The Works Of Richard Robbins : Global Problem And The Culture Of Capitalism

Since the time we are born we are fed the lies of capitalism. We are taught that capitalism hurts no one and that capitalism is the only way. Johnson and Robbins have some very influential ideas about capitalism. Johnson writes about the complexity of privilege. He also addresses why some privileged people do not feel privileged through the matrix of capitalist domination. Robbins gives us a background on how privilege became what it is today. He addresses the anatomy of the working class by drawing attention to how they were mobile, divided, powerless, and anxious for a revolution. Through Johnson and Robbins’ eyes we can begin to see how the world is not the one we were taught it was.

When we talk about race, what are we really talking about? The issue of race is a complex issue, with socially ambiguous undertones that have plagued our society for decades. Race has been a marker and maker of stereotypes. Race has been used as a justification for injustice. Whether slavery, Japanese internment, or social and economic exclusion, race has given an avenue for those in power to exclude ones deemed ‘other’. In the following paragraphs I will examine the premise of race and try to demonstrate why it is a social construct.

The academic reading, “The Social Construction of Difference”, by Allan G. Johnson provided detail examples of how the construction of society is constructed based on privilege and oppression. Johnson explains how privilege is a matter of being a certain group that is highly value than the other group of people. Oppression is what is lead to since it’s when a privilege group is feeling superior and wanting to take control over certain

Social inequality stems from many facets of life and mindsets reproduced continuously in America. The main backbone of systematic inequality is formed off of race, gender and class, which all contain crucial aspects that further oppress those subjected to inequality in various aspects of life. The resources-schools, occupations, invested parents- around one fuels the opportunity in their lives, a concept highlighted by Malcom Gladwell, in his book, Outliers. Situations one are brought up in or uncontrollable genetic aspects can very easily restrain their opportunities. Racial discrimination, gender roles and inferiority and the lack of fluidity in the low and working class push inequality, which simultaneously influencing the rich and privileged.

In Anderson and Collins’, chapter on “Why race, class, and gender still maters” encourage readers to think about the world in their framework of race, class, and gender. They argued that even though society has change and there is a wide range of diversity; race, class and gender still matters. Anderson and Collins stated, “Race, class, and gender matter because they remain the foundation for system of power and inequality that, despite our nation’s diversity, continue to be among the most significant social facts of peoples lives.” (Anderson and Collins, 2010) When I was a little girl, I never knew that people were classified in to groups such as race, class, gender. I knew there were people that had a different color of skin than

Because of this, those that utilize this form of oppression are able to take advantage of individuals and isolate them in society. For example, “racialize groups in the United States, especially Blacks and Latinos, are oppressed through capitalist superexploitation resulting from a segmented labor market that tends to reserve skilled, high-paying, unionized jobs for whites.” (pg. 51) It is here where we see the injustice of exploitation by the ability of one group to “transfer energies to another, and therefore enabling social institutions to help few accumulate while constraining many more.” (pg. 53) As the amount of people that are constrained continues to increase, exploitation begins to take the form of marginalization.

In briefly evaluating the classical and modern explanations of social inequality, it is essential that we step outside the realm of our own lives, class position, and discard any assumptions we might have about the nature of inequality. This process of critical pedagogy allows us to view our world, not from our perspective, but from a wider, more critical analysis of inequality's nature. Also, it should be considered within this wider perspective that all theories of inequality have a class perspective, where the theorist, based on the position their theory takes, is making claims from (or for) a particular class (whether they want to or not). With this in mind, it seems that most of these theories come

In my philosophy class, we learned about a theory Karl Marx has. Marx says that the proletariats, who are the oppressed, are taken advantage by the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie make money from what the proletariats produce and the proletariats never receive profits from what they make. As a result the bourgeoisie class shrinks due to competition and they grow richer, while the proletariat class grows and becomes poorer. Eventually the proletariat class will come to realize the power they actually hold and revolt against the bourgeoisie. This theory shows how the system has to change and include profits/benefits for everyone in order to eliminate oppression. Had the proletariats been included in receiving profit from their production, they would not have been/felt devalued and they would have been on the same level as the bourgeoisie, eventually eliminating their oppression. Similarly, the authors argue for the inclusion of other groups. Martinez argues for the inclusion of other races in racial discussion. Hernandez argues for the inclusion of low-income and minority women in the feminist movement. Collins argues for the inclusion/interlocking of all social inequalities to lessen oppression. Harris argues for the inclusion of online platforms and for it to be taken seriously in politics. In conclusion, inclusion of everyone is important for

