Jennifer Vadeboncoeur, a PhD in sociology, clarifies, “People belong to a certain social class when they attain certain material conditions, when they engage in a certain type of labor, [and] when they embrace a certain lifestyle.” With a clear definition of social classes, she goes on to explain that meritocracy has been erroneously affiliated with social classes. She elaborates that meritocracy is the belief that the arbitrary merit in one’s work predicates their value in society and does not allow for social mobility, while social classes factor in material, occupational, educational, and social assets with social mobility. Once expunged from its obscure layers of meritocracy, social classes demonstrate their vitality in capitalistic societies because they assign leadership roles to individuals with the most affluent qualities, propose social roles, and support each other …show more content…
These include but are not limited to transportation systems along with recreational, humanitarian, judicial, and clinical facilities. In the 21st century, most Americans do not fully appreciate the public services the government provides us because we simply expect them to always be there. In truth, the only reason these services exist is because of tax bases, including income and other percentage taxes. Without definitive socioeconomic classes, the percentage and income taxes that sustain public welfare would diminish because their parameters would not exist. In addition to a general welfare, social classes promote labor diversity. This means that each career cluster, ranging from agriculture to government, has its fill of individuals that specialize in that particular field. John F. Kennedy voiced, “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity,” at American University to address segregation issues. As a type of extreme meritocracy, Kennedy intended to expunge racism from the American social class by suggesting the nation to embrace cultural and labor diversity. Once purified from meritocratic segregation, social classes continued to stabilize welfare and labor