Class in America-2003

Although much of his writing does not explicitly claim that the wealthy are exploiting the poor, it is clear through his tone and through some of his evidence that he believes the rich are unfairly exploiting those who are less fortunate. When he cites Harold Wachtel's quote about how inheritance is similar to a game of monopoly in which one game's gains are carried into the next, Mantsios is portraying the unfair advantages that the wealthy exclusively claim for themselves in terms we all can understand. However, in much of his writing Mantsios simply assumes that the wealthy are exploiting the poor and that his reader will agree that the harsh contrast his statistics show are brought about by this unfair exploitation. By showing the contrast throughh his evidence without directly saying that the rich are subjugating the poor, Mantsios pushes his reader towards distrust of the rich and empathy with the poor, strengthening the position that the poor are being taken advantage of by those more fortunate. There are alternative views, however. Mantsios says that more poor and getting into college, but quickly devalues that important achievement with other statistics saying they don't do as well. If one can focus on the advantages we are able to give our poor, one could show how the gap is shrinking and how fewer people are so disadvantaged.