The Future of the United States Social Class System: Dark or Sunny?
             The issues of social class and inequality have been addressed time and time again throughout the history of society. The structuring of a social class varies from rigid, like the caste system of India, to blurry, like that of the United States. Two separate depictions of the United States social class system are introduced. These essays give us a better understanding of the way our class system is structured and also predict the path our society is heading towards. In their essay "How Many Classes Are There?" Dennis Gilbert and Joseph A. Kahl divide the American social classes into six separate and distinct groups based on a combination of income, education credentials, and occupation (431). Both of these men are highly educated in the area of sociology. Gilbert is a professor at Hamilton College and Kahl has taught at Harvard, Washington University in St. Louis, and Cornell. Both have also written books on the subject of social class systems. Gilbert and Kahl believe !
             that there is a pattern that is followed in placing someone in a social class. This pattern is based on community studies and the way an individual believes (s)he fits within society and where (s)he will place himself or herself accordingly (440).
             Charles Murray is the owner of the second viewpoint on the issues of social class and inequality. Like Gilbert and Kahl, Murray also has an extensive background on social issues. Murray is currently a Bradley Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Murray is also the author of several books and articles that primarily emphasize society. In his essay "Separation of the Classes", Murray establishes his belief of the growing bridge between the upper and lower classes and the need to establish a middle ground to thwart this trend.
             Gilbert and Kahl are very specific in their categories of the social class but yet ...