Sociological Analysis Of ' The Ideas Of Michael Schwalbe And Thomas Sowell

The word “difference” still divides us to this day. The way we are different are due to our race, gender and class can have an impact on our life chances and can turn our lives upward or downwards. The concept of “difference” has been a topic and a goal for many societies to stop the divide for many decades already, since the 1980’s. When in the 1980’s there were numerous social protests and movements. However, to this day we are still tackling the problem. There are two articles,“The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” and “The Ballot or the Bullet” that bring up their own views of the word “difference” and how they can indirectly or directly impact each other.

There are only the different truths of different communities” (Blackburn, 2001). It helps a society in dealing with moral uncertainty, avoiding ethnocentrism, and promoting tolerance and diversity.

There are many reasons why one can relate Robert Pickton to the Sociological theory of Feminism, to begin, the Feminist theory relates to the equality of both genders which can be separated into several basic ideas. The criminal behaviour of Robert Pickton can be analyzed through this theory because of the many actions and trends throughout his life that point us in this direction. Pickton’s victims were mainly female, this could be because of his feeling of male dominance and superiority and the need to prove and express these feelings onto the woman he murdered. Robert may have also chosen to target woman because of neglect from a female figure as a child, and throughout his life. If Pickton

All around the world today, there is a lot of tension revolving around concepts of morality. In Moral Disagreement by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Appiah writes about differing values and morals around the world and within our society. He points out, “we aren’t the only people who have the concepts of right and wrong, good and bad; every society, it seems, has terms that correspond to these thin concepts” (658). However, these concepts are not always the same with each other in every society. In the same way that not everyone in our society believes in the same moral concepts. Unfortunately, it is these disagreements that often separate us as people. Forming different cultures, large and small, throughout the world. This is not a bad thing, but it does separate us as a race, leaving us to care more for one group of people rather than humanity as a whole. In Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism, by Martha Nussbaum, Nussbaum suggest that a way to fix this problem, and to become a cosmopolitan person, is to teach students in our education systems more of different cultures throughout the world. Yet not only should we learn to accept other cultures and their beliefs, but we should also educate ourselves to accept everybody we meet, giving respect to them as individuals, if we ever truly want to become a citizen of the world.

There are many ways humans can recognize differences amongst themselves, some of the most notable are race, religion, gender, and politics. Many people view these issues as barriers in forming relationships. However, there is another main reason for these complications that is usually overlooked, that is socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic class can put many divisions between us, this is largely seen in iconic pieces of literature, which also express many ways to overcome the issue.

“People Like Us” by David Brooks examines diversity in America and argues that even though society tends to idealize diversity in a way, most of us don’t really care too much about it as long as we are happy. In the first paragraph Brooks states “ what I have seen all around the country is people making strenuous efforts to group themselves with people who are basically like themselves”. This is something that most of us notice on some scale, but what does it say about the need for diversity in America? Brooks explains “The United States might be a diverse nation when considered as a whole, but block by block and institution by institution it is a relatively homogenous nation” This is an irrefutable truth, we all know that cities like Laredo Texas and Lincoln Nebraska are predominantly white and in cities like Detroit Michigan and Jackson Mississippi the population is predominantly black. However, what we fail to realize is the extreme racial separation that is taking place naturally at a much smaller scale, not even city to city but neighborhood to neighborhood and house to house. Brooks backs up his claim with the following example, “In Manhattan the owner of a three million dollar SoHo loft would feel out of place moving into a three million dollar Fifth Avenue apartment”. Politics, religion, income, lifestyle and general outlook on life can change in a matter of blocks. This may all seem

Once, race and religion were two traditional structural components of society from the past, but today the two act as social dividers. The disconnection of people of varying beliefs and races as well as the misunderstanding of each other in societies are issues well interpreted in the novels, Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin and The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. Both authors would agree that something must be done to bridge the gap in racially segregated society. From a personal perspective, as long as there are people who think they are socially and spiritually different from others, there will always be misunderstanding between people.

