The American middle class.docx

The American middle class.docx

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TheAmericanmiddleclass

TheAmericanmiddleclassisasocialclassintheUnitedStates.Whiletheconceptistypicallyambiguousinpopularopinionandcommonlanguageuse,contemporarysocialscientistshaveputforwardseveral,moreorlesscongruent,theoriesontheAmericanmiddleclass.Dependingonclassmodelused,themiddleclassmayconstituteanywherefrom25%to66%ofhouseholds.

ThefirststudiesofthemiddleclassinAmerica.Constitutingroughly15%to20%ofhouseholdsistheupperorprofessionalmiddleclassconsistingofhighlyeducated,salariedprofessionalsandmanagers.Constitutingroughlyonethirdofhouseholdsisthelowermiddleclassconsistingmostlyofsemi-professionals,skilledcraftsmenandlowerlevelmanagement.Middleclasspersonscommonlyhaveacomfortablestandardofliving,significanteconomicsecurity,considerableworkautonomyandrelyontheirexpertisetosustainthemselves.

Everyonewantstobelievetheyaremiddleclass.Butthiseagernesshasledthedefinitiontobestretchedlikeabungeecord —usedtodefend/attack/describeeverything.TheDrumMajorInstituteplacestherangeformiddleclassatindividualsmakingbetween$25,000and$100,000ayear.Ahyes,there'sagroupofpeopleboundtorunintoeachotherwhilehouse-hunting.

Membersofthemiddleclassbelongtodiversegroupswhichoverlapwitheachother.Overall,middleclasspersons,especiallyuppermiddleclassindividuals,arecharacterizedbyconceptualizing,creatingandconsulting.Thus,collegeeducationisoneofthemainindicatorsofmiddleclassstatus.Themiddleclassesareveryinfluential,astheyencompassthemajorityofvoters,writers,teachers,journalists,andeditors.MostsocietaltrendsintheUSoriginatewithinthemiddleclasses

The"professionalclass",alsocalledthe"uppermiddleclass",consistsmostlyofwhitecollarprofessionals,mostofwhomarehighlyeducated,salariedprofessionalswhoseworkislargelyself-directed.Manyhavegraduatedegrees,witheducationalattainmentservingasthemaindistinguishingfeatureofthisclass.Householdincomescommonlyexceed$100,000.Classmemberstypicallyholdgraduatedegrees.

Lowermiddleclass

Thelowermiddleclassisthemostpopulous,constituting34%ofthepopulation.Inallthreeclassmodelsthelowermiddleclassissaidtoconsistof"semi-professionals"andlowerlevelwhitecollaremployees.Anadaptationbyscientistgavethefollowingdescriptionofthelowermiddleclass:

Thesearepeopleintechnicalandlower-levelmanagementpositionswhoworkforthoseintheuppermiddleclassaslowermanagers,craftspeople工匠;手艺人,andthelike.Theyenjoyareasonablycomfortablestandardofliving,althoughitisconstantlythreatenedbytaxesandinflation.Generally,theyhaveaBachelor'sandsometimesMastersCollegedegree.

Theuppermiddleclasshasgrownanditscompositionhaschanged.Increasinglysalariedmanagersandprofessionalshavereplacedindividualbusinessownersandindependentprofessionals.Thekeytothesuccessoftheupper-middle-classisthegrowingimportanceofeducationalcertification...itslifestylesandopinionsarebecomingincreasinglynormativeforthewholesociety.Itisinfactaporousclass,opentopeople...whoearntherightcredentials.

—DennisGilbert, TheAmericanClassStructure,1998.[14]

Valuesandmannerismsaredifficulttopinpointforagroupencompassingmillionsofpersons.Naturally,anylargegroupofpeoplewillfeaturesocialdiversitytosomeextent.However,somegeneralizationscanbemadeusingeducationandincomeasclassdefiningcriteria.WilliamThompsonandJosephHickeynotedthatuppermiddleclassindividualhaveamoredirectandconfidentmannerofspeech.[2]Inher1989publicationEffectsofSocialClassandInteractiveSettingonMaternalSpeech,EricaHoff-Ginsbergfoundthatamonghersurveyedsubjects,"Upper-middleclassmotherstalkedmoreperunitoftimeandsustainedlongerinteractionswithchildren."Shealsofoundthatthespeechofuppermiddleclassmothersdiffers"initsfunctional,discourse,andlexico-syntacticproperties,"fromthoseintheworkingclass.[15]Uppermiddleclassmannerstendtorequireindividualsengaginginconversationaldiscoursewithratherdistantassociates,andtoabstainfromsharingexcessivepersonalinformation.Thiscontradictsworkingclassspeechpatterns,whichoftenincludefrequentmentionsofone'spersonallife.[16]Furtherresearchalsosuggeststhatworkingclassparentsemphasizeconformity,traditionalgenderroles,andtheadherencetoexternalstandardsintheirchildren,suchasbeingneatandcleanand"[believing]instrictleadership."（Gilbert,1998）Thiscontrastedwithprofessionalclasshouseholds,wheregenderrolesweremoreegalitarianandlooselydefined.Uppermiddleclasschildrenwerelargelytaughttoadheretointernalstandards,withcuriosity,individuality,self-direction,andopennesstonewideasbeingemphasized.[14]WhilearecentGallupsurveyshowedmassaffluenthouseholdstobeconservativeoneconomicissueswhileliberalonsocialissues,theuppermiddleclassseemstoberelativelypoliticallypolarized.Inthe2006mid-termelectionsbothDemocratsandRepublicansreceivedover40%ofthevotefromthosewithadvanceddegreesandthoseinhouseholdswithsixfigureincomes.Whilehouseholdswithincomesexceeding$100,000tendtofavorRepublicansslightly,theyarealsotheonlyincomedemographicwhereRalphNaderwonmorethan1%ofthevote.Amongthosewithgraduatedegrees,asmallergroupthanthosewithsixfigureincomes,themajoritytendstovoteDemocratic[17]withroughly1%havingvotedforNaderin2004.[18]

