Nima Alian

Mrs. Thomas
2-9-15
UWRIT 1102
The Power of the Beholder
My topic is one that Ive been interested in for a while. I found a lot of sources that I could use to
explain and provide evidence with. My main concern is that Im not sure how to tie other
components into my thesis without interfering with the main picture. I also had a little trouble
grouping everything together without making the essay confusing. This revision has a lot of
details that my professor and fellow peers suggested. I included a paragraph on wealthy people
like Bill Gates and the Waltons of Walmart, to add more evidence and detail. I also polished my
paragraph on the Aztecs by adding more details. The last revision on that I did was add detail on
old and new
Have you ever dreamed of exploring the Mediterranean on your privately owned yacht? I
know that I certainly have, although the chances of it occurring seem very unlikely. The
wealthier elites in our society generally own most of the luxuries such as the private yachts and
jets. With wealth comes an immense amount of power that is usually assumed by others. There is
almost a direct correlation of wealth with amount of power. The wealthy have tightly held on to
the top of various social systems for ages. This leads me to my inquiry question which is why
do the wealthy usually hold the highest status, even over the more educated? I have been very
interested in this question for quite a while. I have always wondered why wealth plays such a
prominent role in our society as well as other societies around the world. I found this question
fascinating because the wealthy seem to always have a voice in government. I also find it very
interesting how the wealthy often consider themselves superior to the less wealthy and often
dont mingle with anyone outside of their social class.

I plan to start my project by viewing the historical aspects of the situation. The wealthy
have been portrayed as superior for much and possibly most of history. I found a plethora of
evidence on different civilizations that favored the wealthy citizens. One of the particular
civilizations is the Aztecs of Mesoamerica. The Aztecs had a highly stratified society in which
different members of society were placed into categories that governed their lives. The noblemen
were the highest ranked individuals. They were the wealthiest citizens and each of them was
born into nobility and inherited money. The noblemen were very careful with keeping their noble
blood pure throughout the generations. The noblemen were the only social class that could vote
for the leader. The next step down was the military and priests who were the hardworking and
educated. Although the military and priests were wealthy, they were not as rich and privileged as
the noblemen. These classes are above all of the other classes and were considered superior to
the rest of Aztec society. Other civilizations that I would like to discuss are the Mayans,
Egyptians and Asians.
The next topic that I would like to discuss is wealth in the world currently. I would
describe Indias complex caste system that still exists today. Then I would move into the effects
of wealth in American society and possible reasons for it. About .01 percent of Americans are
considered to be into the upper class. The wealthiest people in the United States (who usually
inherited the money) are regarded more highly than the professionals who work their way up and
are the most educated. These wealthy individuals play an extremely important role in the
American government. They are the people who provide money and lobby for their interests.
This could be one reason that the wealthy are regarded highly, because they may have more time
to gain power since they are financially set. I may also include statistics and data on how
educated the elites of American society are.

The next concept that I would like to include is the sociology and psychology behind the
status. I would describe how American society is divided into different classes even if it may not
seem obvious to all. The controversy of old versus new money would be discussed because the
people who have old and inherited money still seem to hold the upper hand in society. One very
interesting source that I found stated that people who achieve high success and wealth believe
that they deserve it and therefore those who are not wealthy do not deserve it. This type of
thinking makes them feel superior to others in society. One of the interesting details that I found
was that the Americans seem to have more respect for people who have old money because
they are more experienced with wealth. They generally know how to use their wealth because
they were raised in wealthy families and know the ropes of wealth. The psychological aspects
play a huge role in how others act and perceive people.
One of the most important goals for my essay is Americas perspective of some of the
richest people/ families. The Waltons of Walmart certainly represent old money because they
have inherited great sums of money throughout decades. I am interested in researching how the
Waltons are regarded as compared to people like Bill Gates. The United States is definitely
heading towards a society that greatly values people who have achieved their money, yet there is
still a great amount of respect for people who inherited money.
I hope that I will be able to write a successful essay that works to explain why wealthy
people have and still are more highly regarded than others in society. I have found a sufficient
amount of articles yet I hope to be able to find more so that I will have lots of validity. I would
like to explore the specifics of this controversial topic. This is a topic that I have been very
interested in and hope to learn a lot about and maybe even generate some possible explanations.