...Inequality in the United States In today’s American home life, the pressure of living the American dream has strained society. According to the article The Dangerous Consequences of Growing Inequality, the authors state that “a powerful consequence of growing inequality is an erosion in the amount of free time that families have.” (Collins and Yeskel 155) Though advancements have been made in the work environment, many are working harder to earn the same wages to try to keep up with the changing economy. While unemployment and debt are increasing, there has been a decline in health insurance, retirement security, and ability to earn a proper education. The United States’ gap of inequality is continuously increasing with the changing economy. Presently, many Americans are faces stresses that they did not in the past. The cost of living has risen, yet many cannot afford to maintain a comfortable lifestyle with the wages that they are receiving. The article Dangerous Consequences of Growing Inequality states, “Families continue to make up for falling wages in order to maintain a certain standard of living is by going deeper into debt.” (156) Because debt continues to grow, people are not able to save for their families. The use of credit cards has fueled this problem because people are allowed to borrow money constantly, but do not have the means to pay it back. The income of the average family should increase as the standard of living increases in order to lessen inequality...
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...The Gilded Age was to describe America in the late nineteenth century. The outside of the US seemed glamorous and splendid alongside industrial development and massive economic growth. However, the dark sides were hidden beneath it. Some may argue that we are currently living in another Gilded Age, while others advocate that we have already reached a new era. In my perspective, I side with the former point of view. I strongly believe that we are living in the 2nd Gilded age. Here are four reasons why. Initially, wealth concentration and inequality were severe problems and are still now. Back then in 1870-1900, it was a period of wealth concentrated by many “Captains of Industry”. Social Darwinism was used to justify the extremes of wealth,...
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...in poverty. The South and Southwest of the United States is where the majority of poverty found. Poverty can be referred to as material conditions, economic position, or the social position of that person(s). Poverty is attributed to inequalities in the structure of society which eventually leads to denial of opportunity and perpetuation of disadvantage. And there is growing inequality among jobs. “The official jobless figures are getting worse, but just having a job is no longer protection against poverty. So many are underemployed, partially employed or just plain exploited” (Eisold, 2011). There is known to be two categories of poverty. They are absolute poverty and relative poverty. Absolute poverty is a set standard that does not change over time. Relative poverty is a standard which a person lives and differs over time. Environmental degradation and poverty alleviation are two urgent global issues which are similar but treated differently (poverties.org). Poverty continues to affect the mental abilities, working opportunities, health, basic needs, and education. It tends to really affect emotional, behavioral, and mental problems. Poverty and social inequality are closely related. Poor people are exposed more to hazardous and dangerous environments. Those people who live in extreme conditions experience stress, frustration, and family disruption. Other problems associated with poverty are homicide, violence, increased mortality, school...
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...the world economy faced its most dangerous crisis for a second time. By the year of 2007, when sky high home prices in the United States went down, spread quickly to the entire country financial sector and then to the financial markets overseas, the called Global crisis of 2008 had born. Anyhow, the economic world has had many other financial crisis of different types at different levels of impact over the world. For this reason, it is really important the study of the main cause of all these financial crisis that bring chaos, create poverty, and widen the gap between rich and poor; the monetary system and the money it produces. In order to make evident the deficiencies of the monetary system and answer the following question: Do we really need money? I proposed three sub question that would clarify and support the main answer. These questions are: In what the monetary system depends on? How a financial crisis is created and how it affects the economy? Has the monetary system created poverty? Will the monetary system balance the difference between poverty and wealth one day? In what the monetary system depends on? Money rules the economy of countries. As we all know, money is not only a medium of exchange, but also a standard of value for future payments. According with the table presented, we note that the economies in the long-ago past were very different from our economy of today and that the main factor of this difference is the growing world population...
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...Occupy Wall Street Movement Liz Croutch Annette Redmon Bus309 May 8, 2013 Discuss the moral and economic implications involved in the movement According to Occupywallst.org, The Movement Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that “We Are The 99%” that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants. (Occupywallst.org) The movement began out of frustration in the growing inequality between the wealthy 1% and the rest of the population. Greed, corruption and the perceived undue influence of corporations on government especially in the financial services sector produced this momentous uprising. This movement is the embodiment of all of the frustrations that Americans have dealt with particularly; economically. The rich are getting richer and the poorer getting poorer. This has been the downward spiral for the last forty years. This movement gives a voice to the grievances of the people. According to newpol.org “Occupy is a kind of a party, not a party with a formal structure, but potential peoples party in formation, the party of working people, the party of the poor, the party of the dispossessed, the oppressed, and the exploited. The Occupy movement excoriates the banks...
