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Social Issues

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Submitted By jules8310
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Dimensions of Social Inequality
Julie McElwain
Park University

Abstract
Social inequality is how different categories of individuals are prescribed by the society. The society uses basic characteristics such as gender, sex, education, and ethnicity among other factors in order to categorize an individual. The social inequalities determine the access to limited goods such as market labor force, education, health care facilities, and other forms of participation in the society. Different forms of social inequalities are constructs of geographical distribution, and status within the country, however, cultural aspects, mostly integrated with cultural identities, of society are perceived to be the major contributor of social inequality. Discourses have, therefore, been raised on whether the poor deserve to be poor or not and whether the rich deserve to be rich or not. In order to address this question, I examined different dimensions of social inequalities in my life such as social class, educational level, and race among other factors. In this paper, I will also try to bring out understanding of different theories in attempt to explain social stratification. A comparison will be done between different perspectives through interviews and my own perspective of social inequalities. In essence all factors discussed in this paper show a link between social inequalities and different factors such as economic and political system. Trends such as widening inequalities among the groups are associated with low standards of national cohesion and patriotism in the society. It is for these reasons that the patterns of social inequalities need to be understood from an individual perspectives.

The society I live in has become more complex with different changes from different regions. Such changes have categorized people by giving them a high or low

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