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CLASS STRATIFICATION.
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Discusses class structure and role of the military.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses class structure and role of the military. Racial and class divisions in United States society. Overrepresentation of the poor in the military. Socioeconomic makeup of military during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Argues that military conscription can act as a societal equalizer. Need for redistribution of the balance of class and power in American society.
Paper Introduction:
Social Class
Impact on Military Representation
INTRODUCTION
Throughout history in every class society there has been an oppressed class and a ruling class. The oppressed class creates the wealth of the society and the ruling class who controls that wealth. In The New Class Society, Robert Perrucci and Earl Wysong (1999) argue that a new “double diamond” class structure equates to a system that will create more poor Americans and keep them powerless to correct the situation. The bottom part of the class structure represents 80% of the population, including the comfort class, the contingent class, and the excluded class. The top of the double diamond is smaller and represents the privileged class, about 20% of the population made up of the super class
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Many blacks lost their livesor were disabled in combat and yet were not entitled to benefits or relieffor their survivors. Socioeconomic status in perspective. Harvard's graduating classof 197 , in comparison, contained just two veterans among its nearly 1,2 men" (Freeman, 2 2, 2). Blacks have participated in every war since theAmerican Revolution. 1-129. An analysis of the social background of Vietnam War casualties. This tiny percentage of Americans controlspolitics, the economy, the military and the media. GENMISC.DOC. is in need of a communal mythologyor equalizer.BODY Samuel Freedman argues that what America needs to provide such anequalizer is the "exposure of citizens to other citizens on a prosaic,daily basis, in a setting stripped of all the usual distinctions andhierarchies" (2 2, 1). The results of three systematic analyses of thesocioeconomic makeup of appointment during the volunteer period demonstratethat: "members of the military tended to come from backgrounds that weresomewhat lower in socioeconomic status than the U.S. In the face of globalization and the loss ofmanufacturing class stratification has become even more pronounced in theU.S. Opposition to suchsocial structures as reinforce class stratification is scant because of theinordinate and disproportional power and political influence of the upper-most classes. Barely three percent of enlisted men and women held a college degree in a nation where one-quarter of young adults did (2).In such statistics of the socioeconomic makeup of the military we can seehow Perrucci and Wysong are correct when they explain the four criticalkinds of capital that are used to bestow privilege and social class inAmerican society. The Black Panthers represent one group in American society that isnot blinded by Oprahfication. The oppressed class creates the wealthof the society and the ruling class who controls that wealth. In short, the U.S. (1975). Available: http://dticaw.dtic.mil/prhome/poprep99/html/chap ter7/c7- perspective.htm, 1-2.Anonymous. A statement from theiragenda reads, "We will not fight and kill other people of color in theworld who, like black people, are being victimized by the white racistgovernment of America" (When, 2 2, 1). (Spring 2 ). During World WarII blacks gained more parity with other enlisted personnel. Many immigrants were successfully assimilatedinto American culture because of their shared experiences with Americans ofall classes during World War II. WhilePerrucci and Wysong do end their work on a positive note by giving examplesof activists groups who work to erase such disparities between the rich andpoor and the advantaged and disadvantaged in American society, it isunlikely the privileged class will not oppose such efforts. M. Many believe that military conscription is a must to demonstratethat all Americans have equal standing. Many blacks joined the military solely to gaintheir freedom, such as was military freedom. Income inequality continues to rise in this country as many withdegrees even in manufacturing positions are abandoned to the burgeoningservices industry due to changes from globalization. With respect to the military thishas created a similar schism between those who serve and those who do not.As Freedman (2 2) reports, "Not serving - leaving the service to thepoorer, the darker, the less-educated - is now the American norm" (2). The volunteer force has been disproportionately comprised ofindividuals from the lower socioeconomic groups. The New Class Society, Rowman & Littlefield.Webb, J. Social Class Impact on Military RepresentationINTRODUCTION Throughout history in every class society there has been anoppressed class and a ruling class. Class systems within social class systems exist in the military. Available: http://www.indybay.org/news/2 2/ 1/114267.php, 1-3.Freeman, S. Others