SociologistssuchasDennisGilbert,WilliamThompson,andJosephHickeyestimatetheuppermiddleclasstoconstituteroughly15%ofthepopulation.Usingthisfigure,onemayconcludethattheAmericanuppermiddleclassconsistofprofessionalsmakingmorethan$62,500whocommonlyresideinhouseholdswithsixfigureincomes.[2][14][19][20]Bothofthesefiguresareconsiderablyabovethenationalmedianof$32,000regardingindividualincomeand$46,000forhouseholds.Manyuppermiddleclassprofessionsfeaturesalariesabove$67,348,whichwasthemedianhouseholdincomeforahouseholdwithtwoincomeearnersin2003.[21][22]Forexample,themediansalaryforeconomistswas$72,780,meaningthatthemajorityofeconomistsoutearnthemajorityoftwo-incomehouseholdswiththeirsinglesalariesalone.[23]Overall,themedianhouseholdincomeofahouseholdwhosehouseholderhadabachelor'sdegreeorhigherwas$77,179.Themedianhouseholdincomeforthosewithamaster'sdegreewas$81,023,whilethosewithadoctorateorprofessionaldegreehadamedianincomeabove$100,000annually.[2][14][24]

Lowermiddleclass

Thelowermiddleclassisthemostpopulous,constituting34%ofthepopulation.Inallthreeclassmodelsthelowermiddleclassissaidtoconsistof"semi-professionals"andlowerlevelwhitecollaremployees.Anadaptationbyscientistgavethefollowingdescriptionofthelowermiddleclass:

Thesearepeopleintechnicalandlower-levelmanagementpositionswhoworkforthoseintheuppermiddleclassaslowermanagers,craftspeople工匠;手艺人,andthelike.Theyenjoyareasonablycomfortablestandardofliving,althoughitisconstantlythreatenedbytaxesandinflation.Generally,theyhaveaBachelor'sandsometimesMastersCollegedegree.

Takingintoaccountthepercentagesprovidedinthesix-classmodelbyGilbert,aswellasthemodelofThompsonandHickey,onecanapplyUSCensusBureaustatisticsregardingincome.Accordingtotheseclassmodelsthelowermiddleclassislocatedroughlybetweenthe52ndand84thpercentileofsociety.Intermsofpersonalincomedistributionin2005,thatwouldmeangrossannualpersonalincomesfromabout$32,500to$60,000.[20]As42%ofallhouseholds,andthemajorityofthoseinthetop40%,hadtwoincomeearners,householdincomefigureswouldbesignificantlyhigher,rangingfromroughly$50,000to$100,000annually.[13]Intermsofeducationalattainment,27%ofpersonshadaBachelor'sdegreeorhigher.Iftheuppermiddleandupperclasscombinedaretoconstitute16%ofthepopulation,itbecomesclearthatsomeofthoseinthelowermiddleclassboastcollegedegreesorsomecollegeeducation.[25]

[edit]Workingclassmajority

Seenfromasociologicalperspectivebasedonclass-cleavages,themajorityofAmericanscanbedescribedasmembersoftheworkingclass.[26]

Theuseoftheterm"workingclass"isapplicableifthepositionofindividuals,householdsandfamiliesinrelationtotheproductionofgoodsandservicesisthemaindeterminantofsocialclass.Classdistinctionsareseeninthedistributionofindividualswithinsocietywhoseinfluenceandimportancediffer.Thenatureofaperson'sworkandtheassociateddegreesofinfluence,responsibility,andcomplexitydetermineaperson'ssocialclass.Thedegreeofinfluenceandresponsibilityapersonhasorthemorecomplexthework,thehigherhisorherstatusinsociety.[27]

Asqualifiedpersonnelbecomescarceforrelativelyimportant,responsible,andcomplexoccupationsincomeincreases,followingtheeconomictheoryofscarcityresultinginvalue.Accordingtothisapproach,occupationbecomesmoreessentialindeterminingclassthanincome.[27]Whereasprofessionalstendtocreate,conceptualize,consultandinstruct,mostAmericansdonotenjoyahighdegreeofindependenceintheirwork,astheymerelyfollowsetinstructions.[8][26]

Definitionsoftheworkingclassareconfusing.Definedintermsofincome,theymaybesplitintomiddle-middleorstatisticalmiddleclassinordertospeaktoissuesofclassstructure.Classmod