s view on class and has been manifested in their voting behaviour. (Parkin 290)

Conclusion

For a long time, social class has been used to group people in Western democracies. In most cases, these social cleavages dictated how people conducted their lives in Britain. In the 20^th century, social class was largely used to predict the voting behaviour for people in a certain class.

However, this trend began to change towards the end of the 20^th century in what commentators called class dealignment. At the start of the 21^st century, there was a paradigm shift and only a small fraction of people voted according to their class affiliation. This was attributed to the media, which had largely presented politicians and their political parties in to light thus changing people’s perception about them.

Works Cited

British Broadcasting Corporation. Voting Behaviour, n.d. Web. <https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zd9bd6f/revision/1>

Evans, Geoffrey. The End of Class Politics? Class Voting in Comparative Context, 1999. Oxford, 43-52. Print.

Franklin, Mark. The Decline of Class Voting in Britain: Changes in the Basis of Electoral Choice, 1964-1993, 1985. Oxford University Press, 23-59. Print.

Hauser, Michael. “Contextual Analysis Revisited.” Sociological Methods and Research, 2 .1 (1974): 365-375. Print.

Miller, Lewis. “Social Class and Party Choice in England: A New Analysis.” British Journal of Political Science, 8.3, (1978): 257-284. Print.

Parkin, Francis. “Working Class Conservatives: a theory of political deviance.” British Journal of Sociology, 18.6 (1967), 278-290. Print.

Przeworski, Arthur, and Soares, Daniel. “Theories in Search of a Curve: A Contextual Interpretation of the Left Vote.” American Political Science Review, 65.7 (1971): 51-68. Print.

Karl Marx presented two class models of society namely the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie are the capitalists who are few in number and are the owners of capital. They are also rich, powerful, oppressors, exploiters and they always win elections in democratic countries.

On the other hand, the proletariats are the workers, owners of labor and they are the majority in numbers but are powerless since they are oppressed and exploited by the rich and they always lose in election in democratic nations. The proletariat can be described as a class in itself in the sense that they share same objectives and relationships to the means of production, that is, they are laborers who are paid in wages.

The two classes are always in conflict with each other because their interests are incompatible. While the bourgeoisie have the interests of maintaining the status quo which ensures their dominance, the proletariats are interested in changing the status quo which deprives them of good life.

However, the two classes are not aware of the nature of the circumstances which they live in but assume that the situations which they find themselves in are natural and nothing can be done to change them. This is what Karl Marx calls a false class consciousness.

The bourgeoisie are not aware that they are the exploiters while the proletariats are not aware that they are exploited or oppressed, they are also not aware that they are poor but assume that they are naturally supposed to be poor. However; when the proletariats become aware of the reality, that is, when they know that they are exploited by the bourgeoisie, what follows is a revolution. Marx argues that the Russian revolution of 1917 was as a result of the realization of the proletariats that they were being oppressed by the bourgeoisie.

Karl Marx understood work as alienating. His argument was based on the capitalistic mode of production which has its roots in the industrial revolution of 1600. This mode of production is characterized by the two groups named above that is, the bourgeoisie and the proletariats. According to Karl Marx, the proletariats own nothing except their labor, which they sale at cheap price to the capitalists (Wharton 44-68).

The concept of alienation simply means the existence of some dividing forces between things which are essentially supposed to be in harmony with each other. For example, man created and discovered religion, but the same man subjects himself to uncomfortable religious beliefs or practices like refusing to take medicine due to religious beliefs. In this situation, religion makes man to be uneasy, yet it is the same man who creates the religion (Wharton 44-68).

Marx argued that the ideal purpose of work was to make man happy by enabling him move towards the actualization levels in his life. But due to the capitalistic economy, work is no longer playing its primary function in man, but rather, it is alienating him. According to Marx, man can be alienated in four major ways namely the alienation from the results of labor, alienation from the other workers, alienation of the worker from him or herself and alienation of the worker from working (Wharton 44-68).

Alienation from the results of labor happens when man works but he does not have a stake in the products of his labor and only gets his wages, which are way below the worth of the products of his labor. This is what Karl Marx calls exploitation, which creates profits in form of surplus. Paradoxically, the surplus is not attributed to the workers but rather to the capitalists (Wharton 44-68).

Alienation from other workers takes place when the worker is transformed into a commodity to be used in the competitive capitalist economy. In this situation, the worker is not viewed as a social being but is tied to his or her work, in which he or she is paid as per his or her output. The execs labor which is not paid for is what Marx referred to as surplus value, which ends up benefiting the owners of the means of production at the expense of the worker.

Alienation of the worker from working takes place when the worker is robbed off his ability or opportunity to enjoy the intrinsic value of work. In the capitalistic economy, personal lives are separated from work, meaning that the worker is transformed into a machine. This makes him or her to work for the sake of working, but not as a way of serving other humanity or quenching his passion to work in a certain field (Wharton 44-68).

Alienation of the worker from him or herself takes place when the worker is robbed off his objectivity in life. The nature of the work does not allow the worker to do what he or she pleases him. In many cases, the jobs in a capitalist system are very well defined with strict guidelines through job descriptions.

Many jobs do not allow the worker to bring in his innovation, creativity and passionate input to the jobs and this only helps the capitalists to attain their objectives in life, without the worker having an opportunity to attain his objectives in life unless he works hard to own the means of production.

Works Cited

Wharton, Amy. Selected Material From Working In America: Continuity, Conflict, and Change, (3rd Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions, 2006.44-68.Print.

Great leadership depends on a leader’s ability to be fair even when faced with challenges. In this case, the law dictates that the needs of the meritorious people should be addressed before those of the less fortunate.

The king is willing to throw away the available food rather than distribute it evenly among the people. He fears that such a fair act may bring disorderliness and upset the balance that exists between different social classes in Qin.

To some extent, the king is right. This is because enactment of laws facilitates the presence and continuance of orderliness. As such, going against the law is not only risky but also wrong.

In addition, the meritorious people have levels of influence and resources that might be used to discredit the king if he does not uphold his duties.

This would explain why stratification of the people on social and economical grounds is more important than saving lives. The king believes that poor people would rather die than receive the level of treatment given to the rich.

However, the food is collected from various regions (Five Parks) and is produced by both the rich and the poor from these regions. As such, it is only fair that the food be distributed evenly among them.

