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==Social classes==

==Social classes==

'''Social classes''' are [[economic]] or [[cultural]] arrangements of [[groups]] in [[society]]. Class is an essential object of [[analysis]] for [[sociologists]], [[political scientists]], economists, [[anthropologists]] and social historians. In the [[social sciences]], social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'. In the modern [[Western]] [[context]], stratification typically comprises [[three]] layers: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_class upper class], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class lower class]. Each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).

'''Social classes''' are [[economic]] or [[cultural]] arrangements of [[groups]] in [[society]]. Class is an essential object of [[analysis]] for [[sociologists]], [[political scientists]], economists, [[anthropologists]] and social historians. In the [[social sciences]], social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'. In the modern [[Western]] [[context]], stratification typically comprises [[three]] layers: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_class upper class], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_class middle class], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_class lower class]. Each class may be further subdivided into smaller classes (e.g. occupational).

<center>For lessons on the related [[topic]] of '''''[[Status]]''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Status '''''this link'''''].</center>

<center>For lessons on the related [[topic]] of '''''[[Status]]''''', follow [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Status '''''this link'''''].</center>

The most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with a great deal of [[power]] are usually viewed as "the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite elites]" within their own [[societies]]. Various [[social]] and [[political]] theories propose that social classes with greater [[power]] attempt to cement their own ranking above the lower classes in the [[hierarchy]] to the detriment of the [[society]] overall. By [[contrast]], [[conservatives]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism structural functionalists] have presented class [[difference]] as intrinsic to the [[structure]] of any [[society]] and to that extent ineradicable.

The most basic class distinction is between the powerful and the powerless. Social classes with a great deal of [[power]] are usually viewed as "the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite elites]" within their own [[societies]]. Various [[social]] and [[political]] theories propose that social classes with greater [[power]] attempt to cement their own ranking above the lower classes in the [[hierarchy]] to the detriment of the [[society]] overall. By [[contrast]], [[conservatives]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism structural functionalists] have presented class [[difference]] as intrinsic to the [[structure]] of any [[society]] and to that extent ineradicable.