There is no such thing as "Social Class" in America. Anyone in America can achieve anything they want to. That's what a conservative will say if you ask about social class in America today.
Really? The wealthy are increasingly moving into isolated enclaves, they live longer than the non-wealthy, and their children go to prestigious schools and find little difficulty getting jobs when they leave.
Even more significant, people born in a family of lower economic class today are much less likely to make the move to higher economic classes than was true in previous American generations. (Click here for an analysis of how social mobility works. On that page, click the tab at the top entitled "components of Class" to see how class is determined.)
The New York Times has a series on this issue.
"A paradox lies at the heart of this new American meritocracy. Merit has replaced the old system of inherited privilege, in which parents to the manner born handed down the manor to their children. But merit, it turns out, is at least partly class-based. Parents with money, education and connections cultivate in their children the habits that the meritocracy rewards. When their children then succeed, their success is seen as earned."
This is an important question for people today, especially people with children. This series in the NY Times fills a real need.
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