With these undertones, it is clear that discrimination is rampant in Qin. Basing such a consequential decision (feeding the citizens) on discriminatory grounds is not right. Every human being has a fundamental right to live.

Despite what the law says, no one deserves to die simply because he/she does not belong to the elite members of a given society. There are alternatives that can be used to resolve this issue without leading to the disorderliness mentioned by the king.

A quota system can be implemented put in place to ensure that each member of the society gets a share of the available food. The meritorious people can have bigger shares of the food than the poor in a bid to uphold the law.

It still would be unfair, but everyone would have food on the table as they wait for the famine to end. This would make the king look considerate in the eyes of the less fortunate, and reasonable among the meritorious people.

Similarly, the king has the power to suspend this law if circumstances call for such an action. In this case, suspension of this law would save lives, thereby making it a logical decision. Failure to feed the people may lead to an uprising.

Despite the laws in place, people cannot die knowing that there is a solution to their problem. They will be forced to fight back leading to chaos and disorderliness. Suspending this law would ensure that such results are averted.

The last viable alternative would be to come up with a tribunal, which would be set to address the needs of the poor people. Communication is extremely important in any society.

This tribunal would act as a bridge between the rich and the poor. Members of the tribunal would collect the views of the poor and relay them to the king.

This would provide an excellent platform for negotiations on various issues that affect the people. In this case, the tribunal would negotiate a deal that is mutually beneficial to both parties, thereby minimizing the risk of disorderliness.

Introduction

The area of public health has been one of the most significant yet underrated areas of public administrative jurisdiction in the UK. Successive governments have tried to enforce progressive Reform measures in this area to reduce anomalies, but with limited success. Despite enjoying a high GDP and income levels for the people, the standards of health care available to citizens are much below that available to people belonging to other countries of the European Union ( EU).

This study is mainly intended to throw light on the impact of social and other classes upon public health systems in the country.

The general area of study

This study is mainly intended to analyze aspects of the various implications of class on health, not only individual health but also public health. The class that is denoted in this study relates to the occupational or working class, or even social classes when related to non-working or young people. As is well known, the gradient of occupation is found in income, and consequently in health- related problems. It is common knowledge that people in the lower socio- economic or lower classes are more susceptible to poor health, or diseases, as compared with high income or affluent groups. Moreover, these segments of society are not always have access to high quality medical attention and care, which exacerbates their conditions and renders them unfit for gainful employment or productive work. The effects of class also affects mortality and lifespan of people in lower strata is of society, since chronic poor health and disease cuts down the life span and accelerates mortality

Rationale

The right to good health and hygienic working conditions is a need that is fundamental to civilized society and could be, in a wider sense, considered a prerogative of free society to which human beings belong. Conducive working and living conditions foster a sense of well- being and vitality that is intrinsic for good health and personal welfare. The hypothesis of this study is based on the premise that occupation and social class defines the health of society, since occupation is directly linked with income generation. People who are highly educated are in a position to earn higher incomes and generate more wealth than people with little, or no education, and who consequently have to resort to menial or frugal occupations to tend to themselves and their families. Their lack of education have resulted in lower incomes and thus lesser generation of wealth for well-being. While rich people could afford to have substantial savings and higher propensity to generate wealth, this is not possible in the case of poorer and underprovided sections of society, who thus have to resort to lower jobs with lower pays.

People who are from lower classes of society have lower incomes, and are thus not able to access high quality medical treatment in private settings. Moreover, they are not also always covered by private Health Insurance Covers, unlike wealthy and privileged people, and have to resort to public health care systems.

People who are from lower classes, generally have lower wealth generation, as a result of which they are not able to afford quality treatment for their morbid health conditions, as a result of which their sickness and mortality rates may be higher than that of higher classed and wealthier strata’s of society.

This study needs to be seen in the context of reducing the differentiations between the health conditions prevalent among people in society. A person need not be marginalized or provided a lower standard of health care or treatment, just because they happen to belong to the lower strata of society, since the gravity of their health problems are more important and not their income generating capacities.

However, it is indeed sad but true, that good health care facilities and treatment in today’s scenario is mainly concentrated on the rich and privileged classes of society, to the disadvantage of poorer sections of society who have to seek lower and compromising levels of health care treatment and interventions. Moreover, the true state of present conditions can be gauged if one were to consider the fact that HIV/AIDS, coronary diseases, cancers and other serious health conditions are more prevalent among poorer and less literate sections of society.

Sense of problem

The true sense of the problem is found in the fact that class determines the level oflving of people in today’s global environment, save under exceptional situations.

This stems from the simple fact that poorer patients cannot afford the high cost of treatment, which could be afforded by wealthier patients from higher social backgrounds.

In today’s health conscious society, medical intervention could mean long stays in health care settings with professional health care services being provided by the institution, diet regimen, exercises, physical therapy and ambient lifestyle with controlled food habits. This could not be possibility to be indulged in by a poorer patient who needs to keep himself occupied, in order to financially support himself and his dependents. Although health care insurance may be available to lower stratas of society, they may not be always adequate to cover the full course of treatment and convalescing period of the patient. Most of the treatment may be done in public health settings, which may thus deny the high quality care and treatment that could be gained in private nursing centres.

What is perceived is a circle of inadequacy stemming from poor education, which leads to lower employability, which in turns leads to lower incomes but high occupational stress leading to poor heath and disease. Under conditions when employability becomes doubtful, the patient has to be without work even after he is discharged from hospital and thus has to depend upon State Aid for livelihood.

The various methods in which health care services discrimination among lower classes of society could be seen in terms of the following:

• Medical discrimination in terms of longer waiting time.
• Lack of equal access to emergency medical care and medical intervention.
• Need for placing money deposits before treatment is commenced and also, lack of continuity in treatment for patients.
• Refusal to treat patients belonging to lower stratas of society on non-recommendation from privileged medical practitioners.

Identification of theoretical conceptual framework

It is intended to carry out the research based on the longitudinal cohort study of around 250 men and same number of women in the age group of 25- 55 working in various capacities working in a corporate setting.

They were medically screened for various types of communicable diseases and found acceptable for the purpose of the research study. Since the purpose of the research is to establish or nullify the hypothesis through qualitative analysis, it is believed that the respondents were of moderate health conditions, the effects of which would be known after the survey had been taken up and the analysis made.

