Take a few minutes to look over the following image. In dailylife, many of us have noticed an interaction like this at one timeor another. There’s no question that we live in an unequal societywhen we observe such stark differences in wealth and status. Yetwhat explains such drastic disparities in people’s fortune? Why dosome become wealthy while others endure such harsh poverty?
In U.S. culture, we hear a lot of “rags to riches†stories thatcelebrate individuals who start off poor and then become wealthythrough hard work, intelligence, and sheer determination. In fact,polling by the PEW Charitable Trusts revealed that 40% of Americansconsider it common for people in the United States to start poorand achieve wealth by working hard.
Sociologists consider such success stories as examples of whatthey call upward social mobility. But are such stories based inreality? Is social mobility achievable for anyone? Do all peoplewho wind up wealthy or poor have only themselves to credit?
Read each of the following statements regarding issues of socialmobility in the United States. Select whether you agree or disagreewith each statement. You will receive one point for answering eachquestion.
Statement 1
Although there used to be a great deal of racial discriminationin U.S. society, this no longer applies today. Knowing a person’srace or ethnicity doesn’t tell you much about whether that personis more or less likely to be economically successful.
Agree
Disagree
Statement 2
There’s no predicting who will wind up wealthy or poor in life.Some who get college degrees remain poor, while others who nevergraduate high school make a fortune off a great idea or by workingreally hard. In the end, educational credentials don’t reallymatter that much.
Agree
Disagree
Statement 3
There’s no predicting who will wind up wealthy or poor in life.Some people who are born rich lose everything through bad decisionsor bad luck, while others who are born poor work their way up tothe top. Knowing the level of wealth a person starts with in lifetells you almost nothing about where that person will likely endup.
Agree
Disagree
Statement 4
Although there used to be a lot of discrimination against womenin the United States, this no longer applies today. Knowing whethera person is male or female doesn’t tell you much about whether heor she is more or less likely to be economically successful.
Agree
Disagree
