Can We Speak of a ‘Classless Society’

Can we speak of a casteless society? favorable social stratification is a plan we argon faced with on a occasional basis, whether it is a conscious or subconscious element of our lives. Class has been a dominant form of stratification in traditional views of society, nevertheless whiles evolution in thought, behaviour, observation post, organization and culture has led to censorious criticism questioning the very existence of correct itself Does partitioning hushed exist? Can we speak of a carve upless society? Analysing the fiber that syndicate does or doesnt play in newfangled society is interesting because we argon our very own sources.Through first hand experiences of mannequin we washbowl determine the comp nonpareilnt it plays in our everyday lives. Class can be viewed both subjectively depending on how we think of ourselves, or quarryly dealing with how we are structur anyy located in society. (Milner, 1999) Therefore, combining our subjective, micro-lev el sagaciousness of split with a macro-level, objective analysis of class, we can determine the point in time to which class persists in new society. The idea of stratification and class go away continuously persist as it provides a foundation for organization and separateism in society.Although the word class will never die, the traditional role class plays in society has certainly died. kindly Class is the class of today it has fol natural depressioned the goal of the rigid, traditional and intolerant class of yesterday. Today community are more empowered and can take ascendence of their social stand up, an idea supported with the current social mobility and emergence of the middle class. Social class classifies people in term of gender, ethnicity, race, age, culture etc. Naturally, frugal class continues to play its role in society, but it does so in harmony with other conniptions of social class. Class is disintegrating because people are comme il faut more priva teistic. What matters today is how people see themselves, as opposed to how they are viewed by society. (Pakulski, et al. , 1996). Traditionally, society consisted of inherited classifications between masters and slaves, and lords and peasants etc. , which be the natural way of association. There are certain parts of the realness where people still live by their inherited class. In India for slip thither is a Caste System, in which every individual is categorised into divisions (colour, ancestors, rank).There are four main castes with various sub-castes and each impart a large amount sub castes inwardly them, furthermore outside the caste system are the Untouchables who are oppressed and viewed as impure all the time. The four main castes Brahminspriests Kshatryaswarriors Vaishyastraders Shudraslaborers A significant classical view of class is that of Marx. His traditional view of class contained two distinct classes Bourgeoisie or the capitalist class, who own their own means of production, and the Proletariat or work class, who own their own labour. Marx, et al. , 1848) Exploitation between these two social groupings in the capitalist production process defined red class (Pakulski, et al. , 1996). The Marxist view is real and objective, furthermore its concerned with the different strata as a whole rather than the individuals within them (Saunders, P. 1990). For Marx, social power was achieved purely by stinting class. He viewed class as a rigid and positional aspect of society. Hence, his interpretations of class failed to account for the fluidity of modern class.Conversely, webers view of class is much more synonymous with the role class plays in modern society. He looks at class in call of the cultural and social roles it plays in society and focuses more on stratification through consumption rather than production. (Pakulski, et al. , 1996) He juxtaposes class as an economic relation with class as a social relation, unlike Marx who predominant ly focused on economic class. Weber analysed class in terms of status and stratification in the light of property, monomania, occupational skills, religion, legal decentlys, lifestyle and consumption.This view of class is still relevant in todays society and therefore Webers view of class is non wholly classified under the dead or dated outlook on class. Weber did also look at class in terms of economic relations and the possessions of economic goods, as well as foodstuff position. He believed that life happens are determined by how one is positioned in the market. (Weber, 1922) This relates to the Indian Caste systems where members of a high caste (Brahmans) make merry more wealth and opportunities members of a low caste (untouchables) perform unsought menial jobs.The Untouchables being the lowest stratum are regarded as underprivileged, vitiate and backward, hence given the jobs such as sweeping, garbage accumulator register and regarded as impure individuals- the idea t hat once they touch another individual there needs to be a cleansing as the untouchables are dirty. Individuals were relatively powerless, as they could not acquire wealth or status through changing position in a market place. Today, however, hard work and merit allows for social mobility and people have a pie-eyeder influence over their position in society. Milner, 1999) Having said that, some individuals do not get the opportunity