The Article By Garreet Hardin

In 1879 Henry George wrote an article titled “Progress and Poverty”. In this article he discussed the ongoing industry and he stated that “the wealthy class is becoming more wealthy; but the poorer class is becoming more dependent.

In other words, America has a widening gap between its wealthy and poor. As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, there is a problem emerging: the disappearance of the middle class. Low-wage workers continue to fall behind those who make higher wages, and this only widens the gap between the two. There has been an economic boom in the United States, which has made the country more prosperous than it has ever been. That prosperity does not reach all people; it seems to only favor the rich. Rising economic segregation has taken away many opportunities for the poor to rise in America today. The poor may find that the economic boom has increased their income; however, as their income increase so does the prices they must for their living expenses (Dreier, Mollenkopf, & Swanstrom 19).

|poverty and inequality using sociological theories. Ending this report you will read into the effects of poverty and inequality in |

The axis of inequality that will be focused throughout this paper is the social class. Social class is defined as a group of individuals who are categorized according to class (i.e. poor, middle, and upper) due to their income, wealth, power, and occupation. Social class is socially constructed by the way we view how much income and wealth a person possess (Ore, 20011a, 10). In reality it is much more than that. According to the text, poverty is not only the shortage of income, but it is the rejection of opportunities and choices that leads a person to a standard way of living (Ore, 2011a, 10). Stereotyping also contributes to it being socially constructed. These stereotypes influence us by defining who is who based on their principles in each class category. This can cause some to feel worthless.

Privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. This is exposed, especially in society regarding wealth and social classes. As shown in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, social classes and the privilege most characters have because of their wealth is most clearly evident. Social class and social norms affect the lives of everyone no matter what. This is also evident in “The Capital of the World” by Ernest Hemingway, “Social Class and Unethical Behaviour”, and “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson. These texts discuss the social issue between the social classes and the privilege that is given to the upper class. They establish the imbalance between the social

Although the themes in the book illustrate a crucial problem within one of America's poorest cities, they only depict a minimal look at the ideology behind class, poverty, and socioeconomic issues from colonial times to present day. The reason it is so important is because it connects to a large concept which is how money has not only shaped U.S. history, but has influenced civilization as a whole from its beginning. One example of how class and poverty has impacted society over the past decades and centuries can be clearly seen through the American Revolutionary War. During this time, the wealth gap grew. Wealthy citizens’ sons would most likely be given the position of a colonel or captain in the army, in return making several times the amount of what an infantry unit would make. This again highlight even today with the ever looming concept of privilege and the advantage it gives to certain groups of people. Families that have a higher income and are - in most cases - able to provide better education to their children which leads to ceaseless rise among the economic food chain. Whereas families that struggle to obtain a stable income often cannot afford to send their children to higher educational institutions. Consequently, our society enters a domino effect where the rich continue to prosper and the poor continue to suffer. There are countless other examples of how this critical topic is rooted

The past half century has drawn boundaries that separate the poor and the comfortable; this separation is a factor is poverty’s invisibility.

High income inequality prevents an economy from growing, so the current status of the wealth gap in the U.S. is dangerous to the future of the U.S. economy. In fact, the average income of the top 10% of the United States population is roughly nine times greater than the average income of the poorest 10% of the population (OECD). This widening wealth gap is a problem of extreme importance and failure to recognize it may lead to social problems such as a rise in crime and overall social unrest. A continuing rise in this wealth gap affects all U.S. citizens as the bottom 99% may lose opportunities in education and be exposed to more crime, and the top 1% may lose consumers as no one will be able to afford their products. Furthermore, due to this rising gap, ordinary children of the masses, who are from the bottom 40%, are being denied to educational opportunities because they cost more money (Ingraham). Regardless if a child is born into a wealthy or poor family, they are still born with the same attributes; however, it is income inequality that creates inequality in educational opportunities for children, which threatens the overall educational status quo of the nation. A major wealth gap in any society is strongly associated with significant problems such as greater poverty levels, more crime, and even poor conditions of health (Partridge and Weinstein).

Although Michaels and Foroohar both talk about the gap between the rich and the poor in the socioeconomic ladder, they expand different thoughts, which have relative. Michaels shares the morals and attitudes are needed between person and person. That is the basic standard of human being, and nothing else is matter. Meanwhile, Foroohar gives a comparison Europe and America in social mobility, and relationship of inequality and mobility.

After reading the few chapters from Poverty and Power, by Edward Royce, there were a few things that came to my attention that I guess I never cared to notice before. The first being the different views on poverty and what causes it. Some of the impacts of poverty that Royce analyzed are from an individualistic and structural perspective and how they compare and contract with each other on why poverty exists. Edward Royce demonstrates that poverty influences most everyone in one way or another and exists because the people who are wealthy and have power need poverty to exist to force the poor to be dependent on the

A major social problem in America today is its inequality of the distribution of income. "Income inequality refers to the gap between the rich and the poor. The United States has the most unequal income distribution in the industrialized world, and it is growing at a faster rate than any other industrialized country" (Eitzen & Leedham, pg. 37). The main reason as to why income is distributed so unequally is because of the gap between social classes.

Socio-economic status and political economy are similar to each other. Being underprivileged is similar to being in the lowest in the socio-economic ladder. Being at the bottom of the ladder is undesirable. Poverty has an effect that is not only related to “personal behaviours engaged in by poorer or richer people (Coburn, 2006).” What’s more discouraging is “the gap between the rich and poor in society and how much the society cares for and shares with its members (Coburn, 2006)”.

Vandore, E., & Keller, G. (2008, October 21). Gap Between Rich And Poor Growing. Retrieved August 9, 2014, from

In his piece about hunger and poverty, Hardin argues that we have no obligation to help poor nations. With a consequentialism prospective, Hardin argues that rich nations such as the United States, giving to poor nations has devastating consequences, specifically in countries/nations where overpopulation cannot be controlled. Hence, people in rich nations have an obligation not to help others in such countries (645). His argument is founded on the metaphor of a lifeboat (646). He recognizes that about 2/3 of the world is severely impoverished, while 1/3 is rich if compared to those in poor countries. The lifeboat analogy starts with wealthy nations representing by lifeboats, with many

In chapter sixteen, “Social Class and Inequality” the essays show different cases in which being rich, poor, smart or middle class can affect a person. In the writings of Angela Locke in “Born Poor and Smart” (338-339) Angela summarizes her life of what it was like growing up with a poor, yet smart mother. However, in “When Shelter Feels like a Prison” (374-376) Charmion Browne writes about being poor, and living in homeless shelters. Somethings in life, are no more than learning experiences, and only you can change it.