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Discourse on inequality
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In the documentary of Jamie Johnson, “Born Rich,” Jamie has interview some rich teenagers who inherited their wealth like him. Johnson ask himself what he ever did to have the life he has having millions of dollar. He says that all he did was inherit it. Johnson says that it is not polite to talk about money. Social inequality for Johnson in this is about the wealth of people.Johnson and the other teenagers were born rich. They had inherited their money from their ancestors. All of them and their families have private properties and millions of money. Rousseau says that “social inequality is a result of privileges and uneven access to resources and will eventually lead to social ills.”(238)
In the book of Dalton Conley, “ You may ask
yourself,” It states that functionalism and conflict theory can be connected to inequality. Functionalists think that inequality is a necessary and beneficial aspect but conflict theorists think it is uneven and unfair. (30) Moreover, Johnson revealed that being young and wealthy is difficult. Being rich does not mean you do not have to study and work. They are like normal people who need to study to reach the career they wanted. They state that working hard makes them feel good. Jamie Johnson’s grandfather tells his father that he does not want him to work and not interfere with their business and even say that he does not need to earn to live but Jamie Johnson’s father encourage Jamie to work. Also even though they are free from financial struggles, they could also feel depress like Josiah Hornblower, who had time off school for two years and during those times, he was working in an oil company and he was happy about it. I do not think they are different from us. Well, Our class is different. They are upper class while we are middle or working class or the poor. They are rich but they are also humans who wants to find themselves like us. They also tries to study to achieve a career. They also have to work hard in order to prove themselves. They do not want to be from their parents’ shadow. Jamie Johnson says at the end that he is living outside the American dream and so it his job to build a meaningful life apart from the privilege that was given to him. He learns that we have to “Find something on your own and not family’s legacy.”
Researchers have proven that people with a lot of paraphernalia are normally not as cheery than less privileged people. There are many statements with a theme in these two writings. The poor man and greasers have simple needs which helps them be more joyful. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and the poem “Poverty and Wealth”, have similar themes. One of the themes in the poem and the Outsiders is, money can't buy happiness.
"The Lesson" by Toni Cade Bambara is not just a spirited story about a poor girl out of place in an expensive toy store, it is a social commentary. "The Lesson" is a story about one African-American girl's struggle with her growing awareness of class inequality. The character Miss Moore introduces the facts of social inequality to a distracted group of city kids, of whom Sylvia, the main character, is the most cynical. Flyboy, Fat Butt, Junebug, Sugar, Rosie, Sylvia and the rest think of Miss Moore as an unsolicited educator, and Sylvia would rather be doing anything else than listening to her. The conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore, "This nappy-head bitch and her goddamn college degree" (307), represents more than the everyday dislike of authority by a young adolescent. Sylvia has her own perception of the way things work, her own "world" that she does not like to have invaded by the prying questions of Miss Moore. Sylvia knows in the back of her mind that she is poor, but it never bothers her until she sees her disadvantages in blinding contrast with the luxuries of the wealthy. As Miss Moore introduces her to the world of the rich, Sylvia begins to attribute shame to poverty, and this sparks her to question the "lesson" of the story, how "money ain't divided up right in this country" (308).
The movie Born Rich at first seems like a kid who wants to overcome the “voodoo of inherited wealth” (Born rich, 4:24). Jamie Johnson the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune is intent on getting his inner circle of friends to address this controversial issue. From the beginning of the movie there seems to be an unwritten rule that it’s in bad taste to discuss your wealth. This point seems funny that those with money don’t want to talk about their wealth, while those without money only talk about having wealth. As reluctant as they say they are, it seems that they are more than willing to babel on about it and the privilege that accompanies it throughout the movie which seems hypocritical. These kids, seems to range from very grounded to on the verge of paranoia about their money. However when you look at the range of problems, insecurities and unhappiness that exists among these kids it’s easy to say money doesn’t solve your problems.
With each class comes a certain level in financial standing, the lower class having the lowest income and the upper class having the highest income. According to Mantsios’ “Class in America” the wealthiest one percent of the American population hold thirty-four percent of the total national wealth and while this is going on nearly thirty-seven million Americans across the nation live in unrelenting poverty (Mantsios 284-6). There is a clear difference in the way that these two groups of people live, one is extreme poverty and the other extremely
Inequality is an issue which has been analyzed by political thinkers for centuries. Some thinkers have long been supporting the subordination of one gender, race, or class over another with religious, moral, ethical, and scientific factors to support their claims; others, however, argue against any subordination of any decree. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), a famous philosopher of the eighteenth century, defined inequality in two parts: natural and social. Natural inequalities are the differences in bodily and mental strengths. Social inequalities, however, are the differences that exist between individuals in wealth, power and honor. For Rousseau, social inequalities are justified when they are able to reflect natural inequalities.
