US Classism Essay Example

The American classism is one of the overlooked issues in American society. With the slogan dubbed the American dream, Americans have been fed with the notion that with dedication and hard work, every person can attain prosperity and success. However, wealth accumulation in the US has proved to be an uphill task due to discriminations on gender, income, and race. Evidence on classism include the housing schemes which bar the poor from owning decent houses but favor the middle class. Other aspects which promote classism in the USA include employment laws and resentment of the whites towards the immigrants working in the USA. Such cases validate cases of classism whereby people are judged according to the social class they assume in society. With the present wage gap and the economic inequality, America faces episodes of classism where people of the low class are subjected to prejudice by the individuals in the high class.

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One of the cases of classism in American society is discrimination towards the people of the low class when it comes to housing (Lui 95). Many of the landlords refuse to rent their houses to the individuals earning low incomes citing fear of rent defaults. Also, many of the assistance programs offered by the government are only beneficial to the middle and the upper class. Besides, tax-free incomes, retirement plans and tax deductions on mortgages are only provided to individuals with high paying jobs. It should be noted that most of the people of color are associated with low incomes and poor living conditions. Due to such line of thoughts, most of the banks refuse to give people of color loans to purchase houses. Also, most of the housing organizations increase the prices of houses to individuals of the African-American ancestry. Such cases have led to poverty among the people of color as they cannot afford decent houses.

Classicism in the US, just like racism and sexism is a menace that is expressed in social integration due to the formation of different classes that express various perceptions. Rich people in the US make fun of poor people and even take advantage of their situation in various ways. Cases of rich people making fun of the less fortunate demonstrate classism, although it covers a much larger scale. Due to the segregation established by various social and economic classes of people, various classes have been developed. The upper classes demonstrate part of economic power over others. Such developments are contrary to the demonstrations of freedom by Immanuel Kant. According to the philosophical arguments of Kant, freedom of a person is the ability of not being constrained by another person's choice when making a decision. In this regard, Kant demonstrates that the welfare of people cannot be based on state power. As such, classicism in the US demonstrates the lack of freedom that was defined and expressed by Kant. The laws and policies that have been formulated further illustrate the challenges of free will in the society as argued by Immanuel Kant.

Classism in America is also expressed in the employment laws which discriminate a particular group of individuals and favor the high class. From the historical times, the whites have been termed as superior and have occupied the employment positions which require higher skills while the African Americans are tipped for the low paying jobs (Sanchez 371). It should be noted that it is legal in thirty states in the USA to terminate or decline employment opportunities to workers based on their gender identity and sexual orientation. When the people of color and Latinos in the lower class are analyzed, the LGBTQ assume the highest percentage. Such people have always been subbed in employment opportunities leading to large schemes of poverty. In this case, races are used to perpetuate classism in the employment scene where the whites enjoy high incomes and benefits and are favored by the law when seeking employment compared to Latinos and African Americans.

Prison system is another field which has supported the continued existence of classism in the American soil as prisons in the USA serve as confinement places for people from the marginalized groups. Although the government had put a brave fight on crime, most of the policies are directed towards the people hailing from the marginalized groups. For example, the rate of incarnation for non-white individuals is higher compared to the whites (Jaynes 237). Also, the African Americans are slapped with longer prison terms compared to the whites for theft and drug possession. Such cases imply that African Americans are associated with most of the vices in the society and that they deserve harsh prison terms.

On the other hand, crimes done by the whites are treated as accidents which attract light punishments. These disparities are against Emmanuel Kant's moral theory which defines vices as a commitment to do immoral acts. Since Kant provides a clear difference between vices and virtues, individuals who engage in similar crimes should receive equal sentences. Thus, classism remains a nightmare among the minorities as government institutions that are supposed to protect them have further helped classism to take roots in the society.

Another case of classism is the resentment towards the immigrants who reside in the USA by the whites. The unemployed whites in the USA have held negative attitudes to the Muslims, people of color and immigrants from other races who hold senior positions in the country (Foner 14). For example, the slogan Make American Great Again has been misunderstood with most of the whites supporting the deportations of the immigrants working in the country. In their view, the immigrants have taken their employment positions and have achieved financial freedom while the whites wallow in poverty. The white population maintains that the USA is their country and they should be considered for the prestigious positions before the immigrant races. However, these thoughts are against the theory of social justice presented by John Rawls which fights for liberty for all members of society (Surovtev and Syrov 177). Rawls maintains that the freedom assigned to individual members in the society should not infringe the freedom of the other members. These thoughts show the whites' fight for superiority by demeaning other races who are also US citizens, confirming the existence of classism in the USA.