How race determined who was in and who was out. As Dickerson states “if race is real and not just a method for the haves to decide who will be have-nots, then all Europeans immigrants, from Ireland a to Greece, would have been “white” the moment they arrived here. Instead, as documented in David Roediger’s excellent Working Towards Whiteness, they were long considered inferior, nearly subhuman, and certainly not white” (69). This shows how race wasn’t about common culture or history but a concept to decide what race is good enough to be consider “white” or better than others. Even though the Europeans where the same race or color of the other people who considered themselves Americans or “white” they were still discriminated for being different and immigrants like everybody else. But soon they realized that identifying them self as being white gave them some sort of hierarchy. It gave them more class compared to the other races. As Debra Dickerson said, “If you were neither black nor Asian nor Hispanic, eventually you could become white, invested with enforceable civil rights and the right to exploit-and hate-nonwhites” (69). Being identify as white gave the power to have privileges that non-whites will never have since they are not the same color. Non- whites are treated unfairly compared to the white people in many ways. Discrimination not only took place between people of different races but

‘Whiteness’ is a socially constructed category of race, where people who are not ‘white’ are racially designated while ‘whites’ escape designation as if their racial category is not historically and ideologically based (Puzan, 2003). Race is socially constructed (Dyer, 1997) and it is important to acknowledge this in order to address its impact. Unless whiteness is labelled and confronted, being ‘white’ is usually considered the ‘norm’ which acquires certain social privileges, while all other socially-constructed categories of ‘race’ are considered different or, as Puzan (2003) terms it, the ‘racialised Other’.

Privilege and oppression provides a framework for understanding how institutional structures and ideologies shapes individual experiences. Privilege and oppression also explains “how power operates in society” which led to the formation of “a dominant group and a marginalized group” (Launius and Hassel, Threshold Concepts, 72-73). “Oppression can be defined as prejudice and discrimination directed toward a group and perpetuated by the ideologies and practices of multiple social institutions” (Launius and Hassel, Threshold Concepts, 73). While, privilege refers to the “benefits, advantages, and power that accrue to members of a dominant group as a result of the oppression of marginalized group”,

Understanding the concept of racial identity and flexibility is imperative in order to see the gray areas of life that help avoid the hardships that humans like McBride encountered. But sometimes different minorities and white Americans tend to believe that by clinging on to the dominant race one may move ahead. Not only does this promote racial supremacy, but clinging on to the idea of a dominant race also promotes anti-miscegenation. Racial supremacy is the belief that race is responsible for the differences in human character and that a specific race is superior to others. This belief alone is bad, however, paired with anti-miscegenation which is a law from McBride’s time period that prohibits interracial relations or marriage, it has a synergistic effect which can be seen throughout his experiences growing up as a black Jewish boy with a white mother. In the 1960s it was bad enough being an African-American because of the amount of judgment that was received for one’s skin tone, but even worse because of those who believed in white supremacy. Naturally, McBride has many questions for his mother in regards to his identity and who he belongs to or should classify himself with. This, in turn, causes a gap between McBride and his mother. A clear example can be seen when McBride

A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are

Society has a way of making assumptions based on one’s physical characteristics. Often at times we categorize individuals to a particular social group. In regard to society’ perception of an individual this however, contributes to the development of social construction of racism. Most people want to be identified as individuals rather than a member of specific social group. As a result, our social identity contains different categories or components that were influenced or imposed. For example, I identify as a, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and a person of color. I identify racially as a person of color and ethically as Jamaican and Puerto Rican. According to Miller and Garren it’s a natural human response for people to make assumptions solely

The following paper will discuss two of the major dimensions of my cultural identity, and analyze the way in which my identity holds privileges, or has exposed me to oppression. Being that I am white, I have lived a life of privilege simply because of the color of my skin. I have been afforded opportunities, and lived a life free from persecution due to my skin color. I have also lived a life that has been impacted by oppression because of my female identity. This unique position between privilege and oppression is where I live my life.