THE AMERICAN DREAM
The Role of Social Class
in the
“Pursuit of Happiness”
AMERICAN DREAM
• Land of Opportunity
• Rags to Riches—Anyone can become rich,
famous, powerful.
• Jobs and education available to all who want
them.
• Meritocracy (rewards)=skill + effort.
• Through hard work, courage and determination
one can achieve prosperity. Americans can live
better than their parents did.
“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty, and the
PURSUIT of Happiness”
Social Mobility
• The movement of families up and down
the economic ladder
• 40% of incomes stayed at about the same
level; 60% moved up or down.
• Only 37 of America’s 400 wealthiest
inherited their money from their family.
Social Classes
The hierarchical distinctions
between individuals or groups in
societies.
Social Stratification
The study of systematic
inequality between groups of
people
What are the key features of
social class?
• WEALTH
– Valued possessions : cash, land, buildings, property
– Income : money from employment, shares etc.
– Tends to be intergenerational
• POWER
– Ability to carry out one’s will, even if opposed by
others
– Who has power???
• PRESTIGE
– Respect given to people with valued positions or
resources
Upper Class Facts
Q. What % of Americans belong to the upper class?
–
0.5%
Q. Extent of wealth?
–
–
Top 1% owns more than one third of ALL net worth in the U.S.
50% U.S. stocks, 60% bonds; corporations, property,
inheritances; income mostly from investments not employment
Q. Source of power?
–
–
Ownership of resources - money makes money
Economic power and political power intertwined
Q. Source of prestige?
–
family name & resources (old: Rockefeller, Carnegie, Walton,
Getty; new: Gates)
Corporate Class Facts
Q. What % of Americans?
–
0.5%
Q. Extent of wealth?
–
–
–
–
A lot, but not as much as the upper class
Usually not major owners of companies
median CEO salary $10.8 million
President of the U.S. $400,000 (why do it then??)
Q. Source of power?
–
Heads of companies, government
Q. Source of prestige?
–
Position of influence
Middle Class
The Cosby Show
America’s first black
middle class TV
family
Middle Class Facts
Q. What % of Americans?
–
43%
Q. Extent of wealth?
–
–
–
Some
Ownership—own home
Income—mid to high income
– Engineer, $58,000
– Teacher, $34,000
– ALC Professor, ??
Q. Source of power?
-
Limited within context of occupation
Q. Source of prestige?
–
Some more than others, White collar job
Working Class
Photograph from a book
Working Class Facts
Q. What % of Americans?
– 43%
Q. Extent of wealth?
– Little
– Ownership—little or no property
– Income—mid to low
– Factory worker,
$24,000
– Machine operator, $23,000
Q. Source of power?
– Limited, sometimes collective power through unions
Q. Source of prestige?
– Very little, Blue collar jobs
Lower Class
Homeless man in
New York - one of
thousands
Lower Class Facts
Q. What % of Americans?
– 13%
Q. Extent of wealth?
– Very little, usually none
– Ownership: none
– Income: low
– Poverty rate in 2001: 9.9%
– Only about 1/3 of poor get welfare
Q. Source of power?
– Limited to none
Q. Source of prestige?
Inequality Based on Class
• Health—Higher class live longer (79.2 years vs.
74.7 years).
• Crime—impoverished areas tend to have higher
crime rates
• Education—despite continued increases in
financial aid, the proportion of higher class
students at elite schools is increasing.
• Families—higher class are more likely to have
children while within marriage and at older ages.
Distribution of Wealth
Racial gaps in the labor market
Race
Unemployment, 2000
Hispanic or Latino
9.3%
White
4.3%
Black
11.8%
American Indian
12.4%
Asian
5.1%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific
Islander
10.9%
Gender gaps in the labor market
• More men work full time than women, but
comparing men and women who work:
Median Income
Male
Female
$29,458
$18,957
– For every dollar men make, women make 64
cents
Why does the gender gap exist?
• Education?
– Women make up over 50% of students in college
Men and Women with a BA (1999)
Male
$47,126
Female
$34,455
• Men work more hours?
– Women in full-time work earn less than men with the
same educational qualification
Poverty rates and Gender
30
25
20
15
10
Total
5
0
In families
In
Female
married- headed
couple families
families
Male
headed
families
Revisiting the American Dream
• Land of Opportunity?
– “rags to riches” or “the rich get rich?”
 classes tend to reproduce themselves (e.g.
occupational & wealth inheritance, legacy admits)
– are all jobs open and equal for everyone?
 clearly not
• Social class is achieved or ascribed?
 between 40 to 60% of parental income advantage
passed on to children
• A meritocracy?
– barriers to channels of upward mobility (e.g. a good
education)
American: A Tale of Two Cities