Class and Identity - What's the Difference? Merriam Webster's 9th college class: a group sharing the same economic or social status. 2: A group, set, or kind sharing common attributes. Identity: Identity of essential or generic character in different instances b: Identity in everything that constitutes the objective reality of a thing. According to these definitions, class is a subset of identity; identity being the container of all kinds of similarities, class being the similarity specifically linked to economic or social status. An argument that they are the same might argue that since a person's economic/social status so completely limits or enables people in that society, people's overall identity is dictated by their class. This could further define objective reality as the manifestation of a thing in light of its realistic limitations and capabilities. Take Robert for example. Who is Robert? What questions do we ask first? What is most important to us in forming our impression of him? In a multiracial country like the United States, race might be one of the first. Physical appearances: hair color, weight, etc. We need a mental image. Once we know these things, certain assumptions are made. Many of these assumptions are silent, almost unconscious judgments based on superficial information. Robert is black. Oh. Where does it come from? Detroit. Oh. Lots of assumptions here. His class is practically defined for us through popular stereotypes with no mention of his economic situation. Guess what, he's poor, lives in the projects with his single mother. Oh. So now what do we know about Robert's identity? Well, nothing really. But in reality, we can guess a whole bunch of things in real life that directly affect our identity, define it, limit it. He's probably not doing well in school. Not because he's stupid, but because he has a bad attitude, and who could blame him: the school he attends conducts random searches on students. There are metal detectors and armed guards at every entrance and exit. For him, school is literally a prison. And which prison actually encourages reflection among its inmates? No, pass them on. There is no money to think about. Maybe Robert is part of a gang. Sure, gang is a convenient label, but he can have a group of friends, and many of them carry guns. They have a local area in common and rightly believe Detroit is a dangerous city..