Introduction After reviewing the documentary Slumming It two philosophers came to mind. Throughout the documentary Slumming It both philosophical principles of both Robert Nozick and John Rawls. In the philosophical beliefs of Robert Nozick explains that each person within our society falls into one of two categories. The first category of people is "those who think this vision of the state is too small" (Steiner, Week 9). In this category, these people are described as communitarians, socialists or even sometimes described as conservatives. In the second category where Nozick says the second group of people is those who "think this vision of the state is too big" (Steiner, Week 9). Where people living in this category are described as anarchists. The second philosopher that came to mind when reviewing the Slumming It Documentary was the philosophical beliefs of John Rawls. In Rawl's …show more content…
In his two-week journey through the world's 3rd largest slum in the city of Dharavi. In this experience, he shared his experience through his first time visiting India. In this documentary he showed the living conditions within the city of Dharavi, in this region of India he showed that nearly one million people were living an area of one square mile. In this densely populated area, people were living near sewer pipes and constantly surrounded by toxic sewage where on average four thousand new cases of illness are diagnosed every day in this area due to the poor sanitation in this part of India. In this documentary, the host Kevin meets a young girl named Monica where he experiences the life of living in the slums. In this segment of the documentary, viewers are confronted with the harsh realities of Dharavi. For an example, in Monica's household, there are twenty-one people living in a tight and cramped house in the heart of the
The animated documentary shows various forms of victimization: threats and armed attacks against civilians, forced disappearances, bombings of the village and armed battles, child recruitment by the guerrilla, forced displacement, and the subsequent problems of unemployment, poverty and stigmatization in the cities .
The most confronting aspect of the documentary was the failure of the Australian Government’s to address poverty within the Mt. Druitt community. It was fairly evident that Mt Druitt’s community is “let down”, especially when Billy, a resident, was accused of failing to pay rent. This certainly struck me, as without a house to
In the Pulitzer prize-winning novel Evicted, sociologist Matthew Desmond follows eight families as he exposes how the lack of affordable housing perpetuates a state of poverty. He even goes so far as to assert that it is eviction that is a cause of poverty, not the other way around (Desmond 229). While this latter argument is as engrossing and it is striking, analyzing it with justice is simply not possible within the scope of this paper. Nevertheless, it is these two factors—inescapable poverty and eviction—that engender an unrelenting condition of financial, emotional, and communal instability, effectively hindering any chance of upward mobility.
In order to be radical about poverty, we need to understand the difference between wealth and income. Income is a transfer of money by working or by gifts. On the other hand, wealth is more of a total of accumulated assets that has been stored for a period of time (Conley, pg. 253). Wealth is not distributed equally among the public. (NCH, 2016, http://nationalhomeless.org/about-homelessness/). Declining wages has also caused a lot of stress and increase people’s inability to pay for their housing or other needs. If there are affordable housing, it’s usually in an unsafe and polluted environment or it’s extremely overcrowded that people have a higher chance of being homeless or inadequate housing arrangements than getting their applications accepted (Why Are People Homeless Research, 2016, NCH). Also, privatizing housing will increase the accumulation of wealth of the power elite or those that own property and lands by their pricing in rents. Most people go through depression because of loss of home, jobs, or a sense of self. Often times, the lack education about health and they don’t receive adequate support for medical care if they are homelessness. Poverty is also treated as a criminal offence and if people were to ask for public assistance, they have to prove their eligibility. If they have a criminal record, they are
The conflict theory established by Karl Marx, suggested that a society is in a place of continuous conflict due to the competition of limited shared resources among members of its community members. It entails that social peace and order is achieved by domination and power, instead of the public agreement and group solidarity. According to the conflict perspective, individuals with wealth and power try to hold on to it, simply by oppressing the poor and vulnerable Homelessness can be understood through the conflict theory (Champion, 2010). This simply holds that capitalism and greed can be seen as some of the causes of homelessness. Families who lack social, economic and human capital will face problems securing and maintaining housing and
A traditional extended family living in Northern India can become acquainted through the viewing of Dadi’s family. Dadi, meaning grandmother in Hindu, lets us explore her family up close and personal as we follow the trials and tribulations the family encounters through a daily basis. The family deals with the span of three generations and their conflicting interpretations of the ideal family life. Dadi lets us look at the family as a whole, but the film opens our eyes particularly on the women and the problems they face. The film inspects the women’s battle to secure their status in their family through dealing with a patriarchal mentality. The women also are seen attempting to exert their power, and through it all we are familiarized to
Though these many excepts have discrete arguments, they also share several underlying themes. Of these several themes, of fundamental importance is one of work in philosophy and social science bringing about real change in the world. Throughout his writing he continues to focus upon the individuals that from the world, particularly the oppressed, not just the powerful on whim the lens of social science and particularly history is often pointed. Even for those who do not agree with Marx on his prescription for the world, his determination to improve the conditions of the oppressed is a model we should all strive to emulate.