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
Though money may not be the root of all evil, it certainly contributes to inequalities between those on opposite ends of the wealth distribution map. Upward mobility becomes difficult for those whose income does not match that of the wealthy because of the lack of opportunities provided to the people who are in the working class (Marx). Unfortunately, this repetitive cycle of wealth inequality draws parallels with the racial inequalities that are seen today. Statistically, people of color and women collect less revenue than white men, who are less restricted in their mobility, in America (Rowe). According to Karl Marx, money can buy anything from education to beauty, due to the fact that money is valued more than the lives of those who do
Social class is a group of people who rank closely in property, prestige, and power. Within these social classes exist some properties of class level that are characteristic of their ranking. The first of these is property. Property consists of furniture, jewelry, bank accounts, and other materials that can be quantified into monetary value. (Henslin, 2014) Basically, they are things that can be quantified to add up in quantified value end up un a sum of monetary value. This value is termed wealth. This is different from income. Income is known as the flow of money. Prestige is the next characteristic looked at when determining social class. Prestige is the value which different groups of people are judged with. (Henslin, 2014) Different occupations within society offer varying levels of prestige. The final aspect looked at when determining class is power. Power is defined as the ability to exert your will within society. (Henslin, 2014) The reason to review this is because different classes of society all maintain these aspects at higher or lower degrees, with the upper tier having the
Income Inequality is at an all-time high in the United States it has increased significantly since the 1970s. Today the top 1 percent takes home more than 20% of all U.S income. Income inequality is causing drastic issues in the United States. The “Divide” documentary primary purpose is to show the growing divide between the rich and the poor in the US and UK. The documentary displays the pathos method by showing the evoking emotions of the intense stories told by the interviewees, the great depression overview, and feeling empathy for the economic state. The various speakers such as the psychologist, sociologist, CEO’s, and UK advisor shows credentials of experts which displays the ethos method. The speakers were able to show the logos method being used in the documentary by providing statistics, case studies, and the display of various ads to persuade and logically create us to believe, corporations want informed customers.
The genre of dystopian fiction is becoming more popular every day. A recent example of an extremely popular dystopian fiction novel is The Hunger Games written by Suzanne Collins. The novel is a warning to modern readers suggesting that the inequality between the rich and the poor in our society is very similar to that represented in the novel. Collins' protagonist of the story, Katniss Everdeen, is the victim of financial discrimination from the capitol. The Capitol’s forms of welfare for the disadvantaged provide little assistance, people are having to break the law just to survive and how it would help if the Capitol gave the Districts their fair share of wealth. There are literary devices as well as generic elements used by Collins to place the reader in agreeance with her view of the world.
Social class, as defined by the film, is something that affects who you are as a person. In the film, the people saw class as the defining factor of a person. They saw class as a barrier between people. If one person is in a different class than another person, then obviously, they are not supposed to associate. They allowed their social class to dictate their action each day. It was amazing to me just how much the people in the film allowed their class to truly define them and really serve as a boundary in their life. The people in the film lived their daily life with their social class as the most influential factor. Their worth and value as individuals was not determined by anything else except the amount of money they had. It was really interesting to see how the amount of money a person had somehow equated with their worth in society. The same is true within our society today, but in the film, this aspect was especially evident. The film really shed a light on just how impactful social class is and just how much we allow it to
The place where I learned about the most about morals and family values came from the supper table. The term ‘Supper’ is the Mainer equivalent for word dinner. Supper has always held a special place in my heart, especially as I grow older. I recognize many families don’t have the opportunity to sit down at the dinner table and spend quality times with their loved ones because of their social class. Sometimes a parent from the lower-class might work late to try to make ends meet, or they just can’t afford to have a big supper every night like mine could. We were by no means in the upper-class echelon of society but, somewhere in the middle-class. I was very fortunate compared to my counterparts that came from low-income families. My social class helped shaped me into who I am. Living in the middle-class has allowed me to place more value on relationships with my family and friends, and place less value on money. I realize that I will only feel rich if I love what I do and surround myself with the ones that mean the most to me rather than materialistic possessions. Money has little influence on my future aspirations and goals. I only aspire to feel happy.
“Why the Rich are getting Richer and the Poor, Poorer” written by Robert Reich, describes as the title says, why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer. In Reich’s essay he delves into numerous reasons and gives examples of each. It makes one wonder if the world will continue on the path of complete economic separation between the rich and the poor.
Money can give people a lot opportunities and privilege. Financially privileged people have no trouble getting materialistic things such as big houses, expensive cars, and jewelry. Being privileged can also provide better scholastic education as well as respect. On the other hand, a lack of money, as a person might guess, limits opportunity and lower a person’s status on the privilege pole. In order for an underprivileged person to have all of those things, they have to work hard to get to get the luxuries of nice houses, cars, and jewelry. As far as education goes, the underprivileged might not go to the best schools but they get an education that will prove to be more valuable in life; they learn to earn respect, appreciate what they have and how to survive with just the necessities and what’s really important in life. So when a person looks at each group and tries to decided with one gets the most out of life, they will see that underprivileged individuals get so much more out of life than a person who came up in affluence and privilege.
People who are associated with high income areas seem to be more acceptable for social interaction. Wealth is the state of being rich, prosperity and successful; having the opportunity of luxury means less monetary struggles, which links happiness to certain individuals. Prosperity and financial freedom can stimulate how we interact with each other, versus people who are oppressed by their financial responsibilities. Another example of money affecting the dynamics of intimate social interaction is financial stability and the success of a monogamous relationship. Prior to the monetary system, human beings associated natural characteristics to survival; which is the reason for intimate physical attraction. In today’s society, survival is based on income, Money determines the quality of food, lifestyle, social status, and providing the necessary recourses for our offspring. Marx states in his essay “All intimate emotional relations between persons are founded in their individuality, whereas in rational relations man is reckoned with like a number, like an element which is in itself indifferent” personality and physical qualities are