Singapore and Class Divided Society

Running head: SINGAPORE AND CLASS DIVIDED SOCIETY
Singapore and class divided society
Name of the student
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Author Note

1SINGAPORE AND CLASS DIVIDED SOCIETY
Response to question 1: Class as a social issue and part of the social science
In the stratification of society into multiple layers, the class is one of the primary factors
that determine the position of the individual in society (Healey et al., 2018). According to Karl
Marx,” Man is a class animal”. However, what he meant by a class animal is the same what we
understand today. By class he meant, all individuals are different from each other regarding their
status, age, education or their family background (Kerbo, 2017).
The understanding of class has radically changed, and the term means something
different today. To understand what is the meaning of class in today's context and why is it a part
of the social science subjects, it is essential to understand the issue that social science deals with
under its umbrella. The class is the concept for defining the position of people in society on the
basis of their economic, educational or any other divisions. It is used as a mark of positioning
people. However, this has been used in the negative sense that the positive sense. The class is
defined in multiple ways. It is important why is it a part of the social issues. Historically,
societies have been divided into multiple segments, mostly on the basis of economic criteria. The
model of this economic class is defined by Karl Marx where he defines the theory of class
struggle and the origin of the class. However, it is to be remembered that “class” is mostly
understood in terms of socio-economic class or the working class (Parkin, 2018). It is crucial to
understand class from a social perspective because people are defined through their class.
It is to be remembered that social science is the study of human behaviour and people
behave in a certain way shaped by societal norms. Even though there are variations of this
behaviour across culture, time and place, it is mainly about people and their behaviour within the
social context that is the critical elements of the study of social science. It is to be said that class

2SINGAPORE AND CLASS DIVIDED SOCIETY
is one such social factor that is used in determining and understanding the behaviour of the
people which is why it is the part of the social issues and dealt is social science subjects (Lee et
al., 2016).
Response to question 2: Singaporean society based on the social divisions
It is argued that education is used as a tool for social mobility. However, in the context of
Singapore, there is a blurred representation of the same. Education here is not an indicator of
social mobility instead it is an indicator of social divisiveness (Channel NewsAsia, 2019). It is
also criticised for not being able to create enough possibility and opportunity for the Singaporean
children from diverse socio-economic background to have equal opportunity in education and
employment (Cole, 2017). It is to be remembered that this is the reflection of the parental choice
and their educational qualifications that determine the future schooling of the children. This
attitude is getting reflected in the increasing level of social discrimination in the society of
Singapore.
As the second article defines that the present society of Singapore is based mainly on
"class", it is important to analyse the issue of present socio-economic class division of the society
now. It is found that people of a similar educational or economic background tend to flock
together and find their interest similar. There is a tendency to form social ties across similar
familial lines when such situation is found in the context of Singapore, it is developing the notion
of “winners v losers” and this is prevalent within the context of the children of the elite schools
who are developing the “elitist" attitude towards others children who do not share a similar
background (Rodan 2016). This notion of difference in developing the practice of exclusion in
the society. This society is based on the idea of “closed system” of stratification where the