The matters that would be discussed during the course of this study would be in terms of their lifestyles, smoking, drinking and private lives and their relationships with peers, superiors and subordinates as well as family members and friends. All these aspects are believed to be significant and needs to be explored during the course of the study in order to arrive at a correct evaluation of the study and its rigour.

During the course of this research it is necessary to provide unbiased and authenticated questions to be put forth to the respondents in order to elicit correct responses from them. It is also necessary to ask open-ended question since this is one of the basis of qualitative surveys to which this survey belong. Through the use of open-ended questionnaires it is possible to gain insight into the various aspects of different classes of respondents and their perceived impact of clases on health and well being.

In a qualitative analysis as this one, it is essential that the sourcing of the data be according to the needs of the study and in consonance with their objectives. It is also necessary that the methods are patterned, standardized and follow scientific rigour.

In this qualitative survey, it is necessary that the respondents be able to source and evaluate choices of the survey and data and realize the limits of such survey methods.

It is necessary that this survey should use appropriate methods of analysis, and demonstrate an understanding of the implications of the results with reference to the existing literature in the field and how this survey contributes to the induction of new aspects into this study.

The theoretical aspects of this survey should consider the empirical implications of the results of the survey in an attempt to reduce the gap and bridge the guilt between the theoretical and practical aspects of this survey method.

The findings of this survey should be amenable to further research skills, healthy criticism and the ability to infer conclusions and offer recommendations within the particular aspect of the subject matter of this research study.

Literature review

Although the subject of class interference in public health is a large and significant area for public welfare research, the literature available does not seem to be suggestive of this truth.

The Whitehall survey conducted in two parts consisted of study of 18,000 men in the Civil Service, set up in 1967.The first Whitehall study showed that men in the lowest employment grades were much more likely to die

Prematurely than men in the highest grades. The Whitehall II study was set up to determine what underlies this grade or social gradient in death and disease and to include women in the scope of its survey. (Work, Stress and Health: The Whitehall II study: 2004).

During the year 1980, the Thatcher Government in its bid to promote the cause of Britons caused the release of the Black Report. The Report stresses the need, interalia that achieving a high standard of health among its entire people represents one of the highest of society’s aspirations. Present social inequalities in health in a country with substantial resources like Britain are unacceptable, and deserve so to be declared by every section of public opinion. “ (Socialist Health Association: The Black Report).

Another significant work in this direction has been by Sarah Earthy in her book entitled social class & Health Inequalities, in which it has been explained that there are many causes for health and social class. They could be attributed to social selecting, whether direct or indirect, the cultural behaviour could be seen in terms of particular cohorts indulging in health harming conduct and the material aspects could be in terms of social class or income disparities that could lead to health differences.( Sarah Earthy : Social Class and Health inequalities: Sociology of Contemporary societies).

The UK Government had commissioned Sir Donald Acheson to study the health conditions through an independt inquiry and submit a report, which he did. In 1998.

This was entitled the Independent inquiry into inequalities in Health Care Report.

It conduced in the following crucial areas that “all policies likely to have an impact on health should be evaluated in terms of their impact on health inequalities; secondly, a high priority should be given to the health of families with children; and thirdly, further steps should be taken to reduce income inequalities and improve the living standards of poor households “(Independent inquiry into inequalities in Health Care Report 1998).

Methodology

• Objective: The main objective of this study is a qualitative analysis to determine whether occupational or social class influences public health. Of people.
• Design: Cross sectional, qualitative cohort study working in various capacities – from clerk to company manager.
• Settings: Corporate setting of large industrial house in southern London, UK.
• Participants: Involving 250 men and women in the age group of 25- 55 years with more or less similar backgrounds and primary health assessments.
• Main outcome measure: The study seeks to confirm or nullify the research hypothesis whether class plays a dominant role in the determination of public health or not.
• Results: Considering the overwhelming responses to the interviews, which had a response rate of more than 76% (for men) and 67% (for women), it was seen that the hypothesis was carried unanimously

Conclusions

Although the survey validates the hypothesis that class cultures influences public health , there needs to be further research studies on how class divides could be reduced and a higher standards of health care in commensuration with the available resources could be made easily accessible to underprivileged and economically weaker sections of the society.

This would ensure that in future there would be more productive and better use of human resources in the country.

Works Cited

Work, Stress and Health: The Whitehall II study: 2004: Introduction: P 3. Web.

Socialist Health Association: The Black Report 1980: 2008. Web.

Sarah Earthy : Social Class and Health inequalities : Sociology of Contemporary societies: 2008. Web.

Independent inquiry into inequalities in Health Care Report 1998: Synopsis: 2008. Web.

Introduction

The World Health Organization has described extreme poverty as the greatest cause of suffering on earth. Poverty is determined in terms of an individual’s income or consumption levels. Human beings can be categorized as poor if they are not able to meet their basic needs (Leon & Walt, 2001). This paper is therefore an exploration of how a social class influences the health of a population.

How social class influences population health

Poverty has both direct and indirect effects on the social, mental, and physical well-being of an individual. People of lower socioeconomic class (poor people) have been linked to diseases like ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic stress, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer and heart disease. This is because they live in communities that are under-developed in terms of physical and social infrastructure and as a result, they are exposed to poor health conditions. Inequality in terms of income causes frustration and family disruption and can result in increased violence, homicide and increased crime rates (Leon & Walt, 2001).

In terms of employment, poor people are exposed to dangerous working environments involving stressful, unrewarding, and depersonalizing work. They lack the necessities of life and because they are not part of the mainstream of society, they are cut off from information and support. Owing to these stressful conditions most individuals result in alcohol and substance misuse. Studies have confirmed that alcohol and drug dependence are much higher in the unemployed class. In addition, mortality rates as a result of alcohol are higher for individuals in manual occupations than in their professional counterparts. Poor people prefer less healthy lifestyles since their income levels cannot allow them to spend on a healthy diet and also because they lack knowledge on balanced diets (Kawachi, Daniels & Robinson, 2005).

Ways in which social class relates with early medical care

Economic inequality not only creates segregation among the social classes but also a varied approach in facilitating treatment among them. There is a tendency for every class to seek early medical care although the probability is higher for people of higher social classes since they have better access to education and because they have the income needed. Educated people know about healthy diets and are less likely to die of diseases like diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases. Moreover, people of higher social class can secure medical insurance for their families and have the income to enable them to undergo regular medical checkups. Poor people tend to seek medical care only when they fall sick (Department of health, 2003).

