A class is formed from the union or confluence of elements with common characteristics . In this way it usually works as a category. The idea of social , on the other hand, refers to that linked to society (a group of people with common interests who interact with each other in the same space and according to shared rules and norms).
Societies are often stratified: that is, divided into strata . These strata are constituted as classes that are made up of individuals who have affinity in terms of their economic means , their customs , their ideologies , etc.
A social class , therefore, is made up of people who, due to the aforementioned coincidences, are part of the same stratum . Broadly speaking, it can be said that a society is divided into the following social classes: low , middle and high .
The lower class includes those people with difficulties in satisfying their basic needs. Those who make up this social class are unemployed or have informal or poorly paid jobs. Having limited economic resources, they live in deprived neighborhoods with multiple infrastructure problems.
Middle class subjects, on the other hand, enjoy greater comforts and possibilities for progress . They usually have the necessary training to access good jobs, although at the same time they need to work hard and make an effort to maintain and grow.
The upper class constitutes the highest echelon of society. It includes the individuals who receive the highest incomes, such as business owners, executives and landowners. Not only can they satisfy their material needs without problems, but they also have the possibility of saving and accessing all types of products and services considered elite.
The division into social classes can be very useful for scholars of those subjects that require data grouped in a precise and orderly manner, but for people it can become a reason for rejection that generates very deep wounds. Who likes being pigeonholed into the lower class? And, similarly, perhaps everyone in the upper class doesn't like being trapped in this classification either.
Just as poverty limits us, so does wealth and, although the reasons are very different, the results can be very similar. While a person from a lower social class may fear approaching groups of wealthy people for fear of being scorned and mocked, the rich also suffer a certain level of rejection from the poorer classes, whether out of envy or for fear of being discriminated against.
In some cases, belonging to a social class is enough to access certain opportunities without having to go through a selection process that involves tests of aptitude or capacity. While this may seem unfair and actually deprives millions of people of improving their quality of life, some stories tip the scales in unexpected ways.
For example, there are universities known for focusing on money over training , so that their students access courses thanks to having considerably high purchasing power, regardless of their previous academic performance. On the other hand, low-income students who must make an effort to take each step in their education can feel the pride of having achieved a degree that they truly deserve.
The rest of the species do not appeal to the division into social classes, but rather focus on what each individual can contribute by their own merit to each moment of their life. In fact, pack leaders are always tested until eventually someone (usually younger) takes the throne from them.