Inequality as an Excuse For Personal Failure This essay will consider the question, ‘Is inequality ‘just an excuse’ for personal failure?’ first by looking at the intended meaning of the question itself and possible interpretations of it. The essay will then move on to consider different arguments and opinions on the matter to draw a sound conclusion in order to answer the question. Inequality is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘a lack of equality’ which of course means, as one might expect, the definition and indeed existence of equality are paramount to that of inequality. The definition of equality is ‘the state of being equal’ in turn the definition of equal is ‘evenly balanced’. This indicates that if two things are equal they can be considered to be the same and therefore two unequal things are not the same. The question is examining whether people who are different from the majority in someway are disadvantaged or if they would be unjustified to claim so. In the practical situation of looking at inequality amongst people there are of course countless criteria which could be considered; race, gender, economic situation or class and age just to name a few. It would be advantageous for the sake of simplicity to only consider one of these in looking at the question in hand and of those considered probably the one with the most wide reaching effects within Britain is that of class and a person’s economic circumstances. Therefore this essay will concentrate on class and poverty with regards to equality; this by no means suggests that it is any more important, significant or valid than other criteria that could have been... ... middle of paper ... ... massively over simplified and it could be argued as a result not even touch upon however the question itself is unclear and would never have a single answer. Any individual could and probably would answer both yes and no as success in most areas of life is a complex combination of ability, dedication, opportunity and chance. Inequality is definitely more than just an excuse for personal failure but responsibility does need to be accepted by the individual. Bibliography Abercrombie, N (2000) Dictionary of Sociology, Suffolk: Penguin Giddens, A (1990) Sociology, Cambridge: Polity Press Franklin, J (1997) Equality, London: The Institute for Public Policy Research Levitas, R (1998) The Inclusive Society, Hampshire: Palgrave Soanes, C (2002) Oxford English Dictionary, New York: Oxford University Press
Gregory Mantsios presents himself as an expert in this essay because he states a lot of facts. The author uses stats, his own opinion, and my favorite thing that brought me in was the myths that he told the reality’s for later in the essay. Mantsios believes that no matter what social or economic class that you fall into, you have a fair chance at succeeding in life. I feel that the intended audience is the citizens of America or people in the workforce since they are the ones that have to deal with this situation. The thesis of this essay is “Perhaps, most importantly, the point that is missed is that inequality is persistent and structural- and it manifests itself in a multitude of cultural and social ways.” The author discussed the problems that occur from economic and social classes. The purpose of this argument is to debate on what kind of people will be successful in life. Everyone has a shot at being successful, and that they do with it is
This essay explores personal interpretation of the reading “Savage Inequality” encompassing its distasteful quality and sociological perspectives while identifying my individual experience through commonality. The opening statement in the article Savage Inequalities referenced obvious signs of social inequalities losing its energy as society now view its origin as an everyday norm. Explaining it away as a reflection of the individual’s character is a faultless example of societies reacting to their definition of the situation relatively than the objective situation itself, as Symbolic Interactionism advocates. Contrasting the US educational system reflective in schools found in poor, middle and rich communities appears to be the focal point. A better education is often offered to a select group of privileged children against those with gaps, a problem greater than what is to be expected, however, we are not entirely unaware of its effects.
...amily members may cling to the idea that people experiencing poverty deserve to because admitting that individuals affected by poverty may not be responsible for their own challenges would cause too much discomfort. Questioning the concept of the undeserving poor, would affect those who adhere to it by causing them to question other cultural ideals. For instance, if my friend were to admit that poverty is not linked to deservingness, then my friend’s success is not linked to deservingness; this in turn, may challenge my friend’s own feelings of being exceptional and may make him question the reasons behind his own success. In addition, people may choose to believe the poverty myths about deservingness because it is safer for their self-perceptions than admitting that they are okay with and prospering in a social, political, and economic systems that harm others.
Having only recently permeated the public and political lexicon, there are few debates that evoke such passion as that of the underclass. Karl Marx tabled the idea of the lumpen proletariat, yet in the modern era, the concept did not take hold in Britain until 1989. Today, the debate focuses on whether frictional forces create a continuum of inequality, or whether a defined underclass does exist. The question asks if 'poor people' belong in a separate underclass, which is a vague definition. There will always be 'poor people', but whether or not this automatically qualifies them as a separate underclass is tenuous at best. Even the most radical proponents for the existence of the underclass stop short of declaring all those below the poverty line as 'the underclass'. This essay will analyse the arguments from either side of the debate, looking at definitional issues, the undeserving and deserving poor and structure versus agency. Overall, it will be argued that Murray’s classification does not hold for the majority and that frictional forces mean the poor are part of a continuum of inequality.