Social class and health in U.S and Europe

Research has shown that upper-middle-class Americans live longer and in better health than middle-class Americans, who live longer and better than those at the bottom do. Although advances in medicine and disease prevention have increased life expectancy, only people with education, good jobs, connections and good money have benefitted. The same situation also applies to the European countries whereby a study conducted in nine European countries revealed that the higher percentage of those with mental disorders were those from poor backgrounds. In the United States, a health care program has been developed for those who are unable to pay although it has been strongly criticized as inequitable. Research has confirmed that low-income people have low rates of treatment for mental disorders as compared to the economically advantaged (Kawachi, Daniels & Robinson, 2005).

Conclusion

Governments especially in developing countries should develop initiatives to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and to improve the health and well-being of their populations. Measures for tackling unemployment should also be put in place as this would highly decrease the number of people suffering from psychological stress, strokes and heart diseases.

Reference List

Department of Health (2003). Tackling Health Inequalities: A Programme for Action. London: Department of Health.

Kawachi, I., Daniels, N., & Robinson, D. E. (2005). Health disparities by race and class: Why both matter. Health Affairs, 24(2), 343–352.

Leon, D. & Walt, G. (2001). Poverty, Inequality, and Health: An International Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

This research paper will indicate assorted factors that have an impact on the determination of a student towards higher education regarding his or her social class. Moreover, it focuses on the issue of social prejudice in the institutions of higher education. The main goals of the research paper is to investigate the number of aspects that affect the level of enrolment into institutions of higher education of undergraduates from lower social circles; to determine the comparative significance of these aspects for various minor groups of students and to elongate applicable policy endorsements. The significance of the research paper lies in evaluating an acute question of interdependence of social class and university education among students with different social backgrounds (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2012).

According to the researchers, the relative amount of juniors from lower social circles remained almost without changes for the last century. To be precise, the amount of students willing to get a graduate degree has enlarged; however, so did the amount of the representatives among students from every social class (Davis 2010). As a result, the disparity between students that had been obvious for many decades until the middle of the last century has finally retained to the end. Even the accelerated extension of university education during the beginning of the 1990s was not able to withstand it. Nowadays there is a broad spectrum of signs that depict detriment and prudent reviews of the past decade that allow to state with a precision that the disparity has been reducing significantly (Bolton 2010). Undergraduates from a disadvantaged environment have expanded their enrolment in the institutions of higher education on more rapid absolute ratio than the student with more beneficial upbringing. Nonetheless, there are a number of discrete factors that affect the dynamics of changes and are the reason for delaying the vanishing of the breaches in participation in higher education among students.

Factors Impacting the Diversity of Students of Different Social Groups

The primary argument in the favour of diversities in enrolment ratios among students of different social classes is the connection with family history, educational aspects, and the attitude towards the price and advantages of higher education. Nonetheless, there is a much broader extent of concerns that that affect the decision to enrol in an institution of higher education than a social background. These are “encouraging factors, discouraging factors, influencers, information, choice of institution and course and part-time education” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 4). Further, the research paper will provide a more detailed definition of these terms in order to evaluate the interdependence of social class and university education better.

Encouraging Factors

One of the primary stimulating elements is an assumption that a graduate degree will allow to obtain a more excelling job, an outlook for a better career, advanced paying and job preservation in general. However, only an outnumbered group of researched undergraduates claimed to take their career and future job into consideration while choosing their course of higher education. Individuals from higher social classes tend to accentuate the profitable result from their higher education than students from disadvantaged environments. The profitable results of education also are a target priority for students from different ethnic groups, of senior age and with occupational entry eligibility.

Discouraging Factors

The primary dispiriting factor against higher education aims its attention on employment as well as the encouraging factor (Fees and higher education 2014). “The main reasons why people from lower social class groups had decided against going on to higher education study, though qualified to get a place, are twofold. They either wanted to start employment, earn money and be independent at an earlier age, or they had a career or job goal in mind which did not require a degree qualification” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 4). The students of the lower social classes are concerned about their expenses, the costs of higher education, possible debt and its outcome – combining education with work.

Influencers

Preceding development of knowledge and family history can act as a decisive factor of enrolling into an institution of higher education, meaning that people involved in education can have different impacts on the decision course. “In particular for lower social class potential entrants, college tutors could be a key group of positive influencers on potential students, as were friends and family with current or recent higher education experience” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 6).

Information

Nowadays there is more than enough material for higher education available; however, frequently it is considered to be unreasonably intricate and excessively inexact. The main breach in material available concerns the finances and its probable advantage regarding future career and employment. The greater part of the undergraduates from lower social circles feels that the material that they had about the course of their higher education study and its cost was not sufficient enough.

Choice of Institution and Course

“Institutions are chosen by lower social class students mainly for reasons related to both cost (mostly to do with living away/staying close to home) and personal interest in specific subjects or courses offered by them” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 6).

Part-time Students

Part-time students are more likely to have disadvantaged social background than their full-time mates. The issues of working for a living, career, and enrolment into companies and organizations are more vital to them than higher education due to less encouragement from their family and other various commitments related to their background. Moreover, part-time students from lower social classes are more inclined on depending on their private money funds while receiving higher education.

Policy Endorsements

After observing diverse factors that impact the level of participating in higher education, several policy endorsements would be suggested. “The benefits of higher education should be better and more widely communicated. In particular, outcomes associated with improved employability and finance need to be given more prominence, though it is recognized that this is an area of variability across student body, especially in the first years after graduation” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 7). Furthermore, the help of advisers should be implemented in order to help students from lower social classes to communicate with people with contemporary experience of higher education. As a result, undergraduates with various social backgrounds would be able to attend the school or college of their choice and debate over their hopes and expectations of higher education with other, more competent students. Finance issue becomes an acute problem for students of lower social classes. “Affording the costs of higher education, while not by itself the single prohibitive factor, is a discouragement. The low-income families could be helped by better guidance on the financial support available and the likely net costs of different options for them, according to their different circumstances” (Connor & Dewson 2001, p. 7). The material on financial support and benefits should be introduced in a way that a student with every social background would able to retrieve it at the beginning of the course of decision-making and choosing an institution of higher education.

Reference List

Bolton, P 2010, Higher education and social class, House of Commons Library, Westminster.

Connor, H & Dewson, S 2001, Social class and higher education, Institute for Employment Studies, Falmer.

