Unequal Society Analysis

Envision America different from what we know. A different, yet real America, which exists in a time unknown, an America that is no longer governed by hate and cruelty. Imagine parents no longer struggling to pay the bills, no people lying ill on the streets, or children starving at night. A time where a specific economic status does not evoke disapproval, crime, and suspicions. Imagine an America healing and progressing from its earlier judgments and degradation of people. Where we set aside our socialized ideas, to allow a world of opportunities and chances once inconceivable to our ancestors.
This is the world image which America continually seeks and aims to acquire, yet in our modern age poverty remains a significant issue. In America alone,

there are “1.46 million families who live on less than $2 a day” making them within the level of poverty (Stowe). According to a case study done by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, the U.S. in comparison to the other wealthy countries has the highest occurring amount of poverty, with numbers overreaching even developing countries of the world (Sengupta). Although our levels have lowered with recurring efforts to organize health programs, fundraisers, and charities, we are still hindering our own ability to grow as a country. Through socialization, we are negatively impacting people's viewpoints on those in poverty, allowing for decreased rates of mobility on both economic and social scales.
Socialization is a process that begins at birth, where the world teaches us who we are and how we should live. John Locke, an influential philosopher, argued along these same lines stating we are born a blank slate or tabula rasa. In which case, all of our thoughts and ideas come through experience and sensations of the empirical world. What we know is primarily based upon what we have learned. According to Bobbie Harro, we are born with ascribed factors, characteristics which we have no control over, yet drastically influence our life. Quickly through experience, we notice the effects such factors have on one's life, and our value in a world “where all the mechanics, assumptions, rules, roles and structures of oppression are already in place” (126). These aspects become abundantly clear to us, through our first form of socialization among our family. Here we are first taught the norms and values of our society, including how one should interact, speak, live, what types of education are necessary, what economic status is acceptable, etc. Yet, as we grow older we move to a new unit of socialization within institutions. In a school environment, we begin to learn how society sees us and others. Our peers assess us, make us question what we had previously learned, and further educate or enhance our former beliefs. Through teachers and administration, we understand the rules, both written and unwritten, and the instances where these rules become unfair, favoring some people over another. Eventually proceeding youth, we emerge out of our shells to reality with a pre-manufactured set of ideals and norms of the world around us because of our socialization through time. Yet, one might still ask how does this affect poverty?
Throughout history, people within poverty have been seen and treated poorly by others. Socialization teaches us from an early age what is right and what is wrong based on society's rules. These rules are the beginnings to perceiving and quantifying social difference often causing the arrival of discrimination. Although we may not all be aware, these negatively charged ideas which form in our social interactions, most often target minorities and those of lower class. From young ages, we teach children what to assume from people of different social class causing simple actions such as avoiding the homeless or talking poorly on those of lower economic status. William Wilson, a Harvard professor, who specializes in race and poverty mentioned, "it's time that America comes to understand that many of the nation's biggest disparities, from education and life expectancy to poverty, are increasingly due to economic class position"and its effects (“Four in Five in US Face Poverty”). Persons living in poverty are often portrayed as authors of their own misfortune, who can remedy their situation by simply “trying harder”. A report done by the United Nations provides further insight on this in its analysis that socialized stereotypes often make people “assume that persons living in poverty are lazy, irresponsible, indifferent to their children’s health and education, dishonest, undeserving and even criminal” (U.N 5). With this, we inadvertently display to others and teach younger generations how to think. Continually our society nurses animosity against those who deviate from the culturally accepted idea of “right living”. According to anthropologist Oscar Lewis, because we begin associating ideas with the culture of poverty, it gets “passed down to subsequent generations through socialization processes” (“Culture of Poverty” 206). Lewis is describing the way socialization passes down judgments of people of certain class, ethnicity, race, and sex, causing problems for the victims of such labels. Because of this, when one talks about poverty one must also be talking about discrimination and stereotypes and cruel attitudes towards them as well (Kisat).
Continuing this cycle, unfortunately, for people in poverty, the viewpoints formed by others regarding economic positions drastically affects their chances and opportunities in life. The American dream instilled into our country's foundation is an idea in which anyone can become anything. The idea that someone who started out from the bottom can eventually succeed (Reynolds), but is this true? The United States is a country that follows a class system, a more lenient hierarchy to the less prevailing caste systems which once took place in many countries. However in actuality, even though America parades the idea of success for all, the ability to move to a higher ladder of status remains nearly impossible. Through socialization, people have created inflexibility among these hierarchies and economic ladders, keeping people within their original economic position. For the young who find themselves born or falling into poverty, this means that they are “forced to surrender their life’s changes before they even know their life’s choices” (Sunday). In comparison, someone raised in a well-off family is already seen by others as being successful and capable. In a Harvard, University of California, and Berkeley study, they evaluated social class and noticed that even in the most “economically mobile cities within America, barely more than 1 in 10 children will really escape poverty” (Long). The reason being associated with many factors, including that some are less likely to give poorer people a job, others are more concerned to give them a loan, others will be unwilling to help because they have certain ideas ingrained in them about these people and how they work and react. In Lyndon Johnson’s State of the Union address, he mentioned that the cause of poverty does not lie solely in the lack of jobs and programs, rather in the citizens’ unwillingness to give these people a fair chance to demonstrate their capabilities (Sengupta 283).
Sadly, five decades after this address, this statement still holds true as the bias involved in socialization drastically affects those of lower economic status and their ability to succeed in life.

