Question

While the United States is, theoretically, a class system, it functions in some ways like a caste system. Discuss what is meant by ascribed and achieved statuses as well as the role that ascribed statuses play (even for Americans) in opportunities for upward mobility.

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

The status assigned is that which is given to an individual without making the effort to receive it. In this type of social status, the individual manages to have a social factor that is attributed to him, even before his birth, due to the status and social position of the family to which this individual belongs. In this case, children of rich and socially prestigious families are born with a high social status and this status represents the assigned status.

Acquired status, on the other hand, refers to the social status a person achieves through his or her own efforts to achieve social ascension. This can be seen through poor people who have become politicians or successful entrepreneurs through effort, dedication and studies, for example. This type of status does not limit the individual in a certain social class, since the effort through study and the search for better economic conditions allow this individual to rise more and more in social class.