Social class just as the name implies, it’s a society where power, opportunities, access, benefits are all tied to one’s social status, this means when someone in the society is perceived as a lower class member, they are denied these privileges or gain little of these privileges at most. This spans from education to political power, economic and financial assets. We cannot undermine the effect of social class in our realities especially if you fall under the category of people who seem to may have been affected by this directly or indirectly you will have a quick reflection on this has always played out in our lives, even if you are oblivious to the reality, this will serve as a torchlight that points towards the dark sides of the social class.
The ideology behind social class is not in any way to benefit the lower class simply because the ideology was formulated as a form of stratification, to divide the rich from the poor, the less from the more, the upper and from the lower, thereby leading to an imbalance in the society and for the most part, it is to make the upper benefit from every privileges the society has to offer while the lower class lives on endless hopes of becoming a beneficiary of the supposed privileges of the society.
It is important to state the causes of this classism in our society, it did not just come out from nowhere but it is noteworthy to state that social classism has been in existence from time immemorial and the idea has always been to limit the potentials of individuals from the lower class, to ensure a proper standard of living forever remains an idea but never a reality, some may accustom this to the higher class living in fear of the lower class as they may perceive them as a threat to their livelihood, or some may agree that it is from greed, selfishness and unrelenting lust for power dominance but would it be right to say life is unfair and unrewarding for the most deserving? Well the answer lies in what you denote from your own personal experience with life and to do that let’s dig into the impact of social class in today’s world and see where you fit in.
The impact of classism runs through our daily lives, politics and culture and have we come to the consciousness that modern day technology has produced new sets of middle and upper class in the society? Yes. The old time type of classism is not quite impactful as of now and this is due to the rise of globalization, technology and civilization, it is wise to keep in mind that the old time type of classism is still very much the most powerful simply because the people the power were vested upon are still in control, they control at higher places and positions of the world and all they will ever need to keep the classism rolling and maintain their status is technology, because that seem to be the only powerful tool left that can cage and limit the mind of an individual in this modern era, what you see is what you believe. The era of technological advancement did not just rise from a lab but this has been the blood, sweat and tears of people with no power who have been marginalized by the upper class people who needed more power and money for their pockets just to expand and stay on top, the lower class have been victimized and their spaces have been invaded by the the directives from the upper class and regardless of the injustice, their voices has been shut and their wings ripped off. A typical example is the ongoing war in The Republic of Congo, the world power is silent about it because they are benefitting from the mineral resources of the poor country, leading to multiple casualties in the country, the death of millions of citizens and destruction of their lives, properties and future have all been sponsored by the upper class. Congo is known as one of the most resource-rich countries in the world and that’s why these parasites are feeding on it and it doesn’t seem like they will be stopping anytime soon because the availability of elements like cobalt, diamond, gold and coltan are being harvested to produce electronics, yes, you guessed right, the iphones, ipads, computers, electric cars are all products of these materials, this is to relate how wide and wild the exploitation in Congo is, this is simply because the resources is a source of competition and corruption amongst the elites and the poor are not benefitting from it in any way. This shows how power and wealth is retained in the hands of few (upper class) rather than it being evenly distributed, the local elites in congo are beneficiaries of this war while the lower class in congo are being forced into hard labour, dangerous and low-paying jobs, the rich class have designed the system to serve their interests, meanwhile the lower class are trapped in cycles of poverty and violence, they lack access to healthcare, education and jobs, this therefore makes them vulnerable to being recruited by armed groups for evil purposes. It is noteworthy to state that this war is a result of imbalance and inequality of social class.
Social class inequality has been the key factor behind the ongoing war in Congo, it is not just based on ethnic or political division as the media may push the narrative but it is centered around the uneven distribution of resources. The difference now between the upper and lower class as we have it today in terms of technology is that while some suffer and are being exploited, killed and robbed of their resources for the purpose of greed and wealth expansion amongst the elites, the world is silent. Power has shifted and while the people of Congo become the lower class, the world has become the upper class, as we all have turned blind eyes to the war in Congo just for our own selfish desires and acquisition of the fine things that were made from materials stolen from Congo.
