In my research on how social class relates to racism, I came across Karl Marx understanding of social class. He states that someone’s social class is determined by what they did in the society, how they participated in the production of goods and services in the given society (Gabrenya pg2). With the fall of Marxism, it was believed class differences would collapse. People had a naive idea that all of a sudden everyone will be in the middle class. The changes did not occur since the social class has its bases on economic and political power. That’s makes it clear that everyone is born into a particular class which his or her parents belongs. However, this may change when one becomes an adult. He can either rise to a higher social class or fall to a lower one. I intend to show how someone’s race affects his social class.
Social classes have been there for centuries. In India Caste system was used to place people in their respective social class. There were four categories of people in India. In the highest social class were the Brahmins, who were mostly the priests and the scholars. The second in the hierarchy were the Kshatriyas, the rulers, and warriors in the society. The Kshatriyas are followed by Vaishyas, who were the merchants and the tradesmen. The lowest class was made up of the peasants who were commonly known as the Shudras in the system (Fikrets and Davidson pg 22)
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The reason why I bring forward the Caste system to explain how someone’s race, someone’s color, affects his or her social class is that racism is buried in the deep in the system. All the four castes are collectively known as Varna. Varna is an Indian name meaning color or appearance. Placing people in their ranks is now proven it was on a racial basis. Being of lighter skin put you in the highest caste. This fact is used to assume the British borrowed racism from the Indians during colonization.
If I say, racism runs in deep in the blood streams of Americans someone will talk me down and claim Obama’s election as the President of USA removed all doubts that the country had won over the racism nightmare. David Roediger confirms how racism is still thriving in the USA. Roediger says capitalist benefits from racial division hence they advocate the creation of racial stereotypes (Ginsburgh NP). During my research, I came across a Stanford sociologist by the name Aliya Saperstein, who shows the mentality of these stereotypes.
If these stereotypes came across an interview done on an American, without even setting an eye on him or her, they would place him or her in an individual race. If a person interviewed lives in the suburbs, he is most likely viewed as a white while those living inner city to be of other races. According to Saperstein, Americans regard the unemployed and poor to be the blacks while those with a higher status to be whites. If someone is interviewed and claims to be, a doctor or a successful lawyer chances are he will be considered to be white. However if the same person says that he is a housekeeper in a particular hotel, then his race instantly change to a lesser race, maybe a black.(Munsch NP)
Stereotypes however may vary their judgment on the gender basis. For instance, a poor woman is placed with the black race, however, a poor man I viewed to be of black race more than the woman. Gender stereotypes perceive black men to be violent and criminals while the black women being single mothers.
It is however not entirely true a fact confirmed by Saperstein when she says “it’s a form of confirmation bias. We perceive white people as more successful and higher status, and so we are more likely to categorize successful people as white…”(Munsch NP) People should change these perceptions and see people for who they are. However before that it is true to say someone’s social class or status places him or her in a particular race.
- Berkes, Fikret, Iain Davidson-Hunt, and Kerril Davidson-Hunt. “Diversity of common property resource use and diversity of social interests in the western Indian Himalaya.” Mountain Research and Development (1998): 19-33.
- “Race And Class In The US – International Socialism”. Isj.org.uk. N.p., 2012. Web. 2 May 2016.
- “Social Status Can Change The Way We ‘See’ A Person’s Race, According To Research By Aliya Saperstein | The Clayman Institute For Gender Research”. Gender.stanford.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 2 May 2016.