Davis, R 2010, Does your social class decide if you go to university? Get the full list of colleges. Web.

Fees and higher education: does social class make a difference?2014. Web.

Saunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2012, Research methods for business students, Pearson Education, New York.

A Lesson Plan

Nowadays, the integration of social concepts is important in the modern classroom. Paying attention to gender and diversity is critical, as nowadays, these notions are substantial aspects of social values. In this instance, it is reasonable to propose a multicultural program to educate the students about a plethora of ethnicities and to enhance “respect for all human cultures” (Jones, 2015, p. 109). Suitable subjects are social studies, history, and arts. Based on the factors provided above, the primary goal of the lesson/program is 1) to help students learn about new cultures; and 2) develop new concepts and involve students in the interactions.

The materials used are interactive board, classroom (space), and art supplies. As for the objectives, they are

1. students will have to keep special diaries to reflect their thoughts and ideas about different cultures;
2. learning about new cultures and taking advantage of the modern technology; and
3. introducing tasks, which will engage all students in the learning process equally.

Speaking of various comprehensive integration strategies and activities, these aspects will involve

1. keeping a diary of their thoughts, stereotypes, and feelings about different cultures;
2. designing posters representing the integration of cultures in the modern community (group work);
3. presenting students a new culture every week;
4. engaging students in partner talks and discussion to understand the significance of diversity and equality and develop creativity (Jacobson, 2014); and
5. writing a reflection essay to understand the learning outcomes of the program.

Lastly, assessment methods have to be proposed. One of them is depicting students’ changes in the behavior by using observations (Completely kindergarten, 2016). At the same time, the teacher can consider self and peer assessments as possibilities, and this approach can be implemented by sharing the final essays. Using checklists with all objectives will have a beneficial impact on the understanding of the effectiveness of the instructional style.

Implications of Social Class on Schooling

To enhance the learning environment in the classroom, one has to consider the implications of social class on schooling. One of the effects is the fact that belonging to a low socio-economic class creates a perception of exclusion (Kane, 2014). This matter occurs since parents do not have enough financial resources to contribute to the child’s social image and learning (Kane, 2014). Consequently, this aspect creates a wrong perception of a student in the classroom and leads to the elevation in stress levels.

Thus, another implication is a correlation of the social class with the academic performance (Rothstein, 2016). The studies conducted in the past indicate that “students’ family characteristics” have a substantial influence on academic excellence (Rothstein, 2016, p. 1). Therefore, the presence of this issue is highly related to the different approaches parents attain in raising children (Rothstein, 2016). Having dissimilar values affects the family’s perception of education and contributes to expanding the gap in academic excellence. It could be said that a social class not only influences the perception of a student in the classroom but also contributes to the low grades and lack of the particular skills required for successful learning.

In the context of the presented lesson plan, the most suitable approach is treating all students equally in the classroom. In the case of misunderstanding, the topic of equality has to be raised within the designed lesson plan to explain its significance to the students. At the same time, learners with low socioeconomic status have to be actively integrated into group activities. This approach will help avoid exclusion and make the students a critical part of the class community.

Instructional Strategies to Avoid Gender Bias

Despite the pivotal influence of social class on one’s academic achievements, one cannot underestimate gender bias as a social phenomenon. The formation of gender identity is a continuous process, which takes place with the assistance of the interactions (Ronnlund, 2015). In this case, one of the instructional strategies is conducting discussions as a part of the multicultural program. One of the topics of the lesson might discuss the definition of gender in every culture. Using this approach will have a beneficial impact on the understanding of modern social norms.

Another method is integrating students of all genders in the discussion equally. For instance, a teacher should avoid asking stereotyped male questions to male students. The constant reinforcement of stereotype thinking might negatively affect the possibility of the development of an equitable classroom. Thus, a teacher has to pay substantial attention to his/her actions and statements, as it might hurt gender identification among students (Russel & Horn, 2016).

To eliminate the possibility of unrealistic and cosmic bias, one has to consider presenting realistic case examples. For instance, the teacher has to stick to the accurate depiction of a country or region when on its cultural preferences, customs, and gender identity. Adding extra information in the form of opinions will affect the development of the stereotypes in the classroom (Russel & Horn, 2016).

In this case, taking advantage of classroom technology will help portray the behavior of males and females in different countries. Based on the instructional strategies highlighted above, it could be said that the development of gender bias is dependent on the teacher’s actions. Thus, applying the described instructional strategies will help avoid seven forms of bias and contribute to the cultivation of an equitable classroom.

A Method of Conceptualizing the Lesson in Terms of Diverse Social Groups

It could be said that a proposed lesson plan can be conceptualized in the classroom. In this case, the diverse preferences and cultural specifics have to be considered when proposing activities. The initial goal of the program or lesson is to highlight the significance of diversity in modern society. The students can select the country or ethnicity, which interests them the most. At the same time, they have to compare it with their own culture. For instance, it remains apparent that Muslims’ culture and religion form particular associations. In this case, the students of this social group can take part in the discussion and compare their customs with the others in the classroom. Simultaneously, the learners of other social groups can also participate in the debate and present their opinions respectively.

In turn, students can draw what they think about different cultures. Using a concept of discussion and art studio will create a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom. The students will be free to share their knowledge and opinions. As for the teacher, he/she would be the one, who supplies the students with the required materials and information in the form of the presentations. Thus, the students will be in control of the discussion, and the teacher will navigate the debate when it changes its flow to the wrong topic.

References

Completely kindergarten: kindergarten curriculum guide. (2016). Web.

Jacobson, E. (2014). What effect will talk partners have in the primary writer’s workshop.

Jones, J. (2015). Infusing multicultural education into the curriculum: Preparing pre-service teachers to address homophobia in K-12 schools. International Journal of Multicultural Educations, 17(3), 107-119.

Kane, J. (2014). Social class, gender, and exclusion from school. London, UK: Routledge.

Ronnlund, M. (2015). Schoolyard stories: Processes of gender identity in a ‘children’s place’. Childhood, 22(1), 85-100.

Rothstein, R. (2016). Class and the classroom. Web.

