Social Inequality And Hierarchy: A Reflection On Business's Social Context, An Essay.

Initial position: Income inequality limits the degree to which those without capital resources can ascend a social hierarchy; one’s position in a social hierarchy is inextricably linked to his or her earning potential.

Reflective essay on how your initial position has changed and evolved as you pursued options a (journaling) or b (research) above. The reflective piece must integrate class readings to support your overarching arguments about the social context of business. 

Social inequality and Hierarchy

Social inequality is used by sociologists to describe a situation where resource distribution is unequal. They use social stratification to categories people to various categories depending on resources accessible to them (Jansen, p.536). This resources include wealth, opportunities, positions and rewards. People are divided into different categories which have implications on social inequality, social characteristics, identities and roles. Social differentiation does not imply that people are differentiated based on power, privilege, rank or hierarchy. However, when other people can claim a greater share of resources based on the social category like gender, race and class, this becomes a basis for social inequality. Social inequality areas in life include freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and even voting rights. Additionally, access to healthcare, education, travelling, housing, transportation, and social services or goods. Sometimes it can be seen as the quality of the neighborhood or family. Sometimes some legislations can lead to social inequality.  Arguably with this in mind, one can say that income inequality limits the degree of those without capital from ascending the social hierarchy; is a false statement. A person’s hierarchy in the society is not directly linked to their earning potential, but other factors come into play (Calder, p.567).

According to sociologists however, social stratification is system making inequalities apparent, this does not have much to do with income. Inequalities have always existed, but sociologists are keen on larger patterns which show the inequalities. This is based on a system which leads to inequalities and this cannot point particularly to the poor or the rich. Stratification can vary form one society to another, but most societies base inequality of wealth, assets, value of money, income and wages. Many factors influence the social standing of a person, despite the general classification of rich and poor. In some cultures, charisma and wisdom could be seen as wealth. Therefore, income alone cannot be conclusively said to be the

Education is one of the causes of immobility in the social hierarchy. According to the Organization for Economic Development report one of the causes of the immobility is lack of the opportunity to get an education. A report by Organization for Economic Development found out that climbing the social harder is hard in America than anywhere else. When an increased number of people have access to education it increases information which people have and forms knowledge. A good example is when scientific findings are utilized, it becomes a good source of competitiveness. Research in households, show that most households have breadwinners with tertiary education; and those with only primary of secondary education have the risk of poverty. When one has a higher level of education, they have the option of accessing certain disposable means of income, thus reducing the risk of poverty. Increasing the level of education, increases the number of people who are likely to be employed and have an income. Increasing education also will reduce inequalities, and increase the percentage of people whom earnings will be distributed to, thus reducing the number of people at risk of becoming poor.

Social stratification and its implications on social inequality

Lack of mobility is not only a social problem but there is also a link to the economic imperative. Despite the positive changes in the United States, when the economy is slowly growing, it becomes a big problem to upward mobility. Economic growth ensures that incomes are improved and there is job creation. This ensures that at least the current generation is better than the previous generation. There is a link between mobility and growth, where rungs of income is measured as one goes up the ladder. Research has shown a strong link between mobility and economic growth. Despite a weak link, economic growth creates a local tax base, which creates a greater capital for investment in schools, hospitals and infrastructure promoting the general well-being and improving the lives of people. Economic growth creates opportunities also which in turn creates conditions which improve mobility. Economic growth creates opportunities which promote upward movement. Most of the time, folks who want to get ahead, move to places with better prospects and most of the times they are likely to succeed. Therefore, apart from income, the economic growth of an area determines the general mobility of people.

Additionally, social mobility is hindered by inequality in the social structure, the existing gap keeps widening and it is hard to climb the ladder. Evidence shows that it is hard for children to improve their lot with a lot of inequality. When the wealth ladder is far apart, it makes it harder to climb the ladder. It becomes a vicious cycle and inequality in one generation, affects the next and making it even harder for the following generations. Increased inequality only means that one takes more risks in entrepreneurship while keeping up with the changes in technology. Some entrepreneurs become luckier and their ideas do better, hence ripping greater rewards. Therefore, individuals who are industrious only receive more because of the extra work. Increased inequality in this scenario shows that the outcomes depend on factors beyond an individual’s control (Cowen, p. 29). It is not a surprise therefore that unequal opportunities lead to unequal outcomes (Littler, p.89).

