Why Do We Need Entitlement?

Systems of stratification are considered to be systems set in place, whether intended or unintended, to prevent people in the working class to move upwards and to slow the growth of social equality. This system hinders life chances of those who do not have access to wealth, power, or property. Opportunities for individuals that have less are greatly diminished. Those who live in poverty do not have the means to engage in certain activities, due to the lack of resources and funding needed. Some children are unable to achieve certain goals simply because of where they live or are placed in the social hierarchy. For example, a child of above average intelligence living in a government run housing project may not be afforded as much opportunity to excel as a child who lives in an upper class gated community. Some social scientists believe that the poor generally suffer from something called “culture of poverty” in which attitudes of the poor develop and ingrain the acceptance of their conditions within a community,

Margaret Wente’s Globe and Mail article on the existence and characteristics of the entitlement generation in Canada is both opinionated and thought provoking. The author strongly supports that the entitlement mindset is quite prevalent in Canada’s universities, has been nurtured by its preceding generation and has led to students’ unrealistic work expectations. Although Wente effectively communicates her opinions regarding the entitlement generation, her arguments are compromised by poor use of appeal to authority and a polarized approach to the topic.

Have you ever looked at yourself saying, "I hate my life"? I wanted to be happy. I longed to be  one of the happiest person in the world. But I also, desired meaning in my life. I started searching for answers to some of my questions:Who am I? Why in the world am I here? And where am I going? I also wanted to be free because my whole life I was captive with fears. Freedom to me was not just doing what I want to do, but

in order to make another person happy. Often times, people become so wrapped up in their

Sick Around the World is a documentary about the five other main capitalist democracies: Japan, United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland. This documentary talks about how these five countries deliver healthcare and about how the US can learn from them.

Imagine living in a world that consistently devalues your existence and is heavily populated with individuals who are quick to use and abuse your resources, but are slow to share the wealth that is accumulated from those resources. How would you feel? Unfortunately, certain populations do not have to visualize the disparity that is pictured above. This is because inequity is one of the most demoralizing social issues that plague America today. The worst thing about inequity is the fact that it continues to disproportionately burden individuals who are categorize as being minority in today’s society.

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?”:

By associating the potential existence of racism with consumption, a form of rationalization is that we now live in society that does not recognize and reward race, but merit. In turn, whites do not inherently realize the privileges that they are born with. Peggy McIntosh actually used the terms unearned entitlement and unearned advantage to describe disproportionate lead that whites have over blacks (McIntosh, 103). The fact of the matter is that most white people are in denial that they have been born with unearned entitlements that minorities do not have and according to McIntosh this is because they have been taught not to recognize it. As much as white people have been taught not to recognize that they have been given white privilege, blacks and minorities recognize that they do. Although many believe that the playing field is now level, is apparent that there is an uphill struggle for people of color. But how should one first recognize this struggle?

With inherent privileges, comes an overwhelming feeling of entitlement. Entitlement isn’t just social security and other government programs, it’s a predetermined mindset that the world owes one a gifted life where everything is in one's favor. Oxford dictionary defines entitled to be believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. Entitled individuals genuinely believe that they are superior to others. Making the request at someone else’s expense is an example of entitlement. Thinking nothing of inconveniencing others, entitled individuals have difficulty compromising, negotiating, following the rules, or taking one for the team. Entitled individuals are manipulative, controlling and rude. They tend to go

For example in June's situation... In failure to excel at the tasks that Suyuan, her mother, had set before her, June begins to feel more and more resentment towards her. She looks at her mother's hopes as expectations, and when she doesn't live up to them, she feels like a failure. When June performs a piano piece filled with mistakes at a talent show, she feels that her mother is completely ashamed and disappointed with her. As June reminisced, "My mothers expression was what devastated me: a quiet, blank look that said she had lost everything" (Joy p.143) But her mother is unhappy because June did not care about having the best for herself. June didn't have any high hopes to be successful at anything. She failed because she didn't try, and didn't care. Until June's mother died she never realized how much her mother loved her and how proud she was of her. "Right after my mother died, I asked myself a lot of things, things that couldn't be answered, to force myself to grieve more. It seemed as if I wanted to sustain my grief, to assure myself I had cared deeply enough. But now I ask the questions mostly because I want to know the answers." (Joy p.320) Suyuan loved her daughter more than life, but June didn't even realize this until her questions were answered by her father. And she began to understand her mother's intentions in life.

In this essay the main questions why do you think our wants have more power over us than our needs? I think our wants have more power over us than are needs because our wants feel more important to us, mostly because are wants make us more happy then are needs. Our wants are usually something good that we like to do and enjoy. Our needs are usually more important than our wants because they are like a house or a car something that we need in life to help us get thru life and help us survive. People would rather buy their wants than there needs just because they know that with their needs they'll have to probably pay more money and not be able to enjoy it as much.

Robert Gillian in ¨One Thousand Dollars¨ by O. Henry demonstrates entitlement. To have entitlement is to believe in inherently deserving privileges or special treatment of some kind. Entitlement is most prevalent in regards to money, goods, services, prejudices, or emotions. Within the first few paragraphs, it's laid out that Robert Gillians uncle has passed away, and Robert has been left one thousand dollars in inheritance money. Instead of showing gratitude for this money, Robert continually attempts to find ways to expand this newly acquired money. Robert Gillian shows entitlement when “‘He leaves me an even thousand dollars. Now, what can a man possibly do with a thousand dollars” “ I thought” said Old Bryson, showing as much interest as

Everyone probably doubted their worth as a person, and in God’s eyes, at least once in their life. Some questioned their appearance, circumstances, and even character, wondering why God created them in that way. Russell Kelfer, a skilled author/counselor, nailed this question down with a beautiful and thought-provoking poem, “You Are Who You Are For A Reason”. Although some doubted their meaning in life, and others searched for hope and found despair, Mr. Kelfer reassured these people, and everyone, that God created each individual for a divine purpose. His purpose shaped the unique personality of every individual into His point, or reason, for their life.

On the other hand, another injustice that is apparent in our society is inequality. It causes us to feel insecure, unimportant and unequal. People make others feel less with words and actions. Sometimes we do it subconsciously, meaning that we don’t think of the outcome and the damage that we cause them emotionally. When that happens, people feel like they don’t