Russel, S., & Horn, S. (2016). Sexual orientation, gender identity, and schooling: The nexus of research practice and policy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

The concept of social class

Marxism is a method of social inquiry which looks at economic, socioeconomic, and sociopolitical aspects of society. According to Karl Marx, people are producers and products of the society in which they live. According to him, society is made up of different parts that influence each other. He argues that the history of human society is that of tension and conflict. As per the manifesto written by him and Friedrich Engels in 1848, ‘the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggle, that of free men and slaves, lords and serfs, who stand in a relationship of an oppressor and oppressed and are therefore in constant opposition to one another’(Heslop 2014).

Karl Marx presents two-class models of society, namely the bourgeoisie and the workers. The bourgeoisie is the capitalists and the owners of capital. They are also few, rich, powerful, oppressors, exploiters, and they always win elections in democratic countries. On the other hand, the workers are the majority and owners of labor. However, they are powerless, and as a result, they are oppressed and exploited by the bourgeoisie. The workers never win elections in democratic countries due to a lack of political support. Marx describes the workers as ‘a class in itself’ in the sense that they share the same objectives and relationships to the means of production, that is, they are laborers who are paid in wages (Binkley & Littler 2014).

The two classes are always in conflict with each other because their interests are not compatible. While the bourgeoisie has the interests of maintaining the status quo, which ensures their dominance, the workers are interested in changing the status quo, which deprives them of good life. However, the two classes are not aware of the nature of the circumstances which they live in, but they assume that it is natural and nothing can be done to change the circumstances, a situation which Karl Marx calls false class consciousness (Stephens 2013).

The bourgeoisie is not aware that they are the oppressors, while the workers are not aware that they are the oppressed. The workers are also not aware that they are poor, but they assume that they are naturally supposed to be poor. However, when the workers become aware of the reality, that is, when they know that they are exploited by the bourgeoisie, what follows is a revolution. Marx argues that the Russian revolution of 1917 was as a result of the realization by the workers that they were being oppressed by the bourgeoisie.

According to Karl Marx, the defining features of social class are the ownership or lack of ownership of the means of production. He argues that those who own the means of production are able to exploit those who do not own them. Marx further argues that both labor and capital are essential in the stability of the economy. The reason is that the capital cannot transform itself into wealth without labor, while the labor cannot create wealth without the capital.

It, therefore, follows that the bourgeoisie and the workers must work together because none can exist independently of the other. What this means is that both the bourgeoisie and the workers are equal shareholders in the wealth which is created through their interaction. However, it is not always the case. The reason is that at the end of the production process, the sharing of the profits is not fair since the supply value is appropriated by the bourgeoisie at the expense of the workers.

Social class and consumption

As outlined by Veblen and Bourdieu in their various works, consumerism has undergone radical changes that have culminated in a new form of consumerism known as conspicuous consumption. This new form of consumerism is characterized by irrational desires to spend income on luxuries instead of meeting basic needs. They argue that the average UK citizens today are more extravagant than UK citizens of the 1950s and 60s.

During those days, consumerism was characterized by peer influence at the neighborhood level, that is, people used to compare themselves with their peers in their immediate neighborhoods, and as a result, consumption was largely based on basic needs, not on luxuries. During those days also, it was hard to find people living beyond their means because they only desired those social statuses, which were in line with their income (Kent 2015).

However, the emergence of the new media, globalization, cultural diversity, and the modern workplace has brought a new dimension of consumerism. As Veblen and Bourdieu point out, the new media has played a big role in fueling the new consumerism, which is characterized by the desire of UK citizens to spend beyond their means. The reason is that many media advertisements tent to promote the culture of spending without providing alternatives to luxurious lifestyles. In most cases, the new media promotes affluent lifestyles that are affordable to the middle-class but beyond the reach of low-income earners. UK citizens have also detached themselves from their immediate neighborhoods and chosen the new media as their agent of socialization, and as a result, both middle-class and low-income earners live beyond their means for fear of being isolated by their peers (Chaney 2012).

Many UK citizens have also shifted their relationships from the neighborhoods to the workplace, where they tend to compare themselves with their workmates. This shift has contributed to the desire to overspend because many people at the workplace have multiple sources of income and are able to afford affluent lifestyles. It means that those who depend on one source of income are not able to cater to luxurious lifestyles, and as a result, they strain to emulate their peers at the workplace who have many sources of income (Kaufmann, Fateh & Panini 2014).

According to Veblen and Bourdieu, the new consumerism is based on cultural and symbolic capital. Cultural capital has to do with the desire to enhance an individual’s social mobility beyond the individual’s means (Bell & Hollows 2013). For example, after acquiring university degrees, many people tend to adopt luxurious lifestyles such as expensive attire, the desire to own a car and buy a home, among other desires. However, acquiring a university degree does not necessarily mean that an individual has a sustainable income to enhance his or her social mobility.

Symbolic capital has to do with the resources which enhance an individual’s social status. The resources may be material (money) or immaterial (fame) (Bell & Hollows 2013). For example, many international footballers are not only wealthy, but they are also recognized by many people across the globe. This recognition compels them to adopt luxurious lifestyles so as to match their social status. As a result, they tend to purchase the latest fashions of clothes, cars, electronic gadgets, and furniture.

Veblen and Bourdieu further argue that the new consumerism has led to many problems for individuals, countries, and the international community. To start with, research has shown that there has been a remarkable decline in savings by employed and self-employed UK citizens. During the 1950s, more UK citizens were able to save than today. The decline in savings by UK citizens is largely attributed to the competitive consumption associated with new consumerism (Bell & Hollows 2013).

The other problem with new consumerism is that there has been an increasing aspirational gap, which is responsible for the declining quality of life for many middle-class UK citizens (Kent 2015). The majority of them are constantly worried about their future due to the ever-increasing gap between incomes and consumption desires. Many middle-class UK citizens today aspire to take their children to private instead of public schools. They also live in prestigious residents so as to emulate their reference groups in the global society (Kent 2015).

The need to emulate the reference groups in the global society has also brought other cost-related problems such as the need to own more than one car, inflated budgets for domestic chores such as dry cleaning, career wardrobe, and unending holidays. These have led to a huge disparity between income and consumption.

For the low-income earners, these problems are magnified by the fact that the low-income earners are an easy target of credit card vendors who take advantage of the new media to convince the low-income earners to get credit to meet their irrational consumption desires. The low-income earners are also hard hit by the inability to meet their desires due to job instability, poor wages, and increased inflation of goods and services. As a result, the stress levels of the low-income earners are higher than those of the middle-class earners (Hodge 2014).

