When there is a hierarchical system that operates in a society, there are certain decisions or terms that influence an individual’s lifestyle, opportunities and access to resources, it can be referred to as Social Class. The social class as we may have it refers to how people are being treated by others or by the system of their own society and we can date this as far back as million years back because the ideology of social class has always existed and been implemented in our society and one way or the other we could be affected by these positively and negatively. While it may seem invisible in our daily interactions, the effects of social class are profound, far-reaching, and deeply embedded in economic, cultural, and political systems.
The effects of classism in the society reflects in our educational sector, health and medical sector, economic and financial sector, political influence and we will take a quick dive into this play out in these sectors of our daily lives.
- The most visible and long-term effects of social class can be seen in the academic sector, children from low class family often attend government schools, while kids from rich homes would go attend private schools where they are granted access to better education, a more safe and secure environment, a better learning space and better tutors who are more like care-givers. Without being bias, we can actually tell the shortcomings of government schools in most countries especially the third world countries where the government are not really held accountable for their action, little to no amenities are provided for the students of the masses, which leads to poor education quality, unsafe environment, poor learning facilities and unruly behaviors amongst the students as most of them are left unsupervised by their teachers who probably are yet to be paid their last three months salaries. Children from the upper class do not have to face this and are very much far from the reality of a common man, which is one of the key factors why it’s difficult for the upper class to show empathy to the lower class because the trait is passed down from generations to generations.
- In the medical and healthcare system we can reflect on so many instances where social classism has played out, the most obvious one is how the lower class do not get adequate healthcare and are prone to fall due to their living conditions which is very poor, they do not get access to good clean water, healthy nutritional foods, dirty environments infested with flies, rodents and germs. The upper class do not share this reality with them as they completely live opposite to this, a clean, safe environment, clean water and nutritional foods that enriches their body are gotten on a daily basis. Also, let’s speak on the quality of medical care gotten by the upper class and for the most cases they often seek medical help even for the slightest discomfort in their body while the lower class do not reach for medical help until case becomes critical due to their financial incapability and fear of debts, they’d rather take “medicinal herbs” which ends up causing more damages than before. These are all alter effects of the social class in the health and medical care sector and one way or the other we have witnessed this in our daily lives.
- In social class, there are designated structures on how people of the lower class can work and even earn, this proceeds to limit the advantages a person from the lower class can get while seeking for a job as they most end up with a low-paying job and are subjected to hard labour that does not reward them evenly, this is common and we have witnessed it in our lives, peers and organization, someone of the upper class enjoys wealth inheritance and do not have to job haunt or has a very high advantage of securing a high-paying prestigious job with little work labour, some even go ahead to decline such juicy offer that seems like a ticket to heaven for someone of the lower class, this is indeed a very imbalance structure because it does not reward hard work and effort rather rewards connections and influence.
- In our political sector, it is vividly obvious how a ruling party may consist of individuals from the upper class and this is because they are in to form a network of wealthy powerful group that can rule and dominate at every available spot in the political structure and this occurs not because the poor are suppressed not to run their political aspirations or uninterested but because the upper class have the capability to get every needed and necessary resources to contest and achieve their political dreams and ambitions. Let’s not also forget how powers are sometimes being handed down to the upper class individuals, the poor will never rule over the rich, not even in a mad man’s dream, so power is inherent to the upper class and it goes on and on without break. The closest thing to power that someone from the lower class may get is being a personal assistant to someone from the upper class or at best used as political thugs to disrupt electoral processes while get paid meagre amounts to risk their lives and ruin their futures, it’s a nightmare that keeps living to see the daylight.
- In the cultural and social structure, we can also note how classism has made its way into how we view people based on their social and cultural identity, the way they dress, they live, they eat, they talk and even eat, there are certain stereotypes and prejudices that come with that. In the social class, how the upper class lives becomes the benchmark of how others should also live and anything other than that is termed as degrading.
In conclusion, the idea of social class is visible in every aspect of our lives, from education to health to politics and power to culture. This indicates how conflict can occur, limit opportunities and shape identities. It has become a parasitic factor in our view of how the world should be and how people should be treated. Addressing these effects does not lie only on economic reforms but also changes in the attitudes, policies, and cultural perceptions we have towards one another. Notably, to build an equitable and inclusive society we must have to recognize the deep influence of social class.
