Do you detect any kind of unwritten “social hierarchy” in the world around you? Is everyone really “equal,”...?
Do you detect any kind of unwritten “social hierarchy” in the world around you? Is everyone really “equal,” or are some people accorded higher social “status” than others? If so, characterize the various social classes as you perceive them. Who gets placed in which category? Why? On what basis is someone considered more “important” than someone else? What about social mobility – can individuals freely move up & down the social ladder?
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Of course their is a hierarchy in society and no-one is equal. We all accept a continuum in height and ages, why not a continuum in social placing?
To suggest equality is ridiculous and detrimental to the most disadvantaged in our society.
What we need is not the concept of equality but that all individuals can flourish to the best of their abilities , basically a Utilitarian viewpoint of 'the Greatest Good.'
Or to paraphrase Marx 'From Each According to His Ability, to Each According to His Need.'
We don't need a 'level playing field' we need to have compassion and empathy for all mankind. We need to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.
Is social mobility possible, yes in some rare circumstances; but individuals will often find their way barred not by those outside their initial class but by those within it. To change status is to invite alienation and rejection from many in your initial class, often family or friends.
Is class real, of course. Humans are a social animal and run on a class system. Class is defined by many factors, birth, family, education, wealth etc Consider the untouchables in India, as a Caste they are considered the lowest of the low yet they can rise financial to be relatively prosperous, yet they still remain in the lowest of the low for the caste system.
What you must not do is to confuse class or status within a society with worth. An individuals worth is based on much more than their class, not least their own esteem and the love and affection of others.
In the world around me, my in laws have an unwritten "social hierarchy" They believe that because they are Catholic, they are superior to my side of the family, we are Baptist. My in laws feel that because they are Catholic, and go to church and sit in a pew, that they are better than anyone else. They feel that they are automatically going to Heaven and that they don't have to behave like Christians, or live in the word, they are superior simply because they are Catholic. They simply consider themselves more important just because they are Catholic. You cannot move up or down the social ladder, because even if I were to become Catholic, I would still be worthless because I married their son.
Oh my goodness YES. There are several unwritten social tiers in the U.S. I am of mixed heritage, and not obviously so for either race, and I sense the race hierarchy a LOT.