The new consumerism is also characterized by the up-scaling of spending norms and a relatively constant or declining income. As Veblen and Bourdieu point out, there has been an upsurge in private consumption of income at the expense of public consumption (Brewer & Porter 2013). There are also many UK citizens who engage in conspicuous leisure and conspicuous waste despite their inadequate incomes. The implication is that many UK citizens are becoming individualistic than before. The up-scaling of spending norms has forced many UK citizens to work for many hours so as to get the income to cater for private consumption. There has also been a remarkable decrease in savings, especially among the low-income earners due to huge financial burdens (Baird 2014).

These problems have been exacerbated by the conventional view that the consumer knows it all. This view is based on the idea of democratization and pluralization of consumption, which views the consumer as a sovereign entity with the ability to manipulate the production and supply of products and services (Smith, Wen-Ng & Popkin 2013). The conventional view makes it hard for the government to control the forces of demand and supply because the products which are not preferred by consumers are not produced at all. Companies that ignore consumer s’ desires are forced to exit the market due to stiff competition (Mansvelt 2011).

As opposed to a few decades ago, it is becoming increasingly difficult for MNEs to meet the needs and preferences of their customers, especially due to increased transparency in the free market economy. There are also increased levels of awareness among the customers on the current global market trends, and as such, customers are constantly looking for the ‘next big thing’ from different MNEs (McGary 2010).

The conventional view also makes it hard for the government to legislate on how people should spend their income. Even though it is illogical for people to own two cars when they are not able to maintain them, it is not possible to enact policies that prevent them from owning the two cars. The inability to control irrational spending further magnifies the problems of new consumerism discussed above.

Veblen and Bourdieu provide some recommendations for these problems. First of all, they argue that there is a need for the government to partner with agencies that educate people on the need to focus on the quality of life, not on the quantity of ‘stuff.’ If people are made to understand that the quality of life is not measured by the number of items they own, the majority of them would be able to live within their means and resist the temptation to emulate their reference groups for them to be happy in life.

Another recommendation offered to address the problems is for the government to reinforce ecologically sustainable consumption through the enactment of policies that protect the environment from pollution and global warming. The government may do so by increasing the taxes for the high-end products and making the low-end products tax free (Veblen 2011).

Another strategy to deal with the problems is for the government to regulate the employment industry by banning all companies which allow employees to work overtime. The government may also ensure that no employees are denied their right to go for leave or holidays. Veblen and Bourdieu also recommend that the government should come up with policies that regulate access to credit by ensuring that people get credit to cater to their basic needs, not for luxuries (Wallace 2013).

Further to that, they recommend a reduction of private services and an increase of public services in the education, health, and transport sectors to curb the increasing demand for such services in the private sector, which encourages irrational spending. The government can increase the demand for public services by improving the quality of services in the education, health, and transport sectors (Graziano & Forno 2012).

There are some authors who agree and disagree with Veblen and Bourdieu on the issue of consumption. For instance, George Simmel argues that the problems of new consumerism are entrenched in the structures of social inequality in society, and therefore, there is a need to fight social inequality so as to eliminate the problems of new consumerism (Simmel 2011). However, he argues that the irrational desire by the low-income earners to spend their income on luxuries does not always lead to poverty. The reason is that some low-income earners, through hard work and diversification of sources of income, are able to climb the ladder and attain the status of high-income earners.

Just like Veblen and Bourdieu, Tonnies agrees that conspicuous consumption always trickles down along the social hierarchy. Tonnies also shares the view that the government should put in place policies to ensure sustainable consumption. He also argues that the government should come up with ways of increasing the levels of income and educating people about the dangers of irrational consumption. However, he holds the view that the rate of conspicuous consumption is higher among the high-income earners because they have more disposable income than the low-income earners (Bond 2013).

Reference List

Baird, I 2014, Eighteenth-century thing theory in a global context: from consumerism to celebrity culture, Ashgate, Burlington, VT. Web.

Bell, D & Hollows, J 2013, Historicising lifestyle: mediating taste, consumption and identity from the 1900s to 1970s, Ashgate Publishing, London. Web.

Binkley, S & Littler, J 2014, Cultural studies and anti-consumerism, Routledge, London. Web.

Bond, N 2013, Understanding Ferdinand Tönnies’ community and society: social theory and political philosophy between enlightened liberal individualism, Lit, Berlin. Web.

Brewer J & Porter, P 2013, Consumption and the world of goods, Routledge, London. Web.

Chaney, D 2012, Lifestyles: key ideas, Routledge, London. Web.

Graziano, P & Forno, F, 2012, ‘Political Consumerism and New Forms of Political Participation’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 644 no. 1, pp. 121-133. Web.

Heslop, H 2014, Theories of surplus and transfer (routledge revivals): parasites and producers in economic thought, Routledge, London. Web.

Hodge, C.J 2014, Consumerism and the emergence of the middle class in colonial america, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Web.

Kaufmann, H, Fateh, M & Panni, A 2014, Handbook of research on consumerism in business and marketing: concepts and practices, Business Science Reference, Hershey, PA. Web.

Kent, N. J 2015, America in 1900, Routledge, London. Web.

Mansvelt, J 2011, Green consumerism: an A-to-Z guide, Sage Reference, Los Angeles. Web.

McGary, K 2010, Instanity! : Desperation for “hope” and “change” prompts a state of instant, selective, and intentional insanity!, Tate Publishing & Enterprises, Okla. Web.

Simmel, G 2011, The philosophy of money, Routledge, London. Web.

Smith, L, Wen-Ng, S & Popkin, B 2013, ‘Trends in US home food preparation and consumption: analysis of national nutrition surveys and time use studies from 1965–1966 to 2007–2008’, Nutrition Journal, vol.12, no.1, pp.12-45. Web.

Stephens, D 2013, The retail revival: re-imagining business in the new age of consumerism, Wiley & Sons, Toronto: J. Web.

Veblen, T 2011, Theory of the leisure class, Outlook Verlag, S.l. Web.

Wallace, T 2013, America is self-destructing: wealth, greed, and ideology trump common cause and social justice, Author House, London. Web.

The analysis of the grocery stores in Jacksonville FL shows that there are certain differences in consumption patterns caused by race, class and family traditions. For this reason, I visited General Grocery Store located in 5059 Normandy Blvd and Dino European Grocery Store located in 10230 Atlantic Blvd. the analysis shows that black people have different consumption and dietary patterns in contrast to white population.