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...The wealth chasm: a dangerous cocktail The street demonstrations of 2011 and 2012 are still fresh in our minds. Thousands of voices chanting, “We are the 99%!” and blockading the stock exchange have not left the psyche of American’s, and were successful in getting their message across. Before 2011, it was heard in whispers: “They have too much.” Now, it’s a shout. The rich are indeed doing very well for themselves. In fact, the wealth gap is almost unprecedented, except for right before the great depression, and the subsequent rebellion that shook the United States that ultimately resulted in the New Deal. (DeSilver, 2013) History doesn’t necessarily repeat, but we are seeing a world eerily similar to that which was in place before 1929: The rich hoarding all the money and anger simmering in the proletariat. Globally, the reaction against this sort of systemic looting of the people by the capitalist class is taking form and is becoming increasingly better organized and more violent. The global wealth gap is a combustible recipe for insurrection, and will result in a collapse of capitalism and the rise of radical left, and right wing ideologies if it is not fixed. The wealth gap in the world is at astonishing levels. A simple browse of the news, or the Facebook feed of any liberal-leaning page will bring up statistics that would seem like they were made up if we weren’t bombarded by them at all times, and the data to back them up. According to William Domhoff of the University...
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...Introduction The concept of illness throughout our society can be closely associated with Marxism. According to a Marxist perspective, the social inequality that exists in society runs parallel with the various inequalities in the health system. With reference to the latter, exploitation of lower level assembly line workers or the proletariat working class can have a significant impact on workers’ health, particularly for the achievement of profit. Furthermore, in our contemporary society, medical professions have subjugated individuals illness’s within a capitalist society, disregarding health interests for the product of business. Additionally, Marxists analyses argue vigorously that class is a significant determinant of inequality with regard to illness and that the illness is implicated in a wider process of social oppression; determine by environmental factors, education and economic institutions into which one is born. All in all, from analysis of these topics there is no doubt that illness is very much a social phenomenon. Marxism and Workplace Illnesses The Marxist approach to health and illness relies heavily on the relationship they have with capitalism and class. Marx believed there were two essential classes in society; the capitalist class, who make up the minority of society, and the proletariat, also known as the working class who make up the majority. Vincent Navarro provides one of the most influential accounts of the centrality of social class and...
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...betraying their fellow inmates or scrounging around for food like animals. As he laid in bed before he was sent off to work, Shukhov, the novel’s protagonist, contemplated the lengths people were willing to go, such as reporting their friends, in order to increase their chances of survival. “As for squealers, he was wrong there. Those people were sure to get through camp all right. Only, they were saving their own skin at the expense of other people’s blood” (Page 4). If one wishes to survive, they must quickly learn to accept the cruelty and inequalities that permeate the camps. Shukhov describes the motivational system in the camps that was put in place to ensure that the prisoners did not spend their allotted years refusing to put any energy into completing their work, which would have led to a decline in camp productivity. To avoid these potential problems, the Soviets placed men in squads where everyone would face the consequences of one man’s mistake, ensuring that they would police each other and do their work to the best of their abilities. “To outsmart you they thought up work squads… Everything was so arranged in the camp that the prisoners egged one another on. It was like this: either you all got a bit extra or you all croaked” (Page 57). This system shows just how deep the influence of the state went, as well as how powerful a motivator fear can be, as men not only feared camp officials, but also feared the retribution of their squad mates if they were to step out...
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...Social Inequality essay plans for Part b) 30 mark question Evaluate the usefulness of sociological explanations of ethnic inequalities.(30) Evaluate the view that society is institutionally racist (30) Adapt according to question given Introduction Ethnic inequalities are still significant in the UK – give a few examples. Suggest some explanations e.g Racism, Institutional racism, social class of ethnic minorities (Marxism), welfare dependency (New Right). This essay will identify and assess these explanations. AO1 Define types of Racism e.g Barker and new racism, institutional racism – McPhearson report on murder of stephen lawrence – racism in met police. Jenkins suggests recruitment to jobs is more word of mouth and disadvantages ethnic minorities. Modood 1994 28% of african caribbean people surveyed said they felt they had been refused a job on grounds of race. AO2 There are many government acts such as Race relations acts which should prevent discrimination AO2 However because racism is implicit (hidden) now it can be difficult to prove in court. AO1 Marxists such as Westergaard and Resler argue that race is a distraction from the real issue which is social class. It is capitalism which disadvantages certain groups and ethnic minorities are more likely to be in lower classes. AO2 However this ignores the existence of racism in society e.g in education where black boys have the highest exclusion rates in school. AO1 Another marxist explanation by Castles...
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...Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the relationship between gender and religion (33marks) Many feminists view religion as a patriarchal institution that reflects and perpetuates this inequality. There is much evidence of this female subordination in religion; They are male dominated and in Orthodox Catholicism and Judaism women are forbidden to become priests. Also Christianity teaches that men made in ‘the image and glory of God’ and women made ‘for the glory of man. This is supported by the Old Testament which states ‘...for the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.’ There are many female characters in the biblical texts and some are portrayed as acting charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males and most female roles are either evil (Eve) or subordinate (Mary). Similarly in the Quran, the sacred text of Islam contends that ‘men are in charge of women’. Even Christianity and Buddhism are dominated by a patriarchal power structure in which the feminine is mainly associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect. Even women’s bodies and sexuality are felt to be dangerous by many religious. Because women menstruate and give birth, they are considered to have the capacity to ‘pollute’ religious rituals. The presence of women is seen to distract men from their important roles involving worship. Even though there is evidence to suggest that religious institutions have patriarchal values, it...