Classism in the USA is evident during the distribution of resources as the locations with the people in high societal classes are favored compared to the areas inhabited by the people in the low class. Well to do areas are awarded the most prestigious schools and well-refurbished hospitals while the other regions are left unattended. Students from these states easily obtain funds to further education leading to conducive learning environments that lead to success. The wealthy states are also allocated funds to support mega-projects such as building sports stadiums. Conversely, schools in areas such as the district of Columbia are allocated fewer funds to support students from poor backgrounds (Manna, McGuinn, and Finn 87). With the area being inhabited by individuals with low incomes, most of the students face difficulties when raising tuition or finances for upkeep. Under the social contract, Emmanuel Kant argues that the government exercising power over subjects within a specific jurisdiction should concentrate on the whole society instead of directing the benefits to a particular group (Bevir 752). Since the entire community has agreed to live by the laws of the state, the government should not neglect one party in favor of the other, a rule which the government has defied.

Another example which depicts the presence of classism in the USA is the discriminatory actions witnessed in the rescue missions after natural calamities strike. It is evident that most of the American cities are prone to hurricanes due to their proximity to the sea. In this case, the federal and state governments should be in a position to initiate rescue missions to save the lives of the individuals affected. Such is not the case as discrimination episodes were witnessed during the hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans. During the hurricane, the rescue missions were mostly directed to the wealthy neighborhoods while the poor neighborhoods were left stranded in the floods (Kite and Whitley, 20). With a high financial capability, most of the people in the well to do areas had means of evacuation and left the areas after the floods reached their houses. However, the government showed less concern to the poor who lost their lives and properties in the floods. Although the government cannot fund the rescues, it should develop policies such as mandatory insurance covers for natural disasters. This type of partiality shows that the government is less involved in structuring policies which favor people from such communities.

Classism has also been evident in the occupation and invasion of Asian countries such as Iraq as the combats have led to high death tolls (Tapp 2). The USA prides itself in invading other sovereign countries which exhibit different political views. Although such actions have combatted terrorism, most of the credit goes to the people in the higher ranks in the government. Most of the middle class make up the USA army which is tasked with the duty of fighting militia in foreign countries while people from the upper classes assume prestigious jobs void of dangerous working environments. In these wars, the media has been faulted for not covering the actual deaths suffered by the US army. A large number of soldiers is maimed during sudden attacks which alter their lives and the ability to engage in other employment opportunities. Such actions are against social liberty by John Stuart Mill as he states that power of rulers should be limited to prevent them from using authority to suit their needs, an action which has detrimental effects on the society.

The benefits directed by the government to the wealthy elites is another example of classism in the USA. A myth has been developed by the American dream whereby determined effort and hard work are associated with success. These thoughts emanate from Robert Nozick's ideas that poverty is deserved and its elimination requires talent and hard work (Bader 124). In his argument, a person is only entitled to the property through the use of skills or a lawful transfer of property from the lawful owner. However, this is not the case as the government has come up with schemes which only benefit the rich, further extending their financial dominance. For example, the rich people were awarded land grants without considering the other needy individuals. Besides, the bankruptcy laws are directed to the private citizens who are offered limited scenarios under which they can declare their bankruptcy. On the other hand, the whites can easily declare themselves bankrupt and evade paying debts. Such government's schemes widen the financial gap between the rich and the poor as they only benefit the rich supporting the development of distinct classes which breed classism.

Conclusion

Another example of classism in America is the cultural classism which associates the African Americans with violence. Most of the people of color live under humane conditions characterized by lack of essentials such as housing and face challenges in securing employment (Hampton, Gullotta, and Ramos 5). With such hardships, most of the youths resolve to drug use which promotes violence. However, the high class has held a notion that all the African Americans are dangerous and violence is bound to occur in any scenario involving a person of color. Besides, most of the African American actors take the roles of villains in films where they engage in vices such as selling drugs and performing contracte...