The article, “Education, poverty and schooling: a study of delhi slum dwellers”, highlights that “education positively influences poverty reduction, while poverty, or low income, adversely affects the quality and quantity of education”. This model is very much apparent in Jackie’s life. As she lacked formal education in the early stages of her life, she remained in the cycle of poverty even into her adulthood. Without the knowledge of how to change things and the inability of doing so, it is very much difficult, if not impossible, for her to get out of this infinite
...th what little they have, however; why is it left to the poor to have to suffer the consequences of these political choices. The persistence of extreme poverty and social ills speak to a situation that bears for a different approach. It is clear that capitalism and free market solutions cannot spread wealth as advocated. American governments have shown their reluctance to admit this discrepancy through the strategic creations of welfare policies and welfare reform coupled with placing blame upon the citizens who possess little power to change market decisions that govern and effect their lives.
The novel Living Rough is a realistic teen fiction written by Cristy Watson, that focuses on the critical issue of homelessness and poverty. It explores the troubles of a young teenager who tries to hide his secret of being a vagrant teen and the hardships of living without a roof over his head. Nearly each day he lives his life in fear of discovery, and soon a sudden turn of events occurs. Will he need to reveal his secret to get help for him and his father? The lead character who deals with this situation in the story is a 15-year old, teenage boy named Edgar Allen Reed (also known as Poe). Poe attends school just like every other kid, though he isn’t much of a social bird as he seeks treasures alone time. His constant fear of his big secret
Ramakrishna, Ram's landlord whilst he lived in the chawl, believes that "… Indians have the sublime ability to see … misery around [them] and yet remain unaffected by it.” (89) Ramakrisha delivers this in such a casual manner that it stuns both Ram and the reader, highlighting the disjointed community. This makes the reader compare the similarities and differences between Ram’s world and their own. In Australia the communities are just as behind closed doors as the chawl except in the
Society is highly stratified when considering social classes i.e. - upper class, middle class, lower class, and working class citizens. That being said, not everyone has the same access to the superstructure; thus creating tension. The largest problem when considering structure and agency is the constant struggle and negotiation of power inequality. Among the asymmetry of power are two major disparities; class and gender. Thinking as a critical theorist, one must consider the individual’s participation in the public sphere; “The word means a false view of the world that is in the interests of the powerful citizens in order to keep the subordinate classes oppressed” (Habermas, 10). Though the public sphere is virtually a democratic sphere where ideas can circulate and opinions are formed there are certain restrictions when referring to lower classes and women and thus how their agencies as individuals are limited.
For this essay, I will be examining four social theorists and explain their theories on social inequalities. The four theorists I will be covering are Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, and Gerhard Lenski. While they may not have had the same thoughts on social inequality, all of them heavily influenced how we view inequalities in today’s society. The first theorist was Karl Marx.
John Grisham's, Newsweek article brings up the plight of homelessness and some of the affects it as had on society in addressing this issue. As a society we should not look at ways to punish those that are homeless, thinking that this a way to curb or force those that are homeless from being so. Our anti-homeless laws need to be done away with and times and funds used to enforce these laws would be best used as a safety net to help those in need. Grisham's article was written 1998, but goes into his experiences he had in the 1980's-1990's. The term homeless as pointed out in the article was a term seldom used.
Karl Marx had very strong viewpoints in regards to capitalism, making him a great candidate for this assignment. People constantly debate over whether his ideologies held any grain of truth to them. I believe that although not everything Marx predicted in his writings has come true (yet), he was definitely right on about a lot of issues. As a matter of fact, his teachings can definitely be applied to today’s society. This paper will give a summary of Marx’s political philosophy. It will also discuss a contemporary issue: the current economic crisis— and how Marx believed racism played a crucial a role in it. Finally, through the lens he has developed, I will explain how Marx would analyze this issue and how one can argue that it spurred the current movement known as Occupy Wall Street.