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...polarized public opinion. The problems stemming from economic globalization dominate the news: the outsourcing production in search of cheaper labor costs; the decreasing efficiency of national juridical and fiscal regulation; the waning of the very idea of sovereignty; the growing constraints within which politicians can act; the emergence of a small class of the immensely rich alongside the billions of poor; the rise of new financial actors—pension funds, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds—capable of destabilizing or seizing control of entire realms of the economy; and the emergence of China and India as new global economic actors, as their companies storm the industrial bastions of the United States and Europe. Should one be for or against globalization? Can we turn our backs on globalization, and return to national or regional systems of production and exchange that are autonomous, even autarkic? Is the large cosmopolitan corporation the new leviathan—a monster that must be slain—or a force for human progress? It is tempting to reduce the debate over the economy of the twenty-first century to a simple alternative: being for or against globalization. Yet in my view, this would be a mistake. The growing interdependence of human society and our planet is irreversible, as is the 1 interdependence between humanity and the biosphere. The question of how...
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...Critical Essay 1 Word Count: 943 Dating back to as early as the 1920s, the use of drugs in several Western films and other forms of entertainment started to take flight. The portrayal of the drugs used were that of a positive light; being pleasurable, socially acceptable, and even appropriate to use for those that did not live a criminal lifestyle. It wasn’t until the 1960s in which the positive connotations with drugs became contradictory. This was a result of the implementation of stronger drug prohibition laws. Many of the positively represented films were eradicated to make way for more insightful films about drugs – illustrating the true horrors of drugs and consequences of addiction. In these films, Boyd finds the choice in music is a vital key in pursuing the message. Susan Boyd’s ‘Pleasure and Pain’ seeks to explore the historical motifs of drug trafficking, consumption, and addiction through a number of relevant texts dated between the 1960s and the year 2010 in the hope to broaden current representations of drug use in the entertainment industry. The initial views presented in Boyd’s research are that the films and songs about drugs emphasise the risk and dangers of use, along with how it brings pleasure and fun. The works of Coveney and Bunton however propose that pleasures of drug consumption are different in for all contexts in that some cultures may see drug use as pleasurable, while some may not. In turn, they believe the natural urges...
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...For James I, one of the central problems his monarchic rules must face is quite simple. I examine his identification of the many-headed monster, the metaphor for ignorance, as the problem he confronts, how he and supporters of monarchic rule use it, what the metaphor does, and its inaccuracy. By inaccuracy I mean that it is merely the preferred image of those intending to exclude the people from holding power. It contributes to preventing people from changing the political status quo and renders the possibility that ignorance is anything more than a violent force threating political order unthinkable. At the same time, the caricaturing of a growing population of those who do not neatly fit the monarchic political order as a monstrous abomination limits the scope of potential remedies. The monarchic distribution of ignorance and the problem it supposedly remedies come through in King James I’s own words in the “True Law of Free Monarchies” (1598). Written by the King of Scotland just five years prior to becoming the King of England and Ireland, this treatise rationalizes unequal distribution of ignorance that sets the monarch apart from others. This...
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...charitably or bravely, however the primary roles are reserved for males. All the most significant Old Testament prophets such as Isaiah and Moses are male, while in the New Testament all the apostles are men. The most prominent females in the Bible, Eve and Mary mother of Jesus can be interpreted as reinforcing patriarchal idea regarding, on one hand, the dangers of female sexuality and on the other, the virtues of motherhood. Similarly in the Quran, the sacred text of Islam contends that ‘men are in charge of women’. Even Christianity and Buddhism are dominated by a patriarchal power structure in which the feminine is mainly associated with the secular, powerless, profane and imperfect. Even women’s bodies and sexuality are felt to be dangerous by many religious. Because women menstruate and give birth, they are considered to have the capacity to...
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...Buzaglo, 2011 You may post comments on this paper at http://rwer.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/rwer-issue-58-jorge-buzaglo/ It is easy to become confused about what is really happening to the European economies. The media are totally focused on financial surface phenomena. Attention is given only to the developments in the financial markets, in particular the growing difficulties of the so called PIIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain) for keeping on financing their government spending by increasing debt — as reflected by increasing spreads in interest rates (e.g. compared with German rates). However, looking just below the surface one discovers that the Eurozone is suffering from a kind of disequilibrium that is similar to the type of imbalance existing in the trade relationship between the US and China. The origin of the US-China imbalance can be found in the huge expansion of credit and debt in the US (a Minsky-type process), which financed a large consumption and import boom — including a boom in imports from China in particular. The vast import boom caused in turn a large US trade deficit and a growing external debt. External debts cannot grow indefinitely; at some point markets judge them unsustainable. With a de facto fixed exchange rate between the dollar and the yuan, the only way available for the economy to stop the unsustainable growth of debt is through recession, which was induced by a financial panic. When the process of credit and debt expansion...
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