The society that Equality lives in tries to live in complete uniformity. This society is controlled by a council of elders. They dictate every aspect of a life for a man. This is supported by the quote “Councils are the voice of all justice, for they are the voice of all men.” (Rand 22) Society’s beliefs are exemplified through the hymns of brotherhood, equality, and the collective spirit. There is no concept of self and the book is written in first person plural. Collectivism is the belief the group has higher priority than each individual in it. This is demonstrated by the quote “there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” Equality starts at the youngest of age. Starting in school students are taught not to be any different and any who are physically or mentally are reprimanded by the teachers. Even so, there is scientific development and new technologies are developed mainly by the Home of the

Equality is pushed upon each citizen. But with this equality, comes aforementioned characteristics: submission, hopelessness, detachedness, conformity, and isolation. Superiority is punished. As written in chapter I, "It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them" (21). In this way, uniqueness is repressed when it should be

People are like snowflakes: each one is different. Every individual has their own qualities that distinguish them from others. Anthem by Ayn Rand features a collectivist community where citizens are obligated to suppress individuality and conform to a homogeneous way of life. This society in which Equality 7-2521 lives in regards the best in him as sinful because they do not think people should be unique in any way. In a similar way, the society in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut tries to promote uniformity both physically and mentally by forcing their citizens to wear handicaps. Both authors show examples of how extreme equality can be detrimental to a society.

Eric Holder’s way of pointing out the natural search of race and affiliation, is relevant for the society’s development. I agree on Yolanda Yong’s view on the positive development in the American society, because the line between white and black has moved significantly through the past fifty years. But I also agree on the hidden patterns in the society and I think there is more to it, than just outlook and work partners as Eric Holder presents. Especially in today’s late modern society, affiliation and identity is keywords. It can therefor be hard to meld races permanently and ideal together. But on the other hand I do not agree on his statement of historical realization as the main key to equality. I agree in Walter Backstrom’s statement that

To conclude his article, Sowell explicitly condemns those who attempt to promote diversity by rigidly preserving cultural aspects which are ineffective. He claims that in this approach to diversity, "enormous harm" is inflicted upon those groups whose culture is supposedly being preserved. Sowell states that "No culture has grown great in isolation," and in this the overarching, basic argument that humans need other humans presents itself.

Having a commonality will allow the gap in cultural, gender and ethnical differences to merge together. Example, there is an older lady that work with me who is very quiet and she is from Africa. Several coworkers whisper about her, stating “she’s evil, she’s scary, and she’s a witch”. I started talking to this lady and I enjoyed our conversation. This woman has so much wisdom that I felt like a little child sitting at the feet of my Parents. This woman stated “I know what people are saying about me and told me she’s not a witch and that she doesn’t get involved in other people business and that she sit and observe quietly and pray when she’s not working.” This woman is now known as the go to person if you need prayer. Because of this woman being different from what was considered normal she was labeled. According to the lecture for this week, “The challenge for us is to find ways to bridge the gap between groups. To do so, we have to develop certain skills and abilities. The first is to examine our own views of others, be they part of the minority or the majority group, a different social class, or a different gender.” (Bell, 2007).

This journal provides insight into diversity and tolerance in regards to the social contract. Providing evidence to support one’s claim that people don’t define the social contact because not all voices, ethnicity, religion, or culture maybe represented.

The acknowledgement of this leads people to be able to separate themselves from the group, as well as explore and develop their differences both good and bad (Durkheim, 1984, 38). The movie “Dysfunctional societies: How equality makes us stronger” demonstrates the negative side of difference through the use of inequality in America. For example, inequalities found in income consequently leads individuals to separate themselves, thus demonstrating the importance in social class, which ultimately affects community life (Jhally, 2015). High levels of inequality leads to the destruction of social cohesion ultimately affecting community life (Jhally,