Lind identifies the white overclass to represent those who have a near monopoly on campaign financing of both parties and control over the majority of judicial and political appointees. The intermediate range includes white Catholics of various national origins, Jews, and Asians. The bottom range includes Blacks, Hispanics, and American Indians for who ethnicity continues to shape the basic aspect of their lives. For those in the middle sector, ethnicity and religion provide another lens for viewing the world. For those in the bottom strata, race provide the critical lens by which they perceive the world.
Stratification provides the lens and focus for perceiving the society.
The unequal distribution of rewards has led to the creation of strata or social classes. Burkey discovered that at least three social classes can be identified in almost all complex societies, with greatest rewards , power, prestige, privilege, and wealth associated with the upper classes. The social class system was based partly on the need for a stratification system that would allow for placement based on ability and merit rather than on ascriptive criteria or previous stratification systems. Oliver and Shapiro indicate that an unresolved U.S. dilemma deals with the disparity between black and white wealth. Vobejda writes that a third of the black population will continue to be poor and the employment and earning status of black men relative to white men is likely to deteriorate further.