Anti Entitlement Theory Essay

Entitlement, the belief that one is deserving or entitled to certain privileges. What does this mean in our society? Our country has become an entitlement society. Causing a negative effect not only to our generation, but to our economy as well. This culture of entitlement is teaching an entire generation to be dependant on the government. Breeding a generation with little motivation and ambition. Our country's values which say we all have the ability to earn prosperity through whatever means necessary within the law. It isn't right to take from the hard working class to give to those who aren’t in true need of government assistance.

Inequality exists around us. One of the inequalities is the income received by a person or member of a family. This income includes wages, salaries, pensions, and interest derived from assets. Income inequality refers to the various income within a given population. This inequality is especially high in the United States.

Murray, Harry. "Deniable Degradation: The Finger-Imaging Of Welfare Recipients." Sociological Forum 15.1 (2000): 39. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 May 2013.

In Rousseau’s book “A Discourse On Inequality”, he looks into the question of where the general inequality amongst men came from. Inequality exists economically, structurally, amongst different generations, genders, races, and in almost all other areas of society. However, Rousseau considers that there are really two categories of inequality. The first is called Natural/Physical, it occurs as an affect of nature. It includes inequalities of age,, health, bodily strength, and the qualities of the mind and soul. The second may be called Moral/Political inequality, this basically occurs through the consent of men. This consists of the privileges one group may have over another, such as the rich over the

In a family with a more stable financial situation, the children are raised with a sense of entitlement. Entitlement enables individuals to speak to authority figures with ease. Sociologist Annette Lareau describes entitlement as “a right to pursue their own individual preferences and to actively manage interactions in institutional settings” (Gladwell 105). That is to say, children from “entitled” families are comfortable making requests and asking for advantages that suit their desires.

The wage gap continues to stretch farther and farther apart. A wage gap is the ratio difference between the top twenty and lower twenty percent of income levels. The United States is a leading example of a differentiating income levels. A recent study by Harvard students, showed the United States pay gap ratio from CEO’s to average workers is around 350:1. This is a ridiculous difference in pay, especially when there are millions of people underneath the poverty level. The differences in wages being described is solely targeting skill level and is not referring to any other factors like gender, race, social class, and etc. Society has been dealing with income inequality for thousands of years. Although, it is unfair for people to be paid unequally, but it is also the only way for the economy to run smoothly. It would be impossible for the United States to pay everyone equally because of time spent, work incentives, and executive positions.

In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer

Moreover, “the existing situation in which we find ourselves reinforces deficit thinking and militates against changes that would provide more opportunities for those suffering from educational oppression” (Valencia, 1997, p. 247). Although this statement was made two decades ago, the statement could be used today to describe our current educational situation. This means that even after two decades of research, published literature and changes in society, we are still experiencing some of the same struggles that were discussed when Richard R. Valencia edited The Evolution of Deficit

“No one knows you better than you know yourself.” This fabled quote implies a sense of of self-awareness for an individual, and in a way, it passively rejects the societal norms and outside judgements towards that individual. However, the world seeks a systematic approach to determining the capability and worth of individuals. This “system,” whether imposed by the government, social norms, or society itself, will always create problems for individuals because of the individuality of each human being. This makes a “perfect model” impossible. The next question is “why?” Why do people depend on validation from such an imperfect system when it only causes problems? Is there any other type of worth that rewards more than “systematic validation”, perhaps capable of connecting to the uniqueness of the individual on a personal level? Worth is more meaningful when determined by the individual rather than by a system because true worth comes from within, as opposed to that of the fickle outside world.

He lays awake at night clutching his bedsheets in guilt, because of his want, and to want anything at all is blasphemy. Because of his intellect, his teachers ridicule him constantly. He tries to dumb himself down and squash down his natural curiosity to fit in, but he is lashed nevertheless. “It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them.” (Rand 21) This quote reflects on the fact that is any man exhibits superior traits to that of their colleagues, they will experience a harsh degree of backlash. Because of the push for sameness, if one man is unintelligent, all others must be the

Nozick’s entitlement theory is a theory of justice and how society regulates the distribution of goods, money and property. “All that matters for Noziak is how people came to have what they have, not the pattern or results of the distribution of goods.” (Shaw and Barry, pg.115) His entitlement theory comprises of three main principles which were:

The universal truth that feelings of entitlement restrict enlightenment is evident in the essay “What is Poverty?” by Theodore Dalrymple through effective presentation of the Marxist Theory and Psychoanalytical Theory. Firstly, the universal truth that feelings of entitlement restrict enlightenment is displayed by the idea that enlightenment is not given, but it is achieved and discovered. Being given something is not the same as working for it and earning it. When an individual may be given something that the feel is an entitlement, they do not feel or understand the effort that went into gifting or giving them the object. The idea is showcased through a quote from the essay “What is Poverty?”:

Entitlement to services is the right to access or use a service. Different people are entitled to different things from different services. For example, being entitled to 15 hours of free child care per week if your child is 0-4 years old. Entitlement to services protects us form being discriminated against by making sure everyone has the right to use the services they need to and makes it unlawful for people to be denied these rights. If people are discriminated against then entitlement to services will make sure that the service user can take legal action against the service/people/person that has denied them their rights. This promotes anti-discriminatory practice in health and social care. For example, to be entitled to receive a service in a residential care home you would have to be over the age of 65.

               I am ashamed of the human race because we are entitled, lazy, and overweight. Humanity now believes they deserve special treatments or privileges without doing anything to deserve them. These feelings likely come from parents not expecting kids to get a job and buy them everything they want. entitlement may also stem from their parents taking care of everything and not making the children move out or take responsibility for their own actions. Technology also gives a huge sense of entitlement because people are always posting on social media making it a race to see who has the better car or the better clothes and when you have something better to someone else it makes you feel like you are better then them and should

Oppression signifies an authority over another group, disengaging that particular group from the rest of society. “The term oppression encapsulates the fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry, and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life in our society” (Bell, 1997). In one way or another every individual experiences some form of oppression, whether it be through race, sex, gender, religion, age, wealth and/or sexual orientation. These cultural minorities experience inequality where a dominant culture casts its authority and power through exercises of unjust and cruel methods; these methods have been experienced through the Women’s Movement, the