Social Economic Inequality
When people think of social inequity, they generally frame this in terms of socio-economic class. People who have accumulated much wealth occupy the top echelons of society and enjoy the most privileges as brought on by their money and social status. On the other end, people who are poor have little or no access to these privileges and are often marginalized in terms of education and social services.
However, there are many forms of social inequity and stratification. In the United States, for example, much of social interaction is mitigated by gender and race. For example, statistics show that a wage gap exists between the genders. Despite pay equity laws and a growing awareness of gender discrimination and women's rights, salary disparities continue to exist between men and women across a broad range of occupations.
This paper argues that socio-economic inequality is caused by many non-economic factors, such as stratification and racism. After all, factors such as these prevent many members of marginalized social groups from fully-benefiting from social institutions such as education and the workforce. This lack of access could thus lead to poverty and by extension, unhappiness.
However, this paper also argues that despite its failings, the capitalist system has the most options for human happiness. This approach should be tempered by the recognition that no true capitalist state exists. Capitalist states such as the United States and the states in Western Europe recognize this and provide state-sponsored social services to the needy. While this liberal democratic system remains problematic, it is essential to ensure that everyone has equal access to the institutions that pave the way for the pursuit of happiness.
What are the best social systems to reduce inequality?
To its proponents, capitalism is the only economic system that could guarantee human happiness. This is because capitalism was the economic system wherein individuals or "free agents" pursue their own interests. People who work and earn money in exchange for their labor benefit themselves and are able to fulfill their own needs. By trying to earn money for themselves, working people unwittingly contribute to the greater good of society, as if they were "as if guided by an invisible hand." (Smith, paragraph IV.2.4 -- IV.2.6, IV.2.9).
Smith viewed capitalism optimistically, as a system of natural laws that allow free agents to pursue their own interests. This gives rise to a system of cooperation, where free agents produce goods and contribute to the well-being of society as a whole and to individual happiness in particular.
Karl Marx's view of capitalism was not quite as rosy as Smith's. An analysis of capitalism and its effects was a central theme of all his writings, but it was in the three-volume opus Capital that he presented a systematic study of the inherent conflicts in capitalism and its great human costs.
Laurence Harris, an economist with the University of London, writes that Marx viewed the development of capitalism as "a conflict between labor and capital." A capitalist economic system requires an economic gap between capitalists and the working class (Bottomore, p 66). For Marx, the private ownership of capital at the exclusion of others is a central feature of capitalism. The system is controlled by a few affluent citizens, at the expense of an underclass of workers, whose wages are kept low by the constant threat of replacement.
What is the best means of achieving social equality?
Achieving social equality is not an overnight process. Rather, the task of achieving equality means tackling the roots of this inequality -- such as lack of access to quality education and the racism in society's various institutions. These two factors give rise to poverty, alienation as well as unhappiness. This task often requires intervention from government authority, a fact which may not sit well with many opponents of socialism or communism.
However, even capitalist countries such as the United States practice some form of socialism. The welfare system, for example, is widely-viewed as a safety need for families in need. Related to this, Social Security provides a nest egg for people to draw from once they retire. Since its inception, the coverage and benefits of Social Security have been expanded. While the original Social Security Act was limited to only retirement benefits for the worker, two 1939 amendments added benefit payments to the retirees' dependents (spouse and to the minor children) and survivor benefits to the family in case a covered worker dies prematurely. Thus ushered in the Social Security program that is in place today, one that provides security and benefits for the family rather than just an individual...
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