Write your own personal thoughts about the following questions:

1. If you could remake the United States and/or the world in any way you wanted to do so, what would the social stratification system look like? In other words, outline what you believe to be the key principles or the rules of the game by which rewards should be allocated? Keep in mind that rewards could include power, status or prestige, and/or material resources such as money, land, water, or any of the things that money can buy.

Not all kinds of rewards need be allocated according to the same principles. This first question is essentially about how you think about how things should be in an ideal world.

2. If you were to characterize the social stratification system as it currently exists in the United States and/or the world, how well does it measure up to the ideal world you defined in question 1?

In other words, by what principles or rules of the game do you believe that rewards are currently allocated?

This question is essentially about how you think things are, regardless of whether or not you think they should be that way. What, if anything, about the current system of social stratification do you find to be unfair or problematic in some way?

What, if anything, about the current stratification system do you think should remain the same?