Social hierarchy has existed since the beginning of time. Yet, the inner workings of the plethora of classes that social hierarchy produces have often been ignored. In America, many people deny that there is a class system at all; This could not be more false. The social hierarchy functioning in the society of America is not only present, the gaps of the stratification system are growing to create greater inequality. Through a closer look at the types of social hierarchy and how they are portrayed through America's culture, it is obvious that social classes do in fact exist. To grasp the concept of social class in the United States, one must first understand what social hierarchy is.
Social hierarchy is the acknowledgement that a society is divided unequally. This division creates classes, which can be derived from combination of many factors. There are three dominating stratification systems in our world. The first is the caste system. The caste system is a very unbending structure of inequality. In a caste system, moving from class to class is virtually impossible. Through hard work and perseverance one is still not able to rise in class. Not only are the classes inflexible, they are quite rigid in that there is a thick line between each one. Take India, for example, where a strict caste system is in play. There are five exact levels on their pyramid. At the top lies teachers and religious people. One step down are the warriors. Below the warriors they have the merchants and the craftsmen. Then, called Shundra, are the laborers and farmers. At the bottom of the ladder are the group of people who work with both dead animals and dead humans. As were the lowest called in history, this group is referred to as the "untouchables". Within this caste system there are strict rules which are the reasons why moving up in caste is impossible. One example of this is endogamy, which prohibits people to marry anyone not in their own caste.
