Nickeled and Dimed
In an attempt to prevent families from living below the poverty line in the United States, the government ensures that people are paid a minimum-wage. Through this minimum-wage, the government believes that people can afford to pay their rents and bills, and cover the costs of their groceries, etc. However, this is not true, as the minimum-wage is indeed too little for the average family to survive on. This is because of the soaring rents that people have a hard time paying; with the meager wages they earn they can hardly make ends meet.
The current situation in places like California is considered difficult to get by for the minimum-wage earner. It is considered impossible to escape poverty, realizing that the minimum wage that is given to workers is insufficient. The current solutions proposed are not enough to deal with the problem, and the government needs to take steps that will help the low wageworkers escape the vicious cycle of poverty that they (minimum wage earners) are involuntary caught in.
Due to the fact that people are involuntarily caught in this poverty, there is immense exploitation carried out by land and building owners. Given that there is an acute shortage of living space for minimum wage earners in the state of California, owners take undue advantage and increase rents to exorbitant rates. Families don't have much choice in their accommodation, and because of this there are thousands of people in San Francisco living in cramped-up expensive apartments. Rents are so high that families of many individuals have to live together in order to make-do with their minimum income. This situation is described thoroughly in Barbara Ehrenreich's book 'Nickel and Dimed' in which one gets to realize the manner in which society (the structure) defines the individual (the agency).
Analysis: The defining factors in society are largely the owners of housing for residents in the state of California and the employers of minimum wage earners. Land owners and employers being providers for the minimum wage earners naturally define the lives of individuals who rely on them for their necessities. Ehrenreich describes that though minimum wage employees may have worked hard for a long time and expected something good in return, it appears that there are always big, dark surprises for them when they least expect it. Ehrenreich also describes the way that people are always told that hard work pays off some day, and for this reason one finds the working class willing and eagerly working long hours in the hopes of being rewarded. They are sadly mistaken, because if they can hardly make enough money to keep their heads above the water, how then can they save enough for their retirement? (Ehrenreich, 2001) Here, it is worth asserting the manner in which individuals live in a state of 'false consciousness' by believing what they are told. Individuals (the agency) act according to what they are told or whatever they are influenced by.
The society (the structure) is what defines individuals, and it can be observed that in this minimum-wage crisis, the structure defines the nature of the agency. According to a Marxist description this holds true because of the 'false consciousness' that the agency lives by (Althusser, 1964:. 231-236). Similar to this is Durkheim's concept of individuals acting to fit the needs or requirements of the society. It must be asserted that Durkheim's 'Functionalism', a macro-sociological theory that almost considers the structure as more important than the agency, each individual works in order to fulfill the needs of the structure. Hence, in Durkheim's case, the manner in which individuals work for the minimum wage may be seen as justified (Durkheim, 1984: 23-30).
In contrast to Durkheim's views about the individual (the agency) in a society (the structure), for Marx the individual is considered to be more important, and...
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