argue that even whenthe draft was in effect, the privileged class was able to avoid servicewhile the disadvantaged classes were not. Not only are moreindividuals from lower socioeconomic groups enlisted in the military, butthe number of individuals from the upper-most socioeconomic groups isunderrepresented. and Wysong, E. military population show "militaryservice members are more likely to be black than comparable civilians"(Martin, 2 , 1). A 1988 Democratic Leadership Council stated, "We cannot ask the poor and under-privileged along to defend us while our more fortunate sons and daughters take a free ride, forging ahead with their education and careers." (Socioeconomic, 2 2, 1) During World War II, 84 percent of American men participated in themilitary or defense industries, and between the Korea and Vietnam warsapproximately 5 % of men passed through the armed forces (Freedman, 2 2,1). Imbalances of class are particularly representative of the modernmilitary. Perrucci (et al, 1999) argues that class position is fixed dependenton four kinds of critical capital: consumption capital, investment capital,credentialed skill capital, and social capital. The authors argue that the class system isorganizationally based, with the privileged class able to rely on theirclass status and the workings of the class system (policy, army, judiciary)to maintain advantage: "Large organizations-through various levels andgroups of 'gatekeepers' within them-direct, channel, and legitimate thedistribution of...resources to individuals and groups" (Perrucci andWysong, 1999, 8). ReferencesAnonymous. By all accounts military service is a hierarchical world of its own. Martin (2 ) confirms thisimbalance, "Enlisted service members appear to come disproportionately fromhomes of somewhat lower socioeconomic status than comparable young men andwomen who do not enter the military" (1). In The Working Class War, historianChristian G. Five thousand of the 3 , troops in theContinental Army were black, the Louisiana Battalion of Free Men of Colorwas a major black segregated unit in the War of 1812, 18 , blacks servedin the Civil War, and of the two major segregated black units in World WarI, 5,1 casualties were recorded (GENMISC, 1). The media's war on Vietnam vets. Blacksare traditionally in the lower socioeconomic classes in American society.The same has been true for their position in the American military, eventhough statistic on the current U.S. Social and political issues are undermined by"Oprahfication", what the authors term the phenomenon of the media"contributing to the demise of critical thinking about current and pastsocial, cultural and political events and issues" (Perrucci et al, 1999,232). Despite the reality of class stratification, Americans arepolitically passive. Behavioral Medicine, 1-2.Perrucci, R. (2 2). AsJames Webb (1998) argues: "The war was fought by the poor and minoritiesdragged unwillingly into battle after being conscripted. (1999). The philosophical basis for these proposals was the conviction that all social classes should contribute their share to the national defense. As late as the 198 s, theDemocratic Party adopted this issue as part of its platform: The belief that enlisted military drew recruits primarily from lower socioeconomic groups was a major element in proposals for either a return to conscription or some form of national service program that would draw all classes into military or civilian service. Wall Street Journal, 1+.Willis, J. This was not the case for manyindividuals from the lower classes. Yetduring World War II there were more casualties among prosperous Americansthan poor Americans, but this situation was reversed in the Vietnam War.In Who Died in Vietnam?, John Willis (1975) examined the men who died inVietnam by using census tracts and concluded that "poor neighborhoods wereover-represented among the dead; prosperous neighborhoods had been over-represented among the dead of World War II" (19). Unlesssomething is done that redistributes the balance of class power in Americansociety, the authors argue that the "American Dream" may die in thiscentury. (2 2). average...with the topquartile of the population underrepresented" (Socioeconomic, 2 2, 1). When is Black Panther Day? dissertation, Sociology, Purdue, pp. Evidence that avoiding military service is not detrimental to beinga member of the upper class elite comes in the example of Bill Clinton, whoavoided induction and still won two terms as President of the U.S.Perrucci (et al, 1999) believes that consumerism, submission to authority,the media and other factors rob Americans of critical thinking. (2 2). army soldiers. Available: http://carlisle- www.army.mil/usambi/RefBibs/ethnic/black/genmisc.htm, 1-2.Anonymous. Apply "calculated that 8 percent of the American soldiers inVietnam hailed from poor or blue-collar homes. Nevertheless,there are many studies corroborating the fact that the poor and minoritiesshoulder a disproportional share of the burden during the Vietnam War. This is clearly true in the microcosm of militarysociety as well. Thebottom part of the class structure represents 8 % of the population,including the comfort class, the contingent class, and the excluded class.The top of the double diamond is