Income alone does not seem to determine the outcomes. Sometimes, a person’s effort will determine how their outcome will be. In the United states, popular belief is that people have an equal opportunity to be successful (Cowen, p.29). To a certain extent is has been demonstrated that self-effort is a determinant of a person’s success. In America, working hard has always been seen as the virtue leading to opportunity and success. Many workers have subscribed to this belief. However, evidence shows that Americans work longer hours and even have less holidays, but this has not led to a better life. Economists argue that working hard as a factor to prosperity is too simplistic and whether hard work alone is enough to uplift people, is a tough question. Working hard is only complemented when one meets the right opportunities (Firebaugh, Glenn, & Matthew, p.805).

On the other hand, Inequality in income is one of the reasons people get unequal outcomes in the society. This is evident when inequality of income is put against lack of access to health, education and nutrition. This makes people have unequal outcomes while at the same time have unequal opportunities as well. The variations of the well –being of human beings is determined by the income. People with higher incomes, are in a position to get ahead in life and secure their well-being. Research shows that in the poor people quantile, 40% of children are underweight compared to 15% of those who are wealthy. Income inequality determines the extent to which a person gets ahead in life and the duration. If people have equal income, they can start their lives on a level ground or equal starting points. Inequality income affects the ability to invest in businesses, proper education thus hindering growth rate. Business investment, or investing in other things like housing and assets, can positively affects a person’s income, and improve their credit. If a person’s income is low, they are less likely to invest and less likely to make more money, hence they are likely to be stuck in a certain social standing. Education is also an important factor, which is affected by income. In America, lack of proper education and education opportunities is because of lack of income. Disposable income means one can choose to go to particular schools and get the best education. Education can positively impact a person’s life because it expands the scope of opportunities.

Inequality and income and wealth are important when discussing the subject of inequality. However, income and wealth alone are not sufficient to explain inequality. Sometimes biasness in the public policy, and patterns of biasness, in opportunities and infrastructure leas to inequality. Such biasness ensures that certain regions rip maximum benefits and ultimately emerge as more developed and having a better standing compared to their counterparts (Payne, p.220).

Conclusion:

According to Piketty and Saez, inequality has been there for a long time and it was very high a century ago (Piketty, Thomas, & Emmanuel Saez, p.838). The issue of income and the distribution of wealth is a controversial topic which has widely been discussed. In the 19th century Karl max believed that accumulation of capital by private individuals led to concentration of wealth on the hands of a few. However, this has evolved over the years due to technological advancements and different countries have different outcomes in regards to historical circumstances (Kahneman, p.1908). Countries need to make an effort to reduce social barriers to moving up the ladder. When it becomes hard to climb the social ladder, it means that skills and human talent will be wasted. When there is also lack of equal opportunities, it will lead to lack of motivation, efforts and eventually affect the economy. Economists argue that without proper policy interventions, there will continuously be unequal opportunity, while mobility will deteriorate. Restoring mobility is crucial for those at the bottom

Reference:

Bloome, Deirdre. "Income inequality and intergenerational income mobility in the United States." Social Forces 93.3 (2014): 1047-1080.

Calder, Gideon. How Inequality Runs in Families: Unfair Advantage and the Limits of Social Mobility. Policy Press, 2016.

Cowen, Tyler. "The inequality that matters." The American Interest 6.3 (2011): 29-38.

Firebaugh, Glenn, and Matthew B. Schroeder. "Does your neighbor’s income affect your happiness?." American Journal of Sociology 115.3 (2009): 805-831.

Jensen, Lene Arnett, ed. The Oxford handbook of human development and culture: An interdisciplinary perspective. Oxford Library of Psychology, 2015.

Kahneman, Daniel, et al. "Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion." science 312.5782 (2006): 1908-1910.

Littler, Jo. Against meritocracy: Culture, power and myths of mobility. Routledge, 2017.

Payne, Keith. The broken ladder: How inequality affects the way we think, live, and die. Penguin, 2017.

Piketty, Thomas, and Emmanuel Saez. "Inequality in the long run." Science 344.6186 (2014): 838-843.

Piketty, Thomas. "About capital in the twenty-first century." American Economic Review 105.5 (2015): 48-53.