Classism has always been a
driving force behind what drives many people in our society to make certain
decisions in their lifetimes. When young
adults are discouraged or dissuaded from aspiring towards certain occupations,
we set our society up to be a pyramid with only people with certain
inclinations at the top. Whether reasons
include disparity in wages, respect, or any number of miscellaneous factors, it
is an undeniable fact that certain professions in our society are more
desirable than others. Doctors and
lawyers are seen differently than a custodial workers and sanitation people,
but both are absolutely necessary to maintain our society. However, inevitably in the minds of many
members of our society, these people belong to completely different
classes. Destroying classism would make
the professions viewed currently as less prestigious, into occupations necessary
to our society and rightfully upheld at similar levels of social prestige.
Clearly not everyone can perform
well in every occupation in existence.
One who has difficulty in the sciences should probably avoid seeking a
profession in the medical field.
However, in a society which idolizes doctors, many students who should
likely choose a different career path, instead go for what is more lucrative
and respectable. This creates a problem
of people continuously failing because they are pursuing something that they
simply do not enjoy or fully grasp. This could be rectified if we first
established some social prestige to professions that may not require the preparation
and training which medical school demands, but respectable and admirable positions in our society. Doctors and
lawyer should not solely enjoy a position at the top of our social pyramid. The top of the pyramid should be shared by
all those people who perform vital services and have considerable experience in
their respective occupation. Experience
and time devoted to a given profession should be reflected in the social class and
status of the person who has committed their time not simply by the profession with
which the person happens to be working.
Extinguishing classism due to
occupation would create a better world in that no one will feel disenfranchised
due to their line of work; an aspect so essential to our lives. By making the criteria to achieve a higher social
class more based on experience and dedication, we would also encourage a more
solid work ethic and thus promote hard working people who enjoy not only what
they do, but also the pride in knowing that they are benefiting society as a
whole. As has been said before, not
everyone needs college. Unfortunately in
our culture this sentiment does not hold much weight. Troves of students are encouraged to go to
college although they may not be ready for the work load or simply not have
much interest in pursuing a degree past high school. An undergraduate degree should be just as valuable as going
through trade school or working gaining incredible job experience. Sadly this is not the case. As a society we need to understand and acknowledge
the work others do for us to support the way we live and not discriminate
against people because of their occupation.
This, I believe will benefit the self-image of every member of our
society and help our ability to empathize and understand other people’s point
of views.
A proposal from one of my previous students was that everyone who works at any job should make the same salary. Something reasonable, but nothing extravagant. It's a radical idea, but I like it - usually the reason that certain jobs get more "respect" is because they come with more money and power. What do you think? Would it work, or would we just find some other way to discriminate against some lines of work?
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ReplyDeleteI agree that classism has prevented people from pursuing what they are truly passionate about because society says that "you can't make a living off of doing that." This leaves those who are not good at what society deems important at a disadvantage. I think a possible solution is a combination of both your idea and Professor MB's idea. What if everyone had the same starting salary regardless of their profession, but were rewarded for their experience and dedication to their profession? This would minimize discrimination and promote higher quality work.
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard for anyone to read this post and disagree. Classism is a problem that our society has been struggling with for a while, and I'm glad you chose to tackle this subject. I especially like what you said in your second paragraph. If I read it as you intended, I got the idea that you think people in every profession should have a wider range of knowledge in all fields. Similar to the way that we have "core" classes in college in order to give students a look into other professions, and not just the one that their parents said they should pursue. I think that would be incredibly useful to our society. Not only would it lessen the tension between classes (or altogether get rid of them), it would make for a happier society--one in which workers look forward to doing their jobs.
ReplyDeleteI think the disappearance of classism would be essential in an ideal world. There are a lot of people who choose certain career paths because they think they are supposed to pursue a certain kind of prestige. For example, someone may love working as a waiter in a restaurant, but thinks he has to abandon that job to become something that society perceives as "better" because he has a college degree or is intelligent. I think this misconception starts with even the word "job" versus "career." The connotation of "job" is negative; its something menial and almost unprofessional. Cashiers, waiters, custodians, etc. are considered as having jobs. Doctors, teachers, lawyers, etc. are considered as having careers. I think possibly working to adjust this simple language detail would be very helpful for your cause.
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