of social mobility- due to the feature that they are either uneducated or the fact that they do not have the right social networks.Gandhi named the Untouchables Harijians (Children of God)- by doing this he tried upward mobility by trying to elevate their status through different means (befriending and have with the impure). Underclass in general tend to suffer multiple deprevisation, as they are dependent on state welfare (if given) and have low levels of education hence making it harder for upward mobility (Saunders, P. 990) Social mobility and ind ividual control over social standing has been greatly strengthened through the modern preoccupation with education. The increased priority given to exposing larger proportions of society to education has empowered individuals, allowing them to use their educations as a tool to overcome class barriers. Overall, the ability to move up and down the social ladder in present day society makes class that is classified purely in an economic sense irrelevant. Economic class is no longer a steady, inherited, and life-long, concrete concept, as people can change their economic standing within their own life span or across generations. The concept of the middle class has also arisen through the idea of social mobility and empowerment through education, and does not concur with Marxs traditional view of class. Today, the labour of traditional Marxism is being replaced by machinery as the advancement in engine room has made some manual work redundant.Furthermore, the idea that many modern comp anies do not solely rely on legal possession of a company, but instead hire people due to good competence, gives people the opportunity to hold managerial positions that have a lap of power. This is the idea of recruitment via meritocrality and hints at the death of classical conventions of class. Therefore, the idea of objective class being defined as the relationship between the ownership and non-ownership of productive resources has greatly dissolved (Lee, et al. , 1996).Having said that in India the opportunity of mobility is expressage it all comes down to the status, power or class of the individual- this is due to the fact that India is still developing and full of politics, an individual would have to have the right connections in order to do or acquire anything but intimately of import factor in accomplishing anything in India would be money. Furthermore if an individual is a Shudras they would have less capital compared to the Brahmans, hence decreasing their chance of opportunities they can take.Within the Indian caste system most people delay in one caste their entire life and marry within their caste. Although class is viewed differently today, it does not necessarily mean that modern views of class are more equitable. In fact, there is still a strong lack of equity within the different classifications of gender, ethnicity, sexuality etc furthermore there are parts of the world where class is a vital aspect in their everyday life and interaction. The difference being that in present-day(a) society people are more attached to individualist and consumerist forms of inequality and inequality.It can be said that today consumption is more important than production, class is no longer a lifetime experience, but instead thought rough as an individual biography, and excommunication from the labour market is the more appropriate way to think about poverty. Although the concept of class is ever-present, the objective and subjective role it plays i n society has been greatly transformed within the occidental society, thereby accounting for the death of classical class theories.Having said that India could never be a egalitarian society as people are not acting constructively to escape class divisions, this is due to the fact that most underclass cannot submit to upward mobility, as they do not have the opportunity or resources. Class is a social relationship that invades each individuals lives. There has been a death of traditional class within the western society as individuals are acting constructively to escape class divisions and go towards a classless society, however an evolved definition of class continues to command the 21st century.Bibliography Saunders, P. 1990. Social Class and Stratification, USA, Rutledge. Pakulski J and Malcolm W. (1996) The Death of Class. capital of the United Kingdom Sage. Milner, A. (1999) Class. London Sage. Weber, M. 1922 Class, Status and Party. Extract from Economy and Society in W. G . Runciman ed. (1978) Max Weber Selections in Translation. Cambridge Cambridge University Press. Pp. 43-56. Giddens, A. (1994) Beyond Left and Right. Cambridge Polity. Pp. 139-48 Marx, K. and Engels, F. 1848 Bourgeois and proletarians, section 1 of The communist Manifesto, in D. McLellan ed. (1977) Karl Marx Selected Writings. Oxford Oxford University Press. Pp. 222-231. Prandy, K. 2002. Ideal Types, Stereotypes and Class. The British Journal of Sociology, Volume 53 snatch 4, page14. Brahman. (2010). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 06, 2010, from Encyclopedia Britannica Online http//www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/77093/Brahman Harijans. The Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved October 06, 2010 from Encyclopedia. com http//www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1E1-Harijans. html