Essay: American Citizens Are Divided Into Classes

American citizens are divided into groups based on a number of factors. This means that there is a class system set in American society that maintains order and classification of its people. Though there is no law or written rules of conduct that depict these classes with explicit detail, there is an abundance of undeniable evidence to prove the existence of a natural divide between people that separates Americans into classes.

Classes are abstract terms with multiple interpretations. For example, Max Weber, an influential sociologist, described one’s class as “a person’s economic position, based on birth and individual achievement” (Weber’s View). This perspective suggests that even though one’s class is heavily determined by one’s heritage,

Adams’ point was that American citizens are born with advantages and disadvantages that may be the decision making factors for one’s class however, everyone holds the right to climb the social ladder. The American dream is reinforced by law in the very form of government in the United States: Democracy. According to democracy, everyone is “granted the right to form and join organizations of [one’s] own choice” (Democracy Lecture). The American ability to chose one’s own occupation and to achieve great tasks with minimal limitations directly ties to Marx and Weber’s concept of classes being partly determined by individual achievement. In democracy, with the born right to advance, one can obtain more through success and therefore, climb the social ladder. In addition, this means that Americans that do not strive to achieve have the potential to descend to lower ranks. If the United States lacked a class system where Americans are separated by achievement and earnings, democracy would be replaced with