Social class
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. Anthropologists, historians and sociologists identify class as universal, although what determines class varies widely from one society to another. Even within a society, different people or groups may have very different ideas about what makes one "high" or "low" in the hierarchy.
The most basic class distinction between the two groups is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with more power usually subordinate classes with less power, while attempting to cement their own power positions in society. Social classes with a great deal of power are usually viewed as elites, at least within their own societies.
In the simplest societies, power is closely linked to the ability to assert one's status through physical strength; thus age, gender, and physical health are often common delineators of class in rudimentary tribes. However, spiritual charisma and religious vision can be at least as important. Also, because different livelihoods are so closely intertwined in simple societies, morality often ensures that the old, the young, the weak, and the sick maintain a relatively equal standard of living despite low class status.
See also
See also
- Bohemianism
- Caste
- Chattering classes
- Class conflict
- Class consciousness
- Class in the contemporary United States
- Classless society
- Elite theory
- Elitism
- Gilbert Model
- Health and Social Class
- Mass society
- Marriage gap
- National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC)
- Passing
- Poverty in the United States
- Raznochinets
- Reverse snobbery
- Second-class citizen
- Snob
- Social class in American history
- Social exclusion
- Social mobility
- Social structure of the United States
- Subculture
- Social status
- Social stratification
- Social position
- U and non-U English
- Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (book)