Sociological Analysis of Social Problems- Exploring Race Gender Social Class and Institutions

Sociological Analysis of Social Problems- Exploring Race Gender Social Class and Institutions

Inequality is a phenomenon of unjust and unequal distribution of opportunities or resources among certain members. It can mean different things in different contexts and people, but it all causes social tension. It encompasses social and economic dimensions in society. The economic dimension describes unequal wealth or income distribution. The resources are unevenly distributed because of social norms that divide people into different categories. Access to societal social goods is determined by kinship, race, power, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, class, and age. Social rights are health care, freedom of speech, political representation, source of income, education, labor market, and political participation. Many societies claim to distribute resources based on merit, but in reality, most use hierarchical societal categorizations.

Social inequality is caused by several structural factors and is in every society. The social structures include citizenship status and geographical location and are underpinned by cultural identities and discourses. Social inequality is low in small societies where its members well occupy the social statuses and roles.  Inequality is of five types: political inequality, responsibility and treatment, membership inequality, life inequality, and wealth inequality. Political inequality is when there is a difference in people’s ability to access resources provided by the government, hence no civic equality. Some people often benefit more than others in responsibilities and treatment inequality and quickly receive privileges (Warwick-Booth, 2018). In workstations, some people are given many responsibilities that reflect better compensations and benefits than other equally qualified individuals. Membership inequality occurs in the difference in the number of people a family, faith, or nation has. Inequality in life is brought by the disparities of available opportunities that can improve an individual’s quality of life. Wealth inequality is due to the disparities in daily earnings that contribute to monthly or annual revenue.

Significant examples of social inequality are gender inequality, income gap, social class, and healthcare.  Some people receive more professional and better healthcare services than others because they can pay more. Differences in social class are publicly seen in a social gathering when the upper-class people in the society are given the best seat and receive priority hospitality. Ascribed status is assigned by others at birth and has little control over them. They include the place of birth, sexuality, skin color, sex, and gender. Achieved status is the ones an individual chooses for themselves, like leadership status, marital status, and education. Depending on the society, an individual can use one or both social status characteristics.

The conflict theoretical perspective explains inequality in society well. Conflict theory depicts the competition present in society because of limited resources. It holds that it is harmful to society because it creates a fixed system of losers and winners. Power and domination maintain the social order and not conformity or consensus. Domination is achieved through values, ideologies, norms, beliefs, expectations, and thoughts.  According to conflict theory, inequality is caused by powerful groups dominating the less powerful groups (Bartos & Wehr, 2002). They hold on to their power and wealth by all means. It prevents progress in society since the powerful repress the less powerful to maintain a certain status quo. Social stratification benefits the powerful and wealthy people at the expense of the poor people. A system of losers and winners is created and maintained by the top people, and the losers never get a chance to compete, resulting in them being stuck at the bottom somewhat.  For example, wealthy people pay low wages to poor people to be nannies, maids, and gardeners to attend to them, their children, and gardens. The people who have low wages live from paycheck to paycheck. Capitalism in a system based on free-market competition benefits the rich, and there is the belief that the mechanism of trickling down is the best way to spread wealth and benefits in society. It assumes that the rich will trickle down the resources to the poor through competition. Conflict theory can explain conflicts like poverty, revolutions, war, domestic violence, and discrimination.

Conflict theory has four assumptions: revolution, war, structural inequality, and competition. Conflict theorists believe there is constant and sometimes overwhelming competition between humans in the interaction and relationship. Material resources like property, commodities, and money are scarce, leading to competition. The competition also involves intangible resources like social status, dominance, sexual partners, and leisure time. The default of human nature is not cooperation but competition. The theory assumes that structural inequality exists; social structures and human relationships experience power inequality (McAuliffe et al., 2008). Some individuals always develop more reward and power than others, and those benefiting from the structure work hard to maintain it, enhancing their power.  A revolutionary event may result from the conflict of social classes. Change in power and dominance between groups of people happens because of their conflict and not gradual adaptation. Changes in power are on a large scale and abrupt. Conflict theory is criticized for focusing on conflict, excluding stability and change recognition.  Many stable social structures have progressed gradually over time and not as abruptly as the theory suggests. Conflict theory does not explain incremental change and social stability.

To reduce inequality in society, the minimum wages for the lowest-paid people should be increased. It does not retard economic growth or hurt employment but removes many people from poverty. The policies should encourage low building costs and increased savings hence increasing economic security for the middle and working class. Education is an asset that society should invest in to reduce inequality for generations. Education investment starts from childhood programs. Society should abolish the racial segregation of residential areas to increase unity and reduce competition.

References

Bartos, O. J., & Wehr, P. (2002). Using conflict theory. Cambridge University Press.

McAuliffe, G., Danner, M., Grothaus, T., & Doyle, L. (2008). Social inequality and social justice. Culturally alert counseling: A comprehensive introduction, 45-83.

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Warwick-Booth, L. (2018). Social inequality. Sage.

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US Poverty Rate Rises To Highest Since 1983. [Photography]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest.
This assignment, Project 2, addresses course outcomes 1, 3, and 4. This assignment will require you to think about key sociological concepts, such as race, gender, social class and the social construction of reality.

Sociological Analysis of Social Problems- Exploring Race Gender Social Class and Institutions

You will need to think about social institutions such as the economy and education using the sociological perspective. Finally, you will understand how sociological knowledge influences how you interpret the world. As this course instructs, Sociologists collect data to determine how society as a whole actually works. In this assignment, you will write as a sociologist and discuss the data that you have collected thus far and the conclusions that you have drawn on a social problem. You will pick a topic from the list below. For the topic you have selected, you will explore how sociological terms and concepts can help you analyze the social problem and its significance to the broader society.

You are required to add three academic resources to support your analysis and arguments. These can be found through the Excelsior library. If you are not sure how to identify an academic source, the librarians can assist you with this.