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  • Essay / The role of class in Singapore today

    Society is divided and stratified by race, gender, sexuality, as well as class. This stratification is eternal, generative and repeated, generally leading to inequalities. In a fast-paced and modernized society, social class is an important aspect to discuss. In this essay, I will discuss the importance of social class in Singapore. To do this, I will first explain the meaning of social class, as well as the types of social classes present in Singapore. Second, I will briefly attempt to introduce and explain Karl Max's theory of social classes, his Bourgeois versus Proletariat argument and the class conflict that concerned him. Third, I will explore in more detail the inequalities caused by social class, as well as variables such as income growth, social capital and mobility, as well as meritocracy, which can influence a person's social class, then I will conclude by understanding to what extent social class matters in today's Singapore. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayAccording to Ong and Cheung (2016), a person's general situation in life, based on their influences and status , as well as one's opportunities and the availability of certain assets, this is the meaning of social class in Singapore. Usually, knowing an individual's social class requires identifying their socio-economic status (SES), which consists of specific markers such as education level and salary earned (Ong and Cheung, 2016). Another solution is to use subjective social status (Ong and Cheung, 2016). Basically, subjective social status refers to a person's personal understanding of their social positioning (Ong and Cheung, 2016). As Ong and Cheung (2016) indicate, an individual can demonstrate their general position via a social hierarchy “stepladder,” a visual aid used to identify the individual's subjective observations. It is widely known in Singapore that generally there are different types of social classes and this would refer to upper class, middle class and lower class. As mentioned earlier, an individual's education level, the number of languages ​​spoken and their literacy level, their economic status, whether they are employed or not, and if so, what is their occupation and monthly salary gross, and the type of house in which he lives, will determine to which social class this person will belong (Singstat, 2018). As Buchanan (1975) puts it, Singapore is a class society made up of five different classes. You have “upper class, upper middle class, middle middle class, lower middle class, and working class” (Buchanan, 1975). According to Chang (1995), and based on his definition of social class, there are also five different types of classes. His classification is quite similar to Buchanan's regarding the three upper classes which constitute the upper echelon as they have higher incomes, significant social status and higher authority of influence, while in addition, the two remaining classes complete the lower level (Chang, 1995). Regardless, Ong and Cheung (2016) argued that understanding different social classes is important because it will enable Singapore to create a more inclusive and complete society, in which individuals see each other as equals. , without taking into account their social class. This is also crucial to enable us to tackle burning issues such as poverty for example, byexamining government policies in place in Singapore that promote or hinder an individual's access to their socio-economic status (Buchanan, 1975). Furthermore, by knowing the trends and effects of available social classes, one can hope to gradually improve class stratification (Chang, 1995). In Singapore, with growing social gaps and excessively diverse levels, it is crucial to work towards a just society where everyone believes that they are equal to anyone else and considered as such (Ong and Cheung , 2016). However, let us now examine Marx's theory of social classes. According to Rummel (1977), the best way to understand Marx's theory of social classes is through his meaning of class. Class is determined by rightful possession of property, whereby such ownership gives a man the ability to deny others access to the property and use it for individual purposes (Rummel, 1977). . Rummel (1977) also points out that in addition to the link with property, there are three important classes of society: the bourgeoisie (which owns the methods of creation, for example computer equipment and the structures of production chains, and whose source of wages is profit), landowners (whose wages are lease) and the working class (who demand their labor and offer it for wages). Class is therefore controlled by property, not salary or status, and these are dictated by circulation and use, which themselves ultimately reflect the creation and power relations of classes (Rummel, 1977). The social states of bourgeois creation are characterized by average property; therefore, class is in this way a hypothetical and formal relationship between people (Rummel, 1977). Rummel (1977) asserts that the power that transforms idle class participation into a class battle is known as class interest. In comparable class circumstances, people come to act accordingly, building a common dependence, a network, a mutual intrigue linked to a typical wage of profit or salary (Rummel, 1977). It is from this that regular interest classes are shaped and, for Marx, people create classes to the extent that their advantages attract them into a struggle against the opposing class (Rummel, 1977). At the beginning, the interests linked to property and tenancy were not quite the same as those of the bourgeoisie. However, Rummel (1977) points out that as society develops, capital (i.e. generational property) and land ownership converge, as do the interests of landowners and the bourgeoisie. Subsequently, the link between creation, the normal resistance between the lower classes and the bourgeoisie, decides all other actions (Rummel, 1977). As Marx saw the advancement of class conflict, the battle between classes was first linked to singular plants (Rummel, 1977). ). Ultimately, given the development of capitalism, the growing divergence in living environments between the bourgeoisie and the working class, as well as the increasing homogenization within each class, singular battles end up boiling down to transversal coalitions around industrial installations (Rummel, 1977). . Gradually, class conflict manifests itself at the societal level, meaning that class consciousness broadens, fundamental interests and approaches are defined, and the use and struggle for political power occurs, which which leads to the transformation of classes into a political coalition (Rummel, 1977). Overall, the Marxian perspective on class conflict has six elements (Rummel, 1977).Firstly, classes are expert relations in the light of property, secondly, class characterizes groups of people with similar life circumstances, therefore interests, thirdly, classes are normally contradictory out of prudence in their interests. In today's society, the development of two hostile classes is imminent and their struggle, which in the long term engulfs all social ties, political associations and power is an instrument of class struggle, and the dominant thoughts are its appearance, and finally, structural change is a result of the class battle (Rummel, 1977). In the case of Singapore, I believe we can easily discern who the bourgeoisie and the proletariat are, even if it is not always black and white. Right now I will focus on the fate of the proletariats, because I am a proletariat myself. I can say this based on my subjective social status, as previously mentioned by Ong and Cheung (2016). As stated by Kynn (2010), the fascinating attributes of Singapore are that it is meritocratic but then elitist, multicultural but then racially oriented, and finally dynamic but male-centered. Singapore's proletariats face many alarming problems such as inequality, whether based on education or economic status, social mobility, social capital and income growth, to name a few. -uns. According to the Institute of Policy Studies (2018), inequality and social mobility are distinct but linked challenges. The former reflects unequal access to assets, while the latter reflects the level of social fairness, reasonableness and value to the general public. Although contrasts in financial conditions are inevitable, social stratification has negative consequences for social solidity, prosperity, and attachment (Institute of Policy Studies, 2018). Why is this important in the context of Singapore? Manstead (2018) argues that, based on current studies, a person's social class plays an important role in affecting their individual and social markers, and that this will in turn impact both how they where she reflects and perceives her social condition and the essential elements of her social interaction. Furthermore, recent research by the Institute of Policy Studies (2018) on social capital shows a significant gap between different social classes in Singapore. The research methodology was based on two distinct criteria: the type of house you lived in, whether it was private or public housing, and what type of school did you attend, an elite school or not (Institute of Policy Studies, 2018). The possibility that schools are contexts in which social class imbalances are reinforced may at first seem puzzling, given that schools should be meritocratic situations in which achievement is shaped by ability and effort, not by a favorable position presented by the class foundation. Manstead, 2018). However, the education system reproduces social imbalances by promoting norms and qualities that are more common among middle-class children, to the extent that this encourages middle-class children to spill over into their working-class peers. , the “meritocratic belief that such performance contrasts are due to contrasts in ability and effort will serve to “clarify” truly uneven performance (Manstead, 2018). Another finding of the study is that those with a more diverse network are inclined to have more ingrained feelings of national pride and trust toward individuals of different races,, 2014).