This is especially true when the government and the media penalize and frames the ideas around the poor to ensure that those of lower economic standing are kept at a constant disadvantage (U.N 5). In modern television and media, the portrayal of poverty often takes harmful approaches. Media coverage often depicts poor people as lazy and incapable while television series make poverty seem funny thus desensitizing people to the problem. Regarding the forces behind the government, Joseph Stiglitz in his article, “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society” provides valuable insight. In this, he argues that the poor suffer because the “government alters the dynamics of wealth” in order to reinforce and support the rich (596). Whether that be by strategically allowing bankruptcy, dictating what is fair competition, creating tax policies, or altering the provisions of public education. Through this Stiglitz is arguing that for people of lower economic status, they are taken advantage of, disregarded, and left out of opportunities by not only everyday people but by corporations and our largest established organizations. Instead, those in poverty, regardless of their efforts to move out of their economic positions are “ treated with disrespect or condescension by policymakers,

civil servants, social workers, law enforcement officials, teachers and health-care providers” (U.N). The purpose of these organizations is to support and provide for poverty-stricken people, not use their status against them.
With this in mind, it is clearly seen that many issues in regards to those in poverty emerge due to socially constructed discrimination.

However, there are people who would argue that socialized ideas of discrimination no longer exist. Due to this, they believe discrimination is not an important factor against those in poverty. But why would they believe this? For instance, the forms of discrimination in America’s past included segregation policies, refusal of service, and written rules against different races. Many years later and these laws no longer prevail as they were written off and discarded, therefore leading people to surmise that racism and discrimination no longer exist. While others argue that the socialized ideas purely exist because they are accurate reflections, alluding to such things as crime rates, education levels, etc. However, these arguments prove illogical in making to wide of assumptions, although some people of specific race, class, etc. are the cause of their own actions, many others are victims of stereotypes made against them. For instance, some people consider African-Americans malicious criminals in regards to the high rates of incarceration.Yet, studies provide insight, showing because of people's discriminated attitudes the likelihood of a white male being sentenced for the same crime is lower (Ballman). These instances are continually taking place within America, yet many people try to disregard the truth behind it. Maybe the levels of

discrimination are not in the overt ways of the past, but its presence today is still strong in things such as off-handed assumptions and illogical explanations to uncalled for actions. Because people ignore the discrimination built into the foundation of America, they create a false idea of a utopia. Believing that because the acts are not large and abundant then it doesn't count at all.
Continually, America creates negative contributions to the state of those in poverty through socialization, however, the possibility of using it for productive purposes exists.With continual strides of effort from both those within and outside of poverty, we can lessen the stigmas that weigh America down. We can better understand and seek an equal treatment of all people, whether based on race, social class, or economic standards. Poverty has emerged in all countries and all societies, the impoverished people continue to struggle to escape their situation, yet negative socialization continues to tie them down. Although we cannot control the way society works as a whole, we can still influence people with the way we portray ourselves to others. By changing the presentation of those in poverty to a more accurate sensible understanding, we can help them flourish. The displays we see every day towards these people, on television, the streets, movies, how we speak of them towards one another dramatically influences poverty's continuation. The way to let these people rise past social adversity does not involve giving them a crutch, we need to give them a clear path towards opportunity.