social class is a group consisting of people with similar cultural, political and economic standards. The financial factor is one of the most striking features in defining a social class.
Social classes can be interpreted from different points of view, however, the most common definition refers to the limiting group of individuals who constitute the same level and economic power, in addition to having access to leisure and entertainment opportunities and options differentiated.
According to the Marxist theory about the division of classes, in every capitalist society there is a dominant group, responsible for dictate the standards in force in that society, in addition to influencing the control of the State, directly or indirectly.
On the other hand, there is also a dominated class, formed by workers with low professional and educational education.
See also the meaning of Socioeconomic.
Classification of social classes
The concept of social stratification was developed by the German economist Max Weber. It consists of the idea of separating individuals with economic, social, educational characteristics, etc., into specific and hierarchical groups.
THE social stratification Contemporary universal is classified into three groups: lower class, middle class and upper class.
According to the country and its economic and social pattern, social classes can also be subdivided.
At lower classes present difficulties in maintaining the basic needs of human beings, such as food, for example. Furthermore, they hardly have access to cultural entertainment options.
At middle classes are the most common in most countries. In this group, individuals are already able to maintain an economic balance, ensuring all basic needs. In the middle class people tend to have a higher level of education, such as complete higher education, for example.
already the upper classes they are the rich, who are generally born into wealthy families and are holders of large inheritances and fortunes.
All basic needs are met without any difficulty, plus other unique leisure and entertainment opportunities.
Unlike social castes, for example, the individual of a social class can "evolve" or "regress" to other social classes, according to the variations in the factors that characterize each group.
Learn more about Social rise.
social class in Brazil
Brazil is a country marked by a marked social inequality, that is, there is a strong presence of all social classes, from the poorest to the richest.
To classify individuals into different social classes, the country adopts a criterion developed by the Brazilian Association of Companies and Research (Abep).
Learn more about the meaning of Social inequality.
According to the Brazilian classification system adopted by DIEESE (Interunion Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies), social classes can be divided into: miserable, low, low-middle, middle, high-middle and high.
See also the meaning of social hierarchy.