Where would you consider yourself with your ranking in America 's social classes, are you upper class, middle class or even lower class? This is actually very important when it come to you receiving opportunities and in a sense special treatment. I’m referring to of course social inequality which is still very much alive in America and still affects a lot of families mostly in a negative way. This problem in America has grabbed the attention of two authors, Paul Krugman who wrote “Confronting Inequality” and Gary S. Becker and Kevin M. Murphy who wrote “The Upside of Income Inequality”. However, they both have different views on inequality Krugman believes that social inequality is only negative while on the other hand, Becker and Murphy believe
Institutions are crucial for our society to be successful because it is a social and academic construction of a community in that institutions help us interact with each other and promote scientific research and findings, regardless of the cultures and values that each individual believes in; without institutions, there would be no order and stability in society. However, in the essay “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society” by Joseph Stiglitz, Stiglitz disagrees by arguing that institutions actually prevent scientific research to evolve into scientific discoveries because monopolists and dominant forms such as Microsoft suppress innovation; however, this statement is unconscionable
Although in the UK relative poverty is more predominant than absolute poverty, it does not mean that it is a problem that should be left behind. The immense difference between the income of a rich person and a poor person addresses the issue to be understood since its causes up to its reduction or, optimistically, its abolition. The UK tax system is used as an attempt to reach both horizontal and vertical equity, therefore reducing inequality and poverty. The horizontal equity remotes to the fact that people in the same financial situation are able to pay taxes on the same basis and should be charged the same rate. Meanwhile, the vertical equity proposes that individuals in diverse financial situations have different abilities to pay taxes, so the charges sho...
Economic inequality and injustice come in the same hand. Poor people are more likely to experience inequality and injustice. The negative assumptions of poor people are credited by the media and politicians. Promoting economic justice by offering people living in poverty some form of social support. Barbara Ehrenreich found that it was difficult to work in a low-wage job. Conley talks about the different types of social inequalities and how they have failed.
Economic inequality and injustice come in the same hand. Poor people are more likely to experience inequality and injustice. The negative assumptions of poor people are created by the media and politicians. Promoting economic justice by offering people living in poverty some form of social support. Barbara Ehrenreich found in her experiment the workforce for low-wage was difficult. Conley talks about the different types of social inequalities and how they have been unsuccessful.
The social theory of privilege states that unearned or otherwise reasonably unacquirable advantages are social endowed to a particular person or group of people. These unearned advantages are often granted on the basis of demographic features such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or generation, although other criteria (such as ability, height, or attractiveness) may confer such advantages. There lie subtle distinctions between advantages that are earned but reasonably acquirable and advantages that are earned but reasonably unacquirable. For example, education confers social advantages, but not privilege; however, the access to education is a reasonably unacquirable advantage and would be considered a privilege. The ambiguity of privilege, though,
In Rousseau’s book “A Discourse On Inequality”, he looks into the question of where the general inequality amongst men came from. Inequality exists economically, structurally, amongst different generations, genders, races, and in almost all other areas of society. However, Rousseau considers that there are really two categories of inequality. The first is called Natural/Physical, it occurs as an affect of nature. It includes inequalities of age,, health, bodily strength, and the qualities of the mind and soul. The second may be called Moral/Political inequality, this basically occurs through the consent of men. This consists of the privileges one group may have over another, such as the rich over the poor.
I am well aware of global poverty statistics and I do agree that if the most affluent people banded together, global poverty can altogether be abolished. However, I definitely cosign the fact that, what I work for is mine, what I own is mine and I am entitled to it. John Arthur suggests that equality and entitlements are both of equal importance when the topic is our social moral code, which is a system that we follow to guide us and that we use to make decisions. For example, as a full time college student, I work 35 hours a week, getting paid an inadequate amount, - which is besides the point - I see a homeless man begging for money, and my options are to either take the Peter Singer approach and give him money, because I feel the need to lessen global poverty even though it’s a small step towards improvement, or I can take the John Arthur approach and simply keep it moving and not even bother to contribute whether it be to lessen or worsen the issue of global poverty. It may sound selfish, but it is what it is and I simply see it as I’m entitled to my earnings. I’m more inclined to choose the option of not increasing or decreasing the problem at hand because I feel if roles were switched it wouldn’t even be an option for someone to help me even in the slightest way. We are all equal but however, that doesn’t mean financially or physically, it is in terms of we are all
The reason that I do not consider myself as a privileged person overall is because of my socioeconomic status. My father is a salesman while my mother is a banker and neither of them have a college education. I am a first generation student who lives in Cleveland, Ohio and who attended Cleveland Public Schools. The only reason that I was able to attend private high school was because of scholarships that I earned. My family has had Affordable Care Act insurance, has been on food stamps, and has struggled financially for years. During my senior year of high school, I worked about 30 hours a week and during the summer I worked two different jobs totaling to over 40 hours a week. I do not think that I am a privileged person because things have
No two people are exactly the same; no one is raised the same as another person, no two people have the same mental acuity, and no two people have the same genetic or physical appearance. However, some people do not even have the privilege to get out of bed everyday and walk, because they instead have to climb into a wheelchair. This is just one example of a disability, but there are so many more in the world, and some people do not give disabled members of society the same opportunities they would afford to just about anyone else. Judging by the amount of awareness this social inequality is given today, there is just not enough of an audience to listen and do something about this issue. When analyzing all of the given evidence, one can easily
To understand the concept of social inequality, one needs to explore how it occurs or functions. According to Charles Walker, “Social inequality refers to the ways in which socially-defined categories of persons are differentially positioned with regard to access to a variety of social ‘goods”. Social inequality, therefore, is an umbrella term. It is expansive in nature, as social inequality encompasses a variety of different inequalities; for example, gender, race, and structural inequality are all social inequalities, but they can differ widely in manifestation. The definition of social inequality can also change based on the perception of the individual who is defining the term.