i'm currently studying to be a research sociologist. we learned throughout this semester about a variety of topics of inequalities in the US in one of my classes, and i thought i'd share a little piece from the textbook for that class.
one chapter explicitly states that the US middle class and above enjoy freedom while working class and lower are subject to rules and subjugation. i wonder why that is 🤔 (book and section is exploring inequality: a sociological approach by jenny m. stuber, newest edition chapter 9). btw this isn't to say middle class people are rich or anything they just, on average, are given more freedom in their jobs and life.
anyway, it made me think of retail workers, typically working class and lower, because i used to be one. i used to work at walgreens and the amount of rules and regulations that bottom tier employees (aka me) had to follow felt somewhat reasonable at the time because i've only ever worked retail as a bottom tier employee, but now that i'm in a job that isn't retail i'm given more freedom to do things here, there's procedures to follow but no tight rules. i'm treated like a human being. all jobs are inherently problematic to some degree, but at least with this one i feel human because of the freedom i'm afforded.
i only make a dollar more than i did at walgreens ($13 to $14 an hour) but i'm so much happier because of that freedom. i'm still below/at the poverty line but i don't feel like a useless drone having to listen to rules. and i'm most likely one of the few lucky ones! which is just disgusting.
i'm sure others have stated this same sentiment but i figured i'd throw in my hat too