Politics: A major Conduit to Upward Social Mobility within Liberia the Liberian Society

From qualitative analysis, this article examines politics as the major conduit to social mobility in Liberia’s social stratification system. It argues that none of the traditional determinants of social stratification (income, wealth, education, power, prestige) are strong enough to influence social mobility at the apex of the social ladder in Liberia. Empirically, history has proven that majority of the elites arouse to the upper class through politics conceptualized as political positions characterized by elections and appointments. This article also argues that politics is an independent variable that influences income, wealth, power, and prestige simply because of the lucrative salaries and incentives associated with political positions in Liberia. For this reason, it is argued that the desire of those entering into politics especially in contemporary Liberia is to acquire wealth, not necessarily to serve the best interest of the state.