In both grocery stores, black consumers prefer to buy large amount of fruits and vegetables while white population buys products for 2-3 days only. This case shows that families are social institutions and as purchasing units, they have shared dietary principles and rituals. The consumption differences are based on emotional, nonlogical, ethical, and moral factors. The majority of poor family prefers to buy low quality products in large quantities. They pay a special attention to discounts and promotion campaigns trying to save money on other purchases. At General Grocery Store, it was evident that the style of life of the family has a great influence on purchasing and consumption patterns as while population never bought cheap and spoilt goods. At Dino European Grocery, black and racial minorities prefer to buy more vegetables than fruits while white population buys exotic fruits and less vegetables. Race plays an important role in consumption and affects family values, shaping purchase behavior. Within the family unit a difference may be drawn between requests and actual needs. When a male member of the family requests something for dinner, he is the decision maker, and the obedient wife, or shopper, is just the instrument in making the purchase, although she may have significant latitude on choice of brand. It is evident that in black low class families the decision-making remains solely with the wife, and though the woman may take into account the requests, desires, and advice of other members of the family, she has no obligation to do so.

At General Grocery Store, purchasing decision are influenced by the head of the family and healthcare diet followed by the family. The middle class and upper class consumers follow health conscious menus trying to buy quality grocery products each day. The coordinated and well-matched family, which is regarded as the ideal model, encompasses an estimated 50 % of all families. In middle class black and white families, the family shares a good measure of common sense regarding their economic situations and purchasing issues. The poor, incompatible family is an unstable, unsatisfactory purchasing tool that seems to bring little satisfaction to members of the family. In General Grocery Store, it was evident that many people travel to this supermarket from other neighborhoods (McCracken 23).

In sum, the analysis shows that social class and consumption preferences of the family are the main factors in decision-making. Race does not have a great impact on consumption patterns. It is not income alone but life-style of the family factors that are viewed as among the most important issues influencing and shaping purchasing activity. In black and white middle class income families there is a lack of income and expenditure planning: all expenditures are made for items that cannot be afforded. In contrast, low class poor families with many children purchased at Dino European Grocery Store use budgets, gather and organize information, plan purchases, specialize purchase behavior, evaluate benefits received, and make purchases to solve daily problems. In poor families, the housewife is a person who performs the buying function and becomes specialized and is usually most skillful in grocery purchases.

Woks Cited

McCracken, G. Culture and Consumption: New Approaches to the Symbolic Character of Consumer Goods and Activities Indiana University Press, 2002.

Introduction

The Marxist theory identifies that people are usually divided into different social classes depending on how they relate to the factors of production. The theory further notes that the different political views humans hold and the various ideological differences in the minds of many are all as a result of class differentials.

According to the Marxist theory, the current structure of the factors of production is in direct relation to the structure of social classes in the society. However, the Marxist theory has been variable and open to different schools of thought such as those advanced by Thomson and Tronti, stating that class consciousness in capitalistic systems of production facilitate sound relationships in production. In this manner, the Marxist theory tries to explain the underlying factors that relate to class struggles.

Class Structure

The Marxists theory distinguishes class differentials existent in the society through the ownership of the factors of production and the influence an individual has on the labor power used as a factor of production. In this manner, the Marxist principles advance the fact that the society is typically segregated into three classes constituting the capitalists who control most of the factors of production, workers who are not empowered to buy the labor of others (and are therefore prompted to sell their own) and lastly, the society which is segregated into the petite bourgeoisie class which is an intermediary of the above social classes and has the power to own factors of production at a minimal level although they do not have the power to purchase labor from others. This classification exposes one of the biggest weaknesses to Marxist theory because the classification of the petite bourgeoisie class does not go beyond people being “small capitalists”.

Class Conflicts

The Marxist theory purports that most of society’s conflicts trace their roots to class conflicts which later lead to societal revolutions that change the status quo. Even after societal revolutions were experienced in the past, the Marxist theory advances the fact that even in modern society, class antagonisms have not be eliminated.

Instead, the modern society has devised new ways of oppressing people, created new types of social classes and also devised new manners of class competition. In spite of nothing much being done by the modern society to reduce class conflict, the Marxist theory advances the fact that the new developments have simplified class conflict. More vividly, the theory purports that the society is quickly segregating into two large groups (upper and low classes) which are in constant feud with one another.

The Marxist theory further establishes that class conflicts have greatly influenced the progression of history plus the trajectories we evidence in the society today are also a result of the same. Nonetheless, even as Marx advances his principles, he makes us understand that even in light of all these class conflicts, there is a mutual interest all the classes have and in more conventional terms, this is known as class consciousness.

This concept is employed by the Marxist principles to identify that classes also have their own sense of consciousness which represent an individual’s capability of acting according to the interests of his class and also very interesting is the fact that different social classes normally have their own distinct class consciousness which are normally in opposition to one another and thus the leading cause of class conflict.

Initially, class conflict was majorly observed in highly capitalistic societies and in factories but as capitalism changed and became more advanced, Marx notes that classes became more disparate. In turn, the society became somewhat integrated but the struggle now boiled down to individual conflicts. The Marxist theory therefore notes that from this kind of extreme capitalism at the societal level, there is bound to be an increased sense of class consciousness and individual interests are also likely to be amplified.

Also when the sense of class consciousness is augmented, the ruling class gains because the time factor for such interest is increased by manipulating policies in favor of higher classes. Through the influence of policies to maintain the current class differentials and extreme forms of capitalism, the issue becomes largely political. This later becomes the onset of political struggles for power.

Also, since the struggle for political power is largely influenced by the control of resources of the means to production; it does not come as a surprising fact that the high class people in the society would use the same power to safeguard their interests (in terms of property and wealth) and influence social relations through policies. The Marxist Principle therefore notes that the ruling class seeks to control most of the power in the society because a great percentage of economic power is also within their control.

Conclusion

The Marxist principles to a far extent emphasize that class differentials are dictated by the relationship people have towards factors of production. In this manner, those who control most of the factors of production constitute the high class people in the society (or the ruling class).

These people have tremendous power to control the factors of production and can also purchase the labor of others. Closely following is the petite bourgeoisie class which is the intermediary class that has a significant influence on the factors of production but they do not have the power to purchase labor. Lastly, those who cannot purchase labor or control the factors of production are termed as the lowest class and largely constitute of workers.