Social Class:

The economic and the cultural arrangements of groups in a society are broadly known as Social classes. The sociologist and the political scientist feel that the social classes are very essential for their research. The social class is described well in social stratification which is comprised of three different classes; namely upper class, middle class and lower class.

In a broader sense it can be said that the basic distinction is between the powerless and the powerful. “Elites” is the social class with power and sophistication. There have been so many social theories and concerning the use of power by the upper class which says that this class cements their own ranking above the other classes which are said to be lower than this class. It is observed that the class difference in a society is ineradicable and cannot be rooted out from the society.

According the Karl Marx there are two basic class divisions which are determined by the basic economic structure of property and work. They are the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The proletariat is included under the wage labour by the capitalists where the capitalist own the production including the proletariat who sell their own labour power.

The enlargement of middle class has been noted by the theorists like Ralf Dahrendorf in the modern western societies. These enlarged middles are in relation to the education work force which is necessitated in technological economies.  The developing nations and the Third World countries have started accommodating the low-level laborers who started shifting to these countries. There are perspectives drawn focusing the neocolonialism, globalization and dependency theory. This shift has made the developed countries to become less directly active in primary industry which in turn necessitated these countries to be very much involved in services and virtual goods. As a result complexity has risen in comprehending the national concept of social class.

 The social class is also influenced by Race. In many societies the association of the ethnic groups with class statuses is common. For example, the caste system in Africa, apartheid and the Burakumin in Japanese society are an offspring of the legal links between the class and the ethnicity in modern societies. From society to society the ethnicities that are to be considered high and that are to be considered low varies.

In 1770s the concept of Middle class has crept into the social structure. This term has first entered the English lexicon and then spread throughout the world.

Questions:

• What is a Social class?
• What are the two basic class division brought forth by Karl Marx?