smaller and represents the privilegedclass, about 2 % of the population made up of the super class and thecredentialed class. The credentialed skillcapital component of class position refers to access to elite universitiesand high-paying jobs. Study after study continues to report on the imbalance ofsocioeconomic representation in the military. Many argue that military conscription providessuch a common experience. In a sense this kind ofsituation exists because the individuals who are part of the top part ofthe Perrucci and Wysong "diamond" class use their resources to maintain andlegitimize the class system. Samuel Freedman (2 2) argues that America has never recoveredfrom the imbalance of socioeconomic representation during the Vietnam War: If anything, the end of conscription in 1973 and the development of an all-volunteer military have increased it. As of 1995, blacks served in the armed forces at nearly double their proportion in the population. Ph.D. Many Americans continue to underestimate the impact ofsocial stratification because the law in principle guarantees suchstanding. Imbalances in socioeconomicrepresentation in the military create a great deal of controversy withrespect to equality in the U.S. Salon Daily, Available:http://216.239.39.1 /search?q=cache:TezpRRcAV8 C:www.salon19 99.com/news/news961119.html+military+service+class+inequality+in+Americ an&hl=en&ie=UTF-8, 1-3.Martin, L. These in turn influenceculture and create consent for class stratification.CONCLUSION The results of this research clearly demonstrate the imbalance ofsocioeconomic representation in the military. Until World War II the military was also segregated.Black troops more often than not saw training and battle conditions thatwere far inferior to those of their white counterparts. So, too, we live in a culture of consumerism that valuesindividual autonomy and achievement. Yet, as Perrucci and Wysong clearlydemonstrate, real upward mobility is severely restricted to many Americansbecause of imbalances in critical kinds of capital reinforced by socialstructures controlled by the privileged class. American society is currently torn by race and class,increasingly divided between immigrants and native-born, and lacking acommon experience. The truth is thatfor the first time in U.S. Instead of blaming the government, social stratification, or povertyreinforcing mechanisms in a hierarchical society for issues like drugviolence, the authors contend the media, owned by the privileged class,help manufacture consent of the public to class inequality: "DARE promotesthe acceptance of individual-level explanations for and solutions to socialproblems...it also distracts public attention from social-classinequalities as sources of social problems" (Perrucci et al, 1999, 225).Even services demonstrate an inequality based on social status and classstratification. There is little doubt thatthe imbalanced socioeconomic representation in the military is not a directresult of this hierarchical reinforcement of wealth and power. They also illustrate thefact that American society is far from being one in which all citizens haveequal standing. (1998). The Black Panthers argue that all black menshould be exempt from military service, primarily because of the socialstratification of American society that they view as maintaining the cycleof poverty and oppression for African Americans. In The NewClass Society, Robert Perrucci and Earl Wysong (1999) argue that a new"double diamond" class structure equates to a system that will create morepoor Americans and keep them powerless to correct the situation. Who died in Vietnam? Unless apolitical regime comes into power that opposes such social structures, itis unlikely class equality will exist in American society. Class inequality continues to increase because of a lack ofopposition to these social structures. It is ironic that the figure of 8 % should be aresult in this study because that is the percentage of the populationPerrucci (et al, 1999) argues is in the lower diamond of the new classstructure in American society. When volunteer service was enacted, manyargued that the ranks of the military would be filled with the uneducated,poor classes as a means of gaining employment. Despite their numbers and history of participation in the military,blacks were treated notoriously bad in the military wars prior to World WarII. During the Vietnam War it was relatively simple forthose from upper socioeconomic classes attending elite schools like Harvardand Yale to avoid military service. (Jul 15, 1998). How to unify the country? history, the country's elites, who haveinordinate power in the media and academia, did not show up" (1). Historically the military has beenstratified by class with respect to the demographics of those serving. Often they were used for service and then dismissed from the military,as happened with many of the marines from Montford Point, the first all-black marine training camp. Onceagain the poor, uneducated, and lower classes are relegated to inferiorsocial positions inside the military microcosm of society at large. Psychological and physical health effect of sexual assaults and nonsexual traumas among male and female U.S.
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