Monday, May 16, 2005
NYT on class in America
For as long as I can remember, I have seen class (specifically, a class hierarchy) as inevitable in any successful society. At least 4000 years of history are on my side. But an email exchange with a friend a couple of years ago made me realise that some people do not just believe that a classless successfully society can exist, they actually believe that present day (2005 CE) America is such a society. I was stunned to learn that my friend actually thinks this way.
For the few(?) readers of this blog who do not also read NYT regularly, I'd like to note that the paper is running a fascinating series of articles on the issue of class in America. The introductory article in the series is titled "Class in America: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide" and includes this interactive graphic which, by itself, makes for pretty fascinating reading. The series is not complete yet; there are more articles to come later this week. But I suggest you read the articles ASAP, before they're moved behind a subscription wall. It is worth noting that the series is more about perceptions of class differences in society than about the hard numbers of economics, but that is precisely what makes it interesting.
Now I'm neither a sociologist nor an economist but I can recommend Jared Diamond's excellent book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies to readers interested in reading more about one theory of how class arises in societies as they get more sophisticated, from near-egalitarian tribal societies to hierarchical modern industrial ones.
UPDATE (May 18): Abraham Thomas points out, in the comments, that The Economist recently ran a rather good article on class and interclass mobility in America. Their article is a nice companion to this NYT series and has some hard numbers for your consideration. Thanks for the pointer!
For the few(?) readers of this blog who do not also read NYT regularly, I'd like to note that the paper is running a fascinating series of articles on the issue of class in America. The introductory article in the series is titled "Class in America: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide" and includes this interactive graphic which, by itself, makes for pretty fascinating reading. The series is not complete yet; there are more articles to come later this week. But I suggest you read the articles ASAP, before they're moved behind a subscription wall. It is worth noting that the series is more about perceptions of class differences in society than about the hard numbers of economics, but that is precisely what makes it interesting.
Now I'm neither a sociologist nor an economist but I can recommend Jared Diamond's excellent book Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies to readers interested in reading more about one theory of how class arises in societies as they get more sophisticated, from near-egalitarian tribal societies to hierarchical modern industrial ones.
UPDATE (May 18): Abraham Thomas points out, in the comments, that The Economist recently ran a rather good article on class and interclass mobility in America. Their article is a nice companion to this NYT series and has some hard numbers for your consideration. Thanks for the pointer!
