Sociology of Social Inequality

Throughout the month we have studied the theories of social stratification and how the intersections of inequalities affect us. When we are born our family identity can help or hinder our chances of movement through social classes. In each society, our differences "determine access to resources, future goals and aspirations and overall life chances. Systems of difference are always associated with systems of power and privilege, (Newman, 2011)." Social Stratification is a structured system in society, which ranks entire groups of people and continues an imbalance of rewards, (Newman, 2011). We can easily be born into a family with cultural capital, or characteristics that immediately give a social advantage to gain access to resources. There may be an advantage or disadvantage due to an ascribed status in which social advantage is not from our own effort. It is inherited. There is little social mobility between classes, such as in the Indian caste system. An achieved status, however, is one that is earned due to education or an occupation. Social mobility is possible. Many of us would like to have an achieved status and move upward in social class, but is each person created equally, with the same freedoms and life chances? Because of our differences and social imbalances, it seems we are not. In the US, and most Western societies, our social class is determined by our socioeconomic status, (Newman, 2012). This is determined by power, prestige, honor and respect, and wealth and income. There is an unequal opportunity to change ones socioeconomic status. Those in poverty do not have the educational opportunities, health, or safety to achieve this. And the gap between the very wealthy and the poor is growing. Dr. Benard Dreyer, M.D., Professor of Behavioral Pediatrics at NYU, states, "Childhood poverty is the greatest threat to children's physical and mental health and a barrier to their development, achievement and future. (Raab,2010). " Most parents love and want the best for their children, but have a lack the knowledge on how to change their current situation or the resources to do so. According to the Tula Connell, the 2009 Levy Institute estimated that "The bottom 80% of the population owns only 12.3% of assets, while the top 1% owns 37.1%. This is a 3.7% increase since 2001, (Connell, 2010)." It could be argued that wealth is a reward and deserved, and therefore, the unequal distribution of assets is justified. What needs to be reviewed is if the rich and the poor both had equal opportunities for earning that income. For example, did they have equal access to education and the means to pay for it. The gap in income inequality is growing between rich and poor countries as well. The gini coefficient is "An inequality measure used to get a rough sense of the differences in income distributions, (boundless.com). " The measure is a scale from zero to one, where 0 represents perfect equality, and one is the highest inequality. In 2011, the US number was 0.468, (Census Bureau, 2009). Timothy Smeeding summed up the current economic trend, "American have the highest income inequality in the rich world. Over the past 20-30 years Americans have experienced the greatest increase in income inequality among rich nations, (Smeeding, 2005)." Poverty has multiple dimensions, and many of them are inter-related, making it for a vicious cycle, (Annan & United Nations, 2000)."They may include illness and disease, which makes it difficult to work. They are more likely to hold poorly paying jobs. The children of the poor are disadvantaged because poverty is handed down through generations. Poor countries, many with inequalities between religious and political groups, are more likely to endure conflict. Other factors that determine an economic gap are supply and demand, a capitalist market, gender discrimination, nepotism, progressive taxation, globalization and technology changes, (Annan & United Nations,2000). Many still believe in the American dream, which is the belief that someone can aspire to and achieve a higher income potential. But there are many deterrents to overcome, such as stereotypes, prejudice, gender bias, and racism. These all intersect and form a matrix of domination, which keeps certain societal groups in power over others. The concept says that all forms of privilege do not exist independently of one another in the social world. Due to the matrix of domination some people, and countries for that matter, are in poverty and will have difficulty escaping. Each of us then is required out of decency to show empathy and respect toward the poor in our communities. Society must care for the most vulnerable and weak, and those unable to care for themselves. We must strive to make equal opportunities for all, to even try to remove poverty from society.