Social Class and Inequality

Marx Weber argued that class status is made up of wealth, power, and prestige. One can have an idea of your class status by looking at for example a family's living room. Seeing the different sized couches, modern yet causal looking furniture and a t.v., one will realize that this is a middle class family living room.

Examining this living room, one will realize that this is designed in a very modern way. The colors and type of furniture that it is made up of makes us understand that this is a living room of a single man/woman who is part of the upper class.

By looking at the physical things on people, in this case how the women are dressed up, people will know that the women who are well dressed and have lots of jewelry on are part of the upper class (rich), and the ones wearing absolutely no jewelry, looking like maids are from the lower class (poor).

Erving Goffman specifies that there are many things, in this case clothing, that gives others information about ones socioeconomic status. By examining this women, you see that she is wearing a Coco Chanel blazer and pants, Tory Burch flats, Prada purse, and an excess amount of jewelry. One's conclusion will be that she is definitely from the upper class.

By examining this scenery, one will understand that our friends and the activities we do with them also provide others information about our socioeconomic status. These group of boys are skateboarding in a an empty pool because they have no where else to go. By seeing this, one will know that these boys are probably from the middle class.