Equality of Opportunity Essay

Furthermore, if Mantsios is correct in challenging this idea of equal opportunity, this undermines the idea that poverty is caused by cultural factors, because he claims that the main reasons individuals do not receive equal opportunity are for reasons out of their control including race, gender, and/or the way in which individuals are treated by various

Social inequality is a problematic phenomenon that occurs all around the world and affects both the developed and developing nations. It is defined as “the unequal distribution of social, political and economic resources within a social collective” (van Krieken et al. 2013, p. 205). Inequality is closely connected with social stratification, a system of social hierarchy that positions individuals and groups into categories according to social variables such as class or ethnicity (van Krieken et al. 2013, p. 485). This stratification has a significant impact on the opportunity that an individual may have to move up the hierarchy of inequality (Gill 2017a).

Although different societies have varying perceptions of what is an acceptable level of equity, it is generally accepted that inequality has an impact on key social determinants such as health, wellbeing, political trust and violence. Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) highlight the social costs of inequality on a whole range of aspects of our lives. Wilkinson and Pickett (2009) argue that if inequality were reduced, there would be significant reductions in mental illness, murder rates, imprisonment and an improvement in social mobility (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009).

This is important because inequality causes unrest and brings about interminable turmoil which can eventually lead to a collapse of a regime or a state. If every human being is given equal opportunities then the outcome after those opportunities were presented, whether it was success of failure, fully rests upon the individual’s shoulders. In case of failure, the government or any other individual would not be held accountable.

Continuing with the idea of people believing that it is unfair how the upper class has more advantages in life, this bring us to the “meritocratic model” which is the model that “recognizes inequities and tries to correct for socioeconomic disadvantages” says Arora (Arora 87). This is the system that is related with the United States (Arora 87) and the reason that most people believe that this model is fair is because people with low incomes or with fewer benefits are offered programs such as the Headstart program and subsidized healthcare. Doing this would help out the needy and put everyone at somewhat of an equal place in life. However thinking deeply into the idea of these programs, they are not entirely fair from everyone’s point of view. For example, some people are born with something that Arora refers to as the “natural lottery” which is described as “people who are born with certain talents and attributes- for instance, oratory, musical acumen, physical beauty and health, athleticism, good memory and

Equal Opportunity, occasionally called equality of opportunity, is a contentious yet significant decision-making standard with no exact definition concerning fair preferences within the public domain (Austen 1999). Although it normally depicts open and just contest with equal possibilities for achieving employment without any discrimination, the idea is intangible with a broad meaning. It is difficult to determine, and execution leads to issues as well as differences concerning what to do. It is

Social inequality is the reality of unequal chances and rewards for diverse social positions or categories

-Individuals should have the sense of fairness in, "what is distributed" or "what is right."

The Cambridge Dictionary of Sociology defines inequality as ‘the unequal distribution of opportunities, rewards, and power among and between individuals, households and groups’(1). It goes on to say that ‘the subfield of social stratification has as its main task the description and analysis of inequalities, or the makeup of the stratification system of any given society’.(1) From this one definition, we can already begin to see the strong links that lie between inequalities and social stratification. As we delve deeper into the topics, we can begin to see both the inevitability and the functionality of stratification

Bowles and Gintis also argue that in order to prevent rebellion from those disadvantaged by the inequalities of capitalism, it is necessary to produce ideologies that explain and justify inequality as fair, natural and inevitable. If people think inequality is justified then they are less likely to challenge the capitalist system. According to Bowles and Gintis, the education system plays a key role in producing such ideologies. They describe the education system as a giant ‘myth making machine’ and focus on how education promotes the ‘myth of meritocracy’. Meritocracy refers to a system where everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve, where rewards are based on ability and effort. This means that those who gain the highest rewards and status deserve it because they are the most able and hardworking. Bowles and Gintis argue that meritocracy does not actually exist. Evidence showed that the main factor determining whether or not someone has a high income is their family and class background, not their ability or educational achievement. By

It is said that all men are created equal, but this is not all correct. Thomas Jefferson said that “All men are created equally”, but this feeling has been betray if all humans were equal. Then people would all get equal privileges. This is a belief that everyone is equal. Moreover, that they all have the same chance to be successful in life. If humans are, create equally, then why did the government split up the levels of pay rate and social class, and why racism stops people from being what they want to be? In this discussion Gregory Mantsios, the writer of “Class in America”, describes how society has divided into upper class, middle class, and lower class, and that the government is trying to deal with both extremes, forgetting that middle class will face deeper tragedy if it is unnourished. Likewise, Diane Kendall, a sociologist from Baylor University shows how mass media and social class is being frame in her essay “Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption”. Kendall discusses how many people frame classes and everyday life. In addition, Mike Rose discusses how people just want to live there in life without people bully them. In his, article “I Just Want to Be Average”. He tells the story about some of his experiences throughout high school. When he was a freshman, he was place into a vocational program. Rose goes into detail describing specific events and different types of people that he

Everyone should have equal opportunities regardless of their social class and income. In his article, “Confronting Inequality” Paul Krugman, a professor

Social inequality can practically be made apparent at any moment of someone’s life – whether at work or school amongst peers or simply watching the news in the morning. According to Dalton Conley, social inequality is narrowly defined as “a condition in which a difference in wealth, power, prestige, or status based on nonnatural conventions exist” (2017 p.241). Moreover, social inequality is a process whereby society can determine how a class of people is expected to coexist within predetermined social, political, and economic boundaries. The affected class will live within the predefined constraints, and the affected class will then pass the predefined constraints on to future generations. It is imperative to understand that social inequality is a result of social stratification, which according to

Equality, diversity and rights are valued principles that underpin our society, it allows for ideas of ‘fairness’ towards all different groups, the allow everyone to have access to basic human rights; to be treated as valued; giving them the opportunity to live a peaceful life; to earn a living; and to be protected from any harm that may come to them.

Society holds many structures that mould human performance and produce opportunities for some, but inequalities for others (Morrall, 2009). These structures in society are organized by the hierarchies of class, ethnicity and gender (Crossman, 2016). Due to having a society based on hierarchies, social inequalities are inevitable. Social inequality refers to the ways in which a group or individual of a certain social position may receive unequal opportunities or distribution of ‘goods’ such as education, income, living conditions and healthcare (Walker, 2009). These unequal opportunities may be given to someone because of their ethnicity, gender, income, religion or social class (Walker, 2009). For example, people in a high social class will be able to pay for their children to go to a good private school for a good education, whereas lower-class or working class people will struggle to afford the same education.