“Social Inequality Is a Necessary Evil of Capitalist Society”. Please Comment .
“Social inequality is a necessary evil of capitalist society”. Please comment with the reference of the sociology perspectives being discussed in the lecture and textbook.
In the 21th century, the existence of social inequality has already raised to the surface, which give rise to a torrent of furor. Many people sees social inequality as an individual problem, people experience inequality because of their ability or laziness. However, this is somehow not the real case. Indeed, social inequality can be the consequence of the institution of the society, or, simply a characteristic of a particular economic system. This is exactly why social inequality is said to be a necessary evil in a capitalist society. In this essay, the reasons that social inequality must exist in a capitalist society is going to be discussed.
The term ‘capitalism’ can be ambiguous, so what really means ‘capitalism’? Over these centuries, capitalism has been further divided or mutated into many types of systems. Generally, capitalism is an economic system. The most notable and common meaning of capitalism is the private ownership of the means of production. Private ownership means that individuals consist of the freedom to control their own assert. This means individuals will not interfere with one another as they use, exchange (sell) or give away what they find unclaimed or abandoned, what they make, and what they get from other persons by gift or exchange (purchase). (Watts, 1975)
Compared to capitalism, the definition of social inequality is relatively clearer. Basically, anything unequal happened within a society or groups can said to be a social inequality. Sociologically, according to Marger(2005), the more evident inequalities in nowadays’ society are mainly the differences in income and wealth, differences in social standing and prestige, and differences in power.
Now, do ‘capitalist society’ and ‘capitalism’ consist of an identical meaning? This is a very discussible question.
In the 21th century, the existence of social inequality has already raised to the surface, which give rise to a torrent of furor. Many people sees social inequality as an individual problem, people experience inequality because of their ability or laziness. However, this is somehow not the real case. Indeed, social inequality can be the consequence of the institution of the society, or, simply a characteristic of a particular economic system. This is exactly why social inequality is said to be a necessary evil in a capitalist society. In this essay, the reasons that social inequality must exist in a capitalist society is going to be discussed.
The term ‘capitalism’ can be ambiguous, so what really means ‘capitalism’? Over these centuries, capitalism has been further divided or mutated into many types of systems. Generally, capitalism is an economic system. The most notable and common meaning of capitalism is the private ownership of the means of production. Private ownership means that individuals consist of the freedom to control their own assert. This means individuals will not interfere with one another as they use, exchange (sell) or give away what they find unclaimed or abandoned, what they make, and what they get from other persons by gift or exchange (purchase). (Watts, 1975)
Compared to capitalism, the definition of social inequality is relatively clearer. Basically, anything unequal happened within a society or groups can said to be a social inequality. Sociologically, according to Marger(2005), the more evident inequalities in nowadays’ society are mainly the differences in income and wealth, differences in social standing and prestige, and differences in power.
Now, do ‘capitalist society’ and ‘capitalism’ consist of an